Clos-De-La-Roche

The nose is very sensual and classy, with ripe cherry fruit giving a sense of very small, concentrated, ripe grapes. The wine has a very precise, pure, linear intensity, with a marvellous power. There is a superb nervous tension, with deep, dark fruit too cool to be called exuberant. Crisp with fine fruit, black cherry on the palate, lush and nicely put together, ripe tannins and crisp acidity: this is very fine. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

 

Deepish purple in colour, this is really fabulously classy with great density and a lifted magical finish. Some blood orange notes lurk in the fruit. Altogether this is a red-blooded wine – really terrific. The finish is awesome: the whole range is really fine this year.

Our jovial friend Jérôme Castagnier has excelled himself this year. The promise we picked up on last year has really been delivered in 2014. He says that the wines have lovely flesh but also a beautiful freshness, and notes some similarities to 2010. His generic Burgundies (available on www.bbr.com/burgundy2014) are also excellent.

Very dense, rich purple, there is a wealth of fruit on the nose, backward but balanced. Very concentrated, the nose is a lovely mix of red and black fruits, dark raspberry leaf, even a savoury blueberry touch, which is very typical of the appellation. The palate continues the blue-fruit theme and majors on a classical, tightly woven texture with seamless tannins. This is a brilliant Clos de la Roche in 2014, a true reflection of the heart of the vineyard.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

A rich purple but less black, there is a bit more refinement here. The wine has excellent weight, with a good mass of fruit behind which is lively all the way through. The blueberry notes are elegant with nuances. It’s very persistent indeed – a wine for the long term. Drink 2025-2035.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Jérôme Castagnier is the Guide Hachette’s Burgundian vigneron of the year for 2017 and has been shortlisted for young vigneron of the year in the region’s own awards, so it is all happening for him. He began picking his 2015s on September 9th and finished on Saturday 12th before the rain that fell later that day. This year he has used one-third whole bunches for his village wines and the Crus, and in the last two years has refined his barrel regime so that the wood has less impact on the wine. Note that the malolactic fermentation was only just finishing when we tasted and this may have impacted the bouquets.

Bottled only in magnums, offered singly in individual wooden boxes. It is very intense purple and with its usual great intensity, less forward than Clos St Denis. A certain strict style throughout, though not austere. Terrific density at the back of the palate.
Jasper Morris MW - Wine Buyer 

Tasting through Charles Rousseau`s impressive star studded range, this is always a brooding, tannic monster when set against the silky opulence of his Chambertin and Clos de Bez. With time however it softens and becomes beautifully harmonious. This wine is modestly priced for its lineage and shows the hand of a true master at work.

Fine bright graceful mid purple. The bouquet shows a wealth of complex fruit along with a touch of toast from the Chassin barrels. There is dark cherry, perhaps blackberry and dark raspberry too. This starts smoothly in the mouth and then kicks on to another level with a vast surge of concentrated fruit. The structure shows both ripe tannins and a little trace of acidity, bringing out the savoury side of Clos de la Roche. This is an impressively dense wine, with very good grip and plenty of nervous tension. Very special this year.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Buying Director

Evolved, laid back nose. Medium body. Delicious, jammy forest fruit flavours, supported by fine acidity and savoury, gamey notes. Balanced, with impressive old wine power.

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.

What a beautiful perfume! Layers of highly detailed blue and red fruits reveal a deep rooted sweet spice. This is effortlessly echoed on the palate, where further fruit complexity of Damsons and Plums show a darker side.
Gary Owen, Private Account Manager

Distinctive Morey-St Denis, black brambly fruit, complete with the sort of weight, structure and texture you would hope for from a Grand Cru; almost four-square, yet supported by only 10% new oak.

Deep crimson. Juicy and substantial. Very clean and transparent. Spicy and grainy on the end. Bright and sweet.
Jancis Robinson - jancisrobinson.com, Jan 2015