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  • Prieuré Roch: Limited New Arrivals Direct from Domaine

    Prieuré Roch: Limited New Arrivals Direct from Domaine

    Few domaines in Burgundy have been shrouded equally in mystery and allure like that of Prieuré Roch. Henry-Frédéric Roch, the late co-director of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and nephew of Lalou Bize-Leroy, established his domaine in 1988. Around this time, Henry saw a wooden box of Bordeaux's Château Prieuré-Lichine and thought thePrieuré had a nice ring to it when paired alongside his name, and thus Domaine Prieuré Roch materialized. 

    However, the real inception story began with DRC's acquisition of their Romanée-St-Vivant Domaine Marey-Monge parcel that they had been farming for some time. Henri purchased some vineyards from DRC to assist them in their financial endeavor, and from this his eponymous project was truly born.

    Wines here begin with organic and biodynamic farmed land, 100% whole cluster fermentation, new oak influence, and next-to-zero sulphur additions. They are extremely spicy and elegant, with a beef bouillon note I find to be the real calling card of the house style.

    While wines from past decades showed a lot of variation of soundness due to the sans soufre approach, in the last many years, in my opinion, these have become a gold standard of the non-sulphur category. Last night's 2013 bottling of Le Cloud was crunchy, high toned, and     alive in a way I wish every wine that touched my lips would be. These are as soulful and singular as any wines produced on earth. And it's my pleasure to offer this small parcel direct from the domaine today.

    Monopole Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Corvees - One of the signature wines of the domaine, this monopole vineyard has a large percentage of millerandés grapes that are smaller in size with intense concentration. Since 2002 the domaine has harvested these small berry clusters exclusively. Located at the southern end of Nuits-Saint-Georges in Premeaux, this site shows a grace and lift that stands apart drastically from what we are accustomed to from the vineyards located just north in the heart of the appellation.

    Clos Vougeot, along with Clos de Beze, is the only Grand Cru of the domaine. Vines were planted in 1929, 1949, and 1969, located in a sweet spot further uphill in this large climat, close to the Chateau.

    Vosne Romanée Les Hautes-Maizières is a rare bird, located just North-East of Grand Cru Romanée Saint Vivant, with this particular parcel further up the hill in the prime zone of the climat. Jules Lavalle's seminal 1855-classification has Hautes-Maizières listed as a Deuxiéme Cuvée along with famed 1ers Aux Reignots, Les Chaumes, and Clos des Reas.

    Monopole Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillières sits in elite company in Nuits Saint Georges just north of monopoles Clos de la Maréchale and Clos l'Arlot. Also located in this Premeaux southern portion of the village.

    Monopole Clos Goillotte is the prize of the domaine. The former garden of Prince Conti established in 1763, it sits below La Tâche and Clos d'Eugenie.

    Vosne Romanée Vieilles Vignes is the ultimate secret bottling of the domaine, only produced in the classic and cool 2013 vintage when the choice was made to blend Clos Goillotte and Hautes-Maizières.
    Posted by Alexander Rosen

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