Domaine Rollin Pere et Fils Hautes Cotes de Beaune 2014
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His son Maurice made a personal decision to set up his own business in 1955. It was Maurice who started to commercialise part of their production. He had a great sense of sharing, of welcoming and exchanging with people. Supported by his wife Christiane, they very quickly won over what still represents their base of clientele today. At the same time, they undertook the management of other parcels of vines on a rental basis and struggled to acquire new land.
In 1976, Maurice was joined by his son, Remi. Together, they planted the land that would take almost 10 hectares of the domain at the beginning of the 1980s. They then undertook building the working area necessary to cope with the growth. Thereafter, with Remi’s wife Agnes, they rapidly developed sales, in France and also abroad. In this way, since the middle of the 1990s, all the production is bottled and commercialised under their own label. They have always felt the need to progress in quality of production, while taking care to preserve and pass on their savoir-faire. Simon, their son, took up the challenge beside them in 2003, joined by his wife Caroline in 2009. Close at heart is their desire for the long life of their business while looking after the essential aspect of its working environment; namely the vine.
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.”
In the hills just above the commune appellations of the Côte de Beaune, rising to about 1,600 feet, scattered vineyards join to form what is known as the Hautes Côtes de Beaune.
Hautes Côtes de Beaune together with Hautes Côtes de Nuits include 47 communes. Collectively the wines of the Hautes Côtes offer a great introduction to the personality of Burgundy—both red and white—that won’t make a dent in the pocketbook.
The majority of wines produced here are red (made of Pinot Noir) and show a spry fruitiness, crisp texture and aromas of blackcurrant, cherry, rose, violet, pepper and mint. Red Hautes Côtes are perfect with crostini topped with pork or duck rillettes, soft soft cheeses like Camembert or Brillat-Savarin and dishes such as grilled lamb or roasted quail.
Whites, while less prolific, offer diversity and aside from Chardonnay, this is where one might occasionally run into the very rare Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris, which are completely forbidden among Villages appellations and Crus. Aligoté grows here as well, alongside the blackcurrant bushes used to make cassis for vin blanc cassis (a cocktail of dry white wine mixed with blackcurrant liqueur). Hautes Côtes whites show qualities such as lemon, quince, apple, pear, white peach and honeysuckle; they are great stand-alone sippers or paired with savory tapas, sautéed shrimp and flaky white fish.