Age Old Tradition in Burgundy’s Newest Appellation

In France, wine’s most dynamic successes are the result of tradition meeting innovation. This couldn’t be more clear than in Burgundy’s most recently created appellation—Viré-Clessé (veer-AY cluh-SAY). Often overshadowed by its more famous Mâcon neighbors of Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran, the area of Viré-Clessé, classified in 1999, has nonetheless been known by wine fans as a source of rich, great valued wines for centuries. 

The name of the village of Viré itself (or Viriaco as it was known) means “grape-growing” and has been producing wines since the ninth century. One thousand years later in 1868, Jules Guyot would be quoted as saying that Viré-Clessé wines are “always agreeable, always healthy, and what’s more, at more than reasonable prices”. If Monsieur Guyot were here to taste today’s wine, the 2013 Domaine de Roally Viré-Clessé, I’m inclined to believe his opinion would be the same. 

Agreeable—The wine is a beautiful light gold in the glass that hints at the lusciousness that is to come. The nose has a bright top note of Meyer lemon and a distinct minerality (almost recalling the flintiness of Pouilly-Fuissé), but what really stands out is a beautiful honeyed freshness. Think spring honey dripping from its comb, white meadow flowers, chamomile. The palate is just as complex, taking a solid spine of citrus acidity and white peach and wrapping it in a round, full-bodied flavor of honey and ripe yellow pear that evolves into something almost savory on the lasting finish. 

I decided to pair this with scallops in a beurre blanc sauce on a bed of lemon orzo. The acid cut through the creamy sauce and accented the richness of the scallop while the lemon orzo helped bring out the tiny hint of residual sugar that the Domaine de Roally has. This would also pair fantastically with the grassy freshness of a creamy goat cheese or Burgundy’s famous Epoisses. 

Healthy—Winemaker Gauthier Thévenet, son of the famed Jean Thévenet (whose wines Parker calls “far and away the finest ever produced in this sector”), uses biodynamic practices and long-held traditions to create Roally. The vines are on average 40 years old, and Thévenet is known to wait until peak ripeness to harvest his grapes. All of this results in a wine that is a great example of what “natural wines” can hope to be. 

Reasonable—With Sokolin’s long-cultivated relations, we’re able to offer the 2013 Domaine de Roally Viré-Clessé at $24.95. Tasted blind, it would be easy to think that with such complexity and richness, this wine would cost twice as much. Entering into fall, the Domaine de Roally is a perfect white wine to stock up on, bridging your crisp summer whites and warming winter reds with this hidden Burgundy gem.