The manganese-rich, clay soils of this domaine’s Le Clos de la Roilette, running right up to the Moulin-à-Vent border, yield Fleurie’s most original wine: densely-coloured and strongly-scented, with spice and olive notes, its firm extract is simply overpowered by its sweet fruit ripeness and amiable texture. Average vineyard age over the domaine’s seven-hectare Roilette holding is 40 years. Three further hectares of Fleurie, in two separate locations – near Villie-Morgon and Lancié – go either into the Clos de la Roilette bottling or, in some years, into a separate more floral Cuvée Christal. A miniscule parcel of 80 year old Roilette vines from in front of the house produces, in selected years, a robust Cuvée tardive. It is the Coudert family’s deep understanding of their land that underpins this range of extraordinarily good wines. “When you’ve understood the terroir, winemaking becomes pretty straightforward”, says Alain Coudert.
