The Wine
Rully rouge Premier Cru Les Cloux
Rully is a small appellation, producing slightly less red wine than white. There are, in total, only about 40 hectares (ha) of red Premier Cru - so our 0.48ha (just over an acre) is not such an insignificant proportion! Premier Cru vineyards like this rarely become available in Burgundy - even to the locals - and this tiny plot would have cost well over £50,000 had it ever come onto the market.
Pinot Noir from Rully’s relatively light soil is normally distinguished by its elegance. It is not a powerful burgundy that requires many years’ cellaring before being ready to drink, but rather a beguiling and elegant wine which can be drunk relatively young. However, the first vintage of Les Cloux came from the extraordinary year of 2003, which produced a wine with more power and concentration than normal and we were delighted when this wine was awarded a Seal of Approval at the 2005 International Wine Challenge. 12 to 14 months' barrel-ageing give it a cedar-wood spiciness and a tannic structure allowing it to age well. Les Cloux is wonderfully versatile with food - in particular charcuterie, casseroles or strong, hard cheeses.
Aligoté de Bouzeron
Basic Aligoté is a wine for early drinking, and in France it is the traditional base for vin blanc cassis - kir - the famous white wine and blackcurrant liqueur aperitif named after a former canon of Dijon. However, delicious as this concoction is, slightly chilled on a warm summer day, Aligoté from Bouzeron is a much more complex wine, deserving of your undivided attention. It is refreshingly mouth-watering in its youth but develops a delightful buttermilk smoothness as it ages, and is usually at its best between three and five years old. If you are looking for an interesting and individual white burgundy, this is it.
Wine available for the 2012 Option:
Rully rouge Premier Cru
Les Cloux 2009 (red)
10,05€ per bottle (exc. VAT)
Aligoté de Bouzeron 2010 (white)
6,00€ per bottle (exc. VAT)