Côte Rôtie, La Viaillère, 2021

A vineyard of high repute and enormous charm, the 2021 Viallière is aromatic and intricate, balancing the most gorgeous, high-toned aromas with a charge of small, pixelated, sweet red fruits in the middle of the palate. Suave but never blowsy, this is a steep well-ripening site with lots of stones in the soil. Clusel-Roch decided, as of the 2009 vintage, to bottle this up as a separate cuvée, when their vines had reached 32 years old and were producing outstanding wines. From a mid-slope parcel with a south, south-east facing aspect. The parcel located at the bottom of the slope still goes into the main Côte Rôtie blend. Aged for around 16 months in a maximum of 15% new oak.