The Clos de la Roilette, in the village of Fleurie, covers nine hectares of one of the best slopes in the Beaujolais Crus. The domaine has an eastern exposure, borders the Moulin-à-Vent appellation, and produces wines that are beautiful when young with the potential to age 5-10 years, depending on the vintage.
The owner, Alain Coudert is regarded as one of the best known top producers in the region. Alain’s father, Fernand Coudert purchased this great old property in the mid-1960s from the previous owners, the Crozet family. In the 1920s, when the delimitations of Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent were officially prescribed, Monsieur Crozet was outraged when his estate was consigned to Fleurie, as the wine had previously been sold as Moulin-à-Vent. It was at this time that he began to sell the wine as Clos de la Roilette, named after his very successful thoroughbred racehorse, with no mention anywhere on the label of Fleurie. Understanding that this might not be enough of a statement, he further vowed to never again sell a bottle of his wine in France — and for years all of his production went to England, Switzerland and Germany. Today, the current label does mention the name of the appellation, but only as a subscript and the French embargo was lifted long ago.
Even today many critics say it is hard to find any argument with Monsieur Crozet, as the wines certainly bear more similarity to the wines of next door Moulin-à-Vent than they do with many of the more forward wines of Fleurie.
The 2007 is a dark ruby color. Aromatics of wild strawberry, raspberry with violet and earth. On the palate, sour cherry and cranberry with some spice. Good grip and acidity with a lingering finish. Many consider 2007 a lesser vintage and thought the fruit lacked some precision and was perhaps a bit muddy, but I still enjoyed this a bunch and it is also a good food wine — a classic pairing with roasted chicken. 13% alcohol. Imported by Louis/Dressner Selections.
