Winemaker Notes
It is a minerally, complex, and powerful wine, with an abundance of red berry fruit aromas with a hint of thyme and mint. In the mouth, the wine shows true elegance, with spicy, smooth tannins and a hint of tobacco. A long finish with a great consistency and a certain firmness rounds out this incredible wine.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
'Muscular' is how Cyrielle Rousseau describes her Clos de la Roche, made from two parcels - one high and one low - that total 1.48ha, with some parts over a century old. Everything is relative, of course, because this isn't an especially tannic wine, although it certainly has good intensity. It's sappy, subtly oaked and refined with succulent bramble and black cherry fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru displays notes of sweet red and black berries, licorice, rich soil, grilled meat and citrus peel. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with more density and concentration than the Charmes-Chambertin, balanced by juicy acids. Though the tannins are supple, it will demand and reward bottle age. This is a cuvée that continues its upward trajectory chez Rousseau.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While Morey-St-Denis of Burgundy might not get the same attention as its neighbors, Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south, there is no reason why it shouldn’t. The same line of limestone runs from the Combe de Lavaux in Gevrey—all the way through Morey—ending in Chambolle.
There are four grand cru vineyards, moving southwards from the border with Gevrey-Chambertin: Clos de la Roche, Clos St-Denis, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de Tart and a small segment of Bonnes-Mares overlapping from Chambolle. Clos de la Roche is probably the finest vineyard, giving wines of true depth, body, and sturdiness for the long haul than most other vineyards.
Pinot Noir from Morey-St-Denis is known for its deep red cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. Aromas of spice, licorice and purple flowers are present in the wines’ youth, evolving to forest and game as the wine ages.