Description
Vines 20 to 55 years old. Low yields. Lute raisonnée farming. One racking by hand. Not fined or filtered.
Clos de la Roche and it’s terroir
Clos de la Roche is an east-facing vineyard at the northern end of Morey-Saint-Denis, just south of the Grand Crus of Gevery-Chambertin. To the south is Clos Saint-Denis. It is known and possibly named for the big limestone boulders in the vineyard. The marlstone reddish silty clay soil is rich with calcium carbonate and lime and is very thin. The roots grow through only a couple of feet of this rugged top soil and then struggle through many feet of limestone to reach moisture. These struggles lead to a wine with tremendous ageing potential. Similar to other Morey vineyards, there is no evidence that it was a true Clos, but perhaps it was walled in some way in the times of the Romans or the Cistercians who developed these vineyards.
About Domaine Pierre Amiot et Fils
The Amiots have been making wine in the Cote de Nuits for 5 generations. They make stunning Morey-Saint-Denis Reds including Grand Cru Clos de la Roche, Premier Cru Les Millandes and Morey-Saint-Denis Village. In Gevrey-Chambertin they make an excellent Premier Cru Les Combottes. They practice low yields in the vineyard (25-35 hectoliters per hectare), lute raisonnée (eliminating, when possible, the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides), de-stemming and a 20 day maceration of the berries. The wine is kept on its lees until the one racking just before bottling. The wines are not fined or filtered. All of this extreme care of the land and berries along with little to no disturbance of the wine in barrel leads to extremely smooth wines. The wines and family are very well regarded in Burgundy, but since they do no publicity and are uniquely focused on tending their excellent holdings and winemaking, many have not heard of them or tried their wines before. This is what makes it so exciting as an importer to introduce our customers to these very special wines!
