Louis Chèze : Ro-Rée 2016

A Floral and Mineral Marsanne-Roussanne Blend from Saint-Joseph

The Domaine Louis Cheze estate was founded in 1978, when the family first bought a property in the hills near the town of Limony, on the right bank of the Rhone River. From its very first hectare in the Saint-Joseph appellation, the estate has expanded to 35 hectares, with parcels spread over the appellations of Condrieu, Saint-Joseph and Cote-Rotie. The first vintage of the Ro Ree cuvee from Louis Cheze was 1990, with Roussanne harvested from the slopes of Saint-Joseph and Marsanne from a plateau. The vines are 15-40 years old and planted in granitic and leucocratic migmatic soil. The vineyards are managed with principles of sustainable agriculture with de-budding and green harvest practiced before a manual harvest. The grapes are selected on the vine and then again at the winery on a vibrating table. They are pressed, settled and then moved to barrels for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation with lees stirring. The wine is aged in 20% new barrels and the rest barrels of 2 or 3 previous uses for 8 to 10 months. The wines are bottled without filtration. The Louis Cheze Ro Ree 2016 is a blend of 60% Marsanne and 40% Roussanne.

The Louis Cheze Ro Ree 2016 presents a bright straw yellow colour in the glass. On the nose, the wine offers delicate aromas of acacia, hawthorn and honey. The attack is quite generous and full on the mouth, with a nice minerality surfacing on the finish. Acidity and sweetness are perfectly balanced in this wine, which is ready to drink now but can also be kept to fully appreciate the toasted notes lent to it by the Marsanne.