2012 Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru, Olivier Bernstein, Burgundy

2012 Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru, Olivier Bernstein, Burgundy

Product: 20121019748
Prices start from £1,720.00 per case Buying options
2012 Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru, Olivier Bernstein, Burgundy

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

Clos de la Roche (16.90 ha) is one of the four Grands Crus of Morey-St Denis, noted for the structure and density of its wines which can be austere in youth. Olivier Bernstein’s grapes come from 50-year-old vines. This wine never displays the deeper colours, but the lighter purple hue is clear and pure.

There is a lovely sensual quality to the nose with real finesse. Morello cherry is the nearest fruit. A beautiful mouthful of velvet fruit leads through to a finely structured finish. This is a gentle giant of a wine.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

The wines of Burgundy – perhaps more than any other region – are a product both of place but also of people. With individual vineyard plots often split amongst countless producers, the terroir expressed in a wine can be unusually specific; equally the style of the winemaker can be readily discerned when tasted against his neighbours.

Back in 2007, Jasper Morris MW – Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Burgundy buyer, who lives in the region for most of the year – heard whispers about a new producer, whose wines were said to be universally impressive. Jasper duly sought out Olivier Bernstein and tasted his portfolio: “It was terrifically exciting to come across a brand-new quality producer in the Burgundy market, and to taste wines of such class from his very first vintage,” says Morris.

“Now, five years on, Olivier has matured into a confident player with his Premiers and Grands Crus wines of the Côte de Nuits.” Since Berry Bros. & Rudd first offered Bernstein’s wines with the 2007 vintage, Olivier’s reputation in the UK and worldwide markets has steadily grown. We are delighted that the 2012 vintage – unquestionably Bernstein’s most refined and well-composed offering to date – will be available to the UK market exclusively through Berry Bros. & Rudd.

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Critics reviews

Burghound92/100
There is enough reduction present to push the fruit to the background. While there is excellent size, weight and richness to the middle weight flavors, the mouth feel is relatively refined thanks to the fine grain of the tannins. The highly persistent finish is both well-balanced and impressively complex while displaying focused power and plenty of punch. I quite like this as it's fashioned more in the style of a gymnast than a body builder.
burghound.com - Apr 2014 Read more
Wine Advocate91-93/100
The 2012 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru has more fruite on the nose compared to the Clos de Vougeot: brambly red berries, bergamot and tealeaf all with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins on the entry. The acidity here is well judged and there is palpable sense of energy, of frisson towards the finish. Tightly coiled at the moment, this grand cru deserves several years in bottle.
Neal Martin - 30/12/2013 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
55-60% whole bunch, 100% new oak. Dark crimson. Very exotic candified fruit on the nose. Heady, liquoreux. A bit livelier and lighter than some – very good energy. Though with a spine that drives it. Just a bit too drying on the end for the moment.
Jancis Robinson - jancisrobinson.com - 13-Jan-2014 Read more

About this WINE

Olivier Bernstein

Olivier Bernstein

Much has changed in Burgundy, both economically and climatologically, since Olivier Bernstein began his eponymous project with the 2007 vintage. Yet the aim here remains essentially the same: to produce wines of the highest possible quality and to forego nothing in a quest to create elegant, sensual and refined wines that can sit comfortably among the top wines of Burgundy.

It is this quest for perfection that has seen Olivier cease production of two of his Premiers Crus in order to focus on his domaine holding in Champeaux, and the seven Grands Crus which are now well established in the range: Charmes-Chambertin; Mazis-Chambertin; Chambertin Clos de Bèze; Chambertin; Clos de la Roche; Bonnes Mares; and Clos de Vougeot.

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Morey-Saint-Denis

Morey-Saint-Denis

Morey is sometimes ignored between its two famous neighbours, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin, but its wines are of equal class, combining elegance and structure. Morey-St Denis, being that little bit less famous, can often provide excellent value.

The four main Grand Cru vineyards continue in a line from those of Gevrey-Chambertin, with Clos St Denis and Clos de la Roche the most widely available. Clos des Lambrays (almost) and Clos de Tart (entirely) are monopolies of the domains which bear the same names.

Domaine Dujac and Domaine Ponsot also make rare white wines in Morey-St Denis.

  • 64 hectares of village Morey-St Denis
  • 33 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (20 in all). Best vineyards include Les Charmes, Les Millandes, Clos de la Bussière, Les Monts Luisants
  • 40 hectares of Grand Cru vineyard. Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de la Roche, Clos St Denis and a tiny part of Bonnes Mares
  • Recommended Producers: Dujac, Ponsot, Clos de Tart, Domaine des Lambrays

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Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.

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