Remarkable Roulerie's Exceptional 18's
The beautiful, ancient estate of Chateau de la Roulerie, is situated in the heart of the iconic Layon Valley, amidst an amphitheatre of terraced vineyards in the rolling hills, which descend steeply to the river below. Those of you that have been with us for a while, know that we at Gauntleys, have a real love affair with Chenin Blanc from the Loire. For over 600 miles the mighty Loire River sweeps across France, accessing a diverse range of landscapes and climates. This makes it the perfect playground, for scores of ambitious and passionate winemakers to experiment and find their voice and expression of one of the world’s most versatile grape varieties. However, for us, Phillipe Germain of Chateau de la Roulerie, is one of the masters of the art of Chenin Blanc and is up there with the best producers in the Layon Valley today. We are thrilled to be able to bring to you our special offer mixed case, containing a selection of Phillipe’s exceptional 18’s, showcasing a few of his stunningly exotic, dry whites and his luscious and crisp sweet wine, ‘L’Orangeraie’.
A real story of reclamation and growth, prior to 2008, no wine had been vinified at the Chateau de la Roulerie for over 20 years, as the wine-making facilities had somewhat fallen into disrepair. This meant that the estate’s grapes had to be vinified at Chateau des Fesles (owned and run by Philippe’s brother). However, in 2004, Phillipe took full control of the winemaking operations at the estate and wasted no time (and expense) in renovating all the facilities and installing state-of-the-art wine making equipment. He was also determined to improve the quality of the wines and set about improving the vineyards, which are now fully organic and sustainably cultivated.
After 4 years, all the hard work paid off, the Chateau returned from the winemaking wilderness and vinification of all the production began in-house with the 2008 vintage. From this very first vintage, Phillipe had drastically increased the quality of the wines coming from the estate’s vineyards, and today, Chateau de la Roulerie is a highly revered estate within the Loire Valley. Phillipe’s meticulous attention to detail in the vineyards, controlling yields, picking at optimum ripeness, listening to each vintage whilst always seeking purity and freshness, allows him to produce spectacular results, irrespective of the variables of vintage. His range of 2018’s, which we are excited to offer you today, are no different. Exhibiting great power and intensity, and more structured than his 17’s, the fruit profile is richer and more exotic than previous vintages, singing with ripe apricots, peaches. However, as always with the wines here, Phillipe’s whites are perfectly balanced, pure, and vibrant, with a lifting acidity and mineral line that keeps them mouth-wateringly fresh. You won’t want to put down your glass.
This ‘Remarkable Roulerie’s Exceptional 18s’ is a special offer six-bottle mixed case, containing 2x each of the following wines:
2018 Anjou Blanc ‘P’tit Chenin’ - £15.70 per bottle
2018 Anjou Blanc ‘Magnolia’ - £24.15 per bottle
2018 Côteaux du Layon ‘L’Orangeraie’ - £30.10 per bottle
Normal Retail Price - £139.90
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL PRICE - £125.91
The entry to the range and representing fantastic value for money. There is a lovely ripeness of fruit on the nose – slightly honeyed. The intensity and complexity is surprising for a wine at this level, with a lovely richness of creamy, ripe, honeyed apricot fruits, harmoniously balanced by a refreshing, vibrant acidity. Elegant and wonderfully balanced, this a true pleasure to drink on these warm summer days, by itself, as an aperitif, or to partner fish and chicken dishes.
This stunning Chenin is one of Phillipe’s two fabulous single vineyard cuvées, from a small 2-hectare plot. With a fabulous intensity and delicious peach and nectarine fruit profile, with warming hints of ginger, combined with an elegant mineral character from the terroir and fine acidity. This is a stunning and more serious Chenin than the P’tit. Rounded with a subtle salty note on a long, clean and gourmet finish, this would go well alongside many dishes – fish, poultry, and the perfect partner for pork too. If you have more of a sweet tooth then this also pairs delightfully with soft, creamy cheesecake.
This is a sumptuous and luscious, sweet wine. An incredibly attractive nose of quince, candied fruits and honey, accompanies a full mouth of ripe citrus fruits, exotic fruits but also toasty notes. The antithesis of the flabby, cloying sweet wine, the mouth-watering acidity and fresh minerality imbues this wine with a wonderful lift and freshness. A perfect partner to a variety of aperitifs, a foie gras or even a hot fruit pie.