In a handful of years, Thierry Germain's Roches Neuves has been catapulted into elite status.

They've become fixtures on the lists of 3-Star restaurants in Europe. At this point, it may very well be that their only rival in the Loire is the legendary Clos Rougeard.

With all of the notoriety and increasingly tight allocations, pricing on Roches Neuves' wines, especially the top tier of the stable, has increased with each vintage. From our vantage point, the public hasn't hesitated at all to follow the wines despite this.

Clos du Moulin is a parcel adjoining Clos Romans, Roches Neuves' top wine, which is the exact same terroir. Germain doesn't own the parcel, so he bottles it under the Theirry Germain label. One significant difference is that the vines in Clos Romans are 10 years old whereas the vines in Clos du Moulin are 80 years old.

Clos du Moulin possesses an unmistakable presence and penetrating textured minerality that old vines often provide. It's is a site with a thin layer of sandy clay and solid limestone bedrock underneath. What results is a wine of dramatic grandeur and elegance. People have compared Clos Romans to Corton-Charlemagne and it's equally apt when it comes to Clos du Moulin.

Across the Loire in 2017, spring frost reduced yields, but the conditions at harvest were close to ideal. Generally speaking, the wines have a gripping presence and bright and lifted profile. The vintage really helped to emphasize the gracefulness, refinement and multifaceted personality that Clos du Moulin delivers.

Before wrapping this up, I should mention that the quantities available are modest and with each passing vintage we see bigger responses to our Roches Neuves offers. 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