Detail
100% Gamay. Cuvee Christie is an exception among Roilette estate wines in a few ways. It is the newest bottling, the first vintage having been in 1999. The vines are young for Roilette, mainly in the 30-40-year range. They are not part of the original Clos de la Roilette vineyard and thus, more crucially, have more typical Fleurie soils vs. the Roilettes, with more granite than clay or manganese. Because these two parcels are outside the Clos, the label is different as well, featuring the Coudert family name instead of Clos de la Roilette. The wines name originally was Christal, a playful combination of Alain Couderts kids names (Alexis + Christie); it changed to todays Cuveee Christie after a well-known Champagne house sued over the use of Christal. All of that said, Cuvee Christie follows suit with the other Roilette wines. The farming is sustainable and all vineyard work is by handVinification is traditional, semi-carbonic Beaujolais style. The whole clusters are harvested by hand and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in open-top concrete tank. Maceration is the shortest of all at around 10 days, with a submerged cap rather than punchdowns. Sulfur use is quite minimal. The wine is aged in large, old oak foudres for about 9 months before bottling.
