Tasted with Olivier Giroux in Hurigny, 04 November 2022
Domaine du Clos des Rocs
Clos des Rocs
71000 Loché
Tel: +33 3 85 32 97 53
www.closdesrocs.fr
More reports with Clos des Rocs
Olivier Giroux on 2022 & 2021:
“2022 was a nicely balanced harvest, helped by some rain. We see nice freshness – more than the analytics suggest – but more important is how they taste and you taste the freshness. As for 2021, the first two that we will taste are bottled, the others are tank samples which will be bottled in the Springtime. Simply put, it’s half a harvest for us…”
All corks are tested for TCA before use. Olivier has been testing with DIAM since his 2017s but ‘it’s still too early to change.‘
The wines…
It’s always a pleasure to taste these wines – and two, in particular, would be ‘must buys’ for me…
2021 Pouilly-Loché Les Barres
Only 500-litre barrels with a small amount that were new.
Hmm, a nice appealing, almost textured sweetness to this nose – it’s a good invitation. Direct, silky, fluid, nicely concentrated – plenty of sweetness, but vibrant and absolutely delicious. Simply an excellent wine.
This is the other side of the ‘fault’ on more limestone.
A little more minerality in the width of aroma here, faintly floral too. A more structural wine with a lovely, mouth-watering, quality. A great finish – not a big finish but the combination of energy and minerality are super.
2021 Pouilly-Loché En Chantone
1910 vines, 0.7 ha here. Some of the elevage was done in 300-l stainless-steel ‘barrels’
A more mineral and slightly reductive width – but energetic too. Fuller in the mouth, I really like the combination of volume and intensity here, a little extra richness to the texture too. Plenty of complexity and sustaining a great finish – this is going to be excellent!
3 ha monopole, an old quarry. 6-8 months in ss before bottling after barrel elevage. The bottling is planned for June – at this stage, it’s not seen any sulfur
A little extra fizz – vibrancy not CO2! – to this energetic width – it’s mineral in depth too. Hmm, so far the best combination of volume and structure with beautifully mouth-watering flavour – Bravo!
2021 Pouilly-Fuissé Clos des Rocs Revelation
The no-sulfur wine made in stainless-steel barrels – it will be bottled at the end of this year.
More silk, less obvious aromatic energy. Also a fine shape in the mouth, less melting today on the palate. But fine intensity and clarity of flavour – also a super wine.