Domaine Roux Pere & Fils Aloxe-Corton Les Valozieres Premier Cru 2018
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Wilfred
Wong
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Winemaker Notes
The wine is quite dark in color, its shade varying from deep ruby through crimson to garnet. While young, the wine’s aroma suggests a spring garden with small red fruits (raspberry, strawberry) and black fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry). These intensify with age and evolve into peony and jasmine, preserved and brandied fruits, pistachio, prune, leather, truffle, mushroom and cinnamon. The deep soil begets a vigorous, full-bodied Pinot Noir, robust yet refined. Tender and fruity, this wine reaches its peak after 3 to 5 years in the cellar, revealing a firm and well-built body, richly chewy and with pleasing tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Domaine Roux Père & Fils Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru Les Valozières is authentic and delicately persistent. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of earth, dried leaves, black fruit, licorice, and spice. Serve it with grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: May 24, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
Domaine Roux is situated in the Saint Aubin village of the Côte de Beaune. This historic property maintains one of the most incredible libraries of back vintage Burgundy in magnums. For many generations, the Roux Family have supplied their wines to top-notch restaurants and boutique wine shops throughout France. No one in Burgundy has such an impressive collection of verticals from such a diverse array of villages, single vineyards and Premier Cru wines.
Founded in 1885, Domaine Roux is currently operated by the 4th and 5th generation of the Roux family. With vineyard holdings throughout the Côte d'Or, the majority of the vines are planted on eastern and southern facing slopes and bene?t from ideal exposures. All grapes are harvested by hand and at optimal ripeness. With steadfast attention to detail, Domaine Roux combines valuable traditions with the most advanced technology to produce a vast portfolio of terroir-driven, varietally correct expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir renowned for superior quality. Roux Pere & Fils has evolved into one of the most important producers in Cote d’Or (Burgundy). Nested in the heart of Burgundy with 160 acres of vines, the vineyards cover the key villages. Tradition, know-how and family spirit describe this winery best, with 9 Roux members involved in the 100% family business today.
This modern and forward-looking company sees its wines exported extensively to major wine markets throughout the world. Today, Domaine Roux is one of major land-holders in Burgundy, putting this label in a unique position to control production and quality from the very beginning of the production cycle. The vineyards of Domaine Roux include many of the region’s most respected villages including holding in St-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay, Meursault, Vougeot, Gevrey-Chambertin, etc.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Prevailing over the charming village of Aloxe, the hill of Corton actually commands the entire appellation. Corton is the only Grand Cru for Pinot Noir in the entire Côte de Beaune. Its Grand Crus red wines can be described simply as “Corton” or Corton hyphenated with other names. These vineyards cover the southeast face of the hill of Corton where soils are rich in red chalk, clay and marl.
Dense and austere when young, the best Corton Pinot Noir will peak in complexity and flavor after about a decade, offering some of the best rewards in cellaring among Côte de Beaune reds. Pommard and Volnay offer similar potential.
The great whites of the village are made within Corton-Charlemagne, a cooler, narrow band of vineyards at the top of the hill that descends west towards the village of Pernand-Vergelesses. Here the thin and white stony soils produce Chardonnay of exceptional character, power and finesse. A minimum of five years in bottle is suggested but some can be amazing long after. Fully half of Aloxe-Corton is considered Grand Cru.