2012 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places

My annual visit to the Clusel-Roch cellar was guided by Brigitte and Gilbert's son Guillaume, who has begun to make a name for himself with his energetic pure Gamays from the granite-rich soils of the Coteaux du Lyonnais. He is moving steadily into his future role in command of this estate, which was an early convert to biodynamic farming and which has become one of the most visible advocates of the bio movement in the region. The 2013s and 2012s here are very much in keeping with the house style: fresh, nervy and graceful. Guillaume said that the family is "very happy with both vintages because the fruit was correct for making elegant, not heavy wines." He is especially pleased by the approachable character of the 2012s, which he said possess "harmonious tannins that don't distract from early drinking but have the strength to help the wines age."

In Brigitte Clusel-Roch's opinion 2012 has "bigger tannins than 2011 and probably 2009 but nothing like 2010," which she considers one of the best vintages in a generation, "but only if you have patience." The '12s also have a good core of minerality, she explained, but it isn't showing yet because of the youthful fruit. She expressed more confidence than most of her colleagues in the aging capacity of the 2011s in general, because the wines "have lightness, yes, but with good structure, spine, shape and focus." Like the other growers I visited in November, Brigitte is extremely bullish on the prospects for her 2012 Condrieu, a wine that she thinks strikes "a classic balance of viognier fruit and floral character, with Condrieu minerality."