Revue du Vin de France has awarded only two Loire domaines with its highest 3-star rating, Clos Rougeard and Roches Neuves.
Lately, it's been impossible not to take notice of Roches Neuves. They've always been in the top echelon of the Loire, but things have really clicked in the past few vintages.
The wines have entered a phase of extraordinary clarity, elegance and delicacy that's truly special not only for the region, but for wine in general. People have really taken notice.
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Clos de l’Echelier is a 1.8ha clos (a walled vineyard). The majority is planted with Cabernet Franc. The small amount that's planted to Chenin Blanc is sourced from 60 year old vines. The total production is just two oval casks and comes to somewhere around 1,200 bottles per vintage.
The clos is on hard limestone soils. L’Échelier shows a deeply complex and ultra-finessed minerality with bright and floral tinged citrus notes and stone fruits. The persistence, elegance and clarity make clear that this is a special vineyard in the hands of a thoughtful winemaker.
Roches Neuves produced a gorgeous cast of 2015s. They picked on the early side and the resulting wines have a beautiful poise and agility along with plenty of intensity.
The l’Échelier Blanc is always the most incisively mineral of Roches Neuves' whites and the 2015 makes that clear. There's a pointed, tensile minerality coupled with a grandeur. Many people taste Roches Neuves and reference Burgundy. In this case, we're definitely in Corton-Charlemagne territory.
In seems that word is getting out on Roches Neuves. Each time that we've offered Roches Neuves, it's sold swiftly and we scrambled to find additional wine. We expect the 2015 l’Échelier to follow suit. Please give us your ideal order and we'll try our best.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits