Domaine Clusel-Roch

The Clusel family's connection to the steep slopes above Ampuis predates the modern domaine by several decades. Baptiste Clusel planted the first family vines at Les Grandes Places in 1935, at a time when the family's primary livelihood was polyculture, growing vegetables and fruit alongside grapes. His son René Clusel made a decisive break from the cooperative model in 1969, bottling his own wine at a moment when estate bottling was rare in the region. Gilbert Clusel inherited 1 hectare from the retiring René in 1987, married Brigitte Roch, and formally established the Clusel-Roch name in 1989. A new chai was built in the Verenay quarter of Ampuis in 1992 to accommodate the growing enterprise, and organic conversion began as early as 1990, more than a decade before official certification.

• Baptiste Clusel planted Les Grandes Places in 1935, establishing the family's first dedicated vineyard parcel
• René Clusel began estate bottling in 1969, among the first producers in Côte-Rôtie to do so
• Gilbert Clusel inherited 1 hectare in 1987 and officially launched Clusel-Roch in 1989 after marrying Brigitte Roch
• Organic farming principles were adopted from 1990, with ECOCERT certification following in 2002

Guillaume Clusel represents the fourth generation of family stewardship and has been the sole winemaker since joining the domaine in 2009. After working closely with his parents Gilbert and Brigitte for over a decade, he assumed full ownership and operational control in 2021 when they retired. In 2017, Guillaume hired Gaëlle Bonnefond, who brought commercial expertise to the domaine; she was formally appointed co-manager and sales director in April 2023, a status confirmed by French RCS registration. Together, Guillaume and Gaëlle have diversified the estate beyond wine, launching the Les Marmots Marc distillery project in 2017 and the La Brasserie d'Ampuisette craft beer venture, though Côte-Rôtie remains the undisputed core of the estate's identity and reputation. Guillaume has also expanded total holdings to 14-18 hectares, compared to the 3.5-5.5 hectare historic core.

• Guillaume Clusel joined in 2009 and became sole owner and winemaker following his parents' retirement in 2021
• Gaëlle Bonnefond was appointed co-manager and sales director in April 2023, per French RCS records
• Les Marmots Marc distillery and La Brasserie d'Ampuisette craft beer project both launched under Guillaume's leadership
• Total estate holdings have grown to 14-18 hectares under Guillaume, up from a historic core of roughly 3.5-5.5 hectares

The domaine's most prized holdings are concentrated on the steep, terraced slopes of Côte-Rôtie, where approximately 5.5 hectares lie in the Cote Brune sector across parcels including La Viallière, Champon, Le Plomb, Montmain, and Verenay. Les Grandes Places, roughly 1 hectare planted with Serine Syrah in 1935, is the estate's historic anchor and yields its rarest cuvée. La Viallière covers approximately 1.5 hectares of southeast-facing mica schist soils and was first bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 2011. A small Condrieu parcel of 0.5 hectares is planted to Viognier, and the estate also farms Gamay and Chardonnay in the Coteaux du Lyonnais at Millery and Grigny on warm pebbled soils. All steep-slope parcels are hand-tended because mechanical equipment cannot operate on the gradient, and all new vine material comes from massal selection off the estate's own heritage Serine vines.

• Les Grandes Places is approximately 1 hectare, planted 1935 with Serine Syrah, producing under 250 cases per vintage
• La Viallière covers 1.5 hectares of southeast-facing mica schist and debuted as a single-vineyard bottling in 2011
• Condrieu holdings total 0.5 hectares of Viognier; Coteaux du Lyonnais parcels include Gamay and Chardonnay on warm pebbled soils
• All vines are propagated by massal selection from the estate's own heritage Serine clone

Clusel-Roch's winemaking philosophy is built around preserving what the steep, organically farmed terraces naturally express. Grapes are harvested by hand and undergo partial destemming, with 30-50% whole-cluster fermentation depending on the cuvée. Fermentation proceeds with native yeasts in a gravity-fed cellar, with maceration lasting approximately two weeks. Aging takes place in French oak with only 20% new barrels for the Côte-Rôtie wines, a deliberately restrained figure; Les Grandes Places uses approximately 35% new oak. The domaine practices no chaptalization and no acidification, and biodynamic principles have guided farming since 1990, even though the official certification route chosen was organic. The use of heritage Serine rather than more common Syrah clones is a deliberate quality and identity statement: Serine produces smaller crops with more concentrated, aromatic fruit but demands patience both in the vineyard and the cellar.

• Partial destemming with 30-50% whole-cluster fermentation is used, varying by cuvée
• French oak aging uses approximately 20% new barrels for most Côte-Rôtie wines; Les Grandes Places sees around 35% new oak
• Native yeast fermentation, gravity-fed cellar, no chaptalization, and no acidification are standard practice
• Serine Syrah, a low-yielding heritage biotype distinct from common Syrah clones, defines the house style across all Côte-Rôtie cuvées

Clusel-Roch occupies a significant position in Côte-Rôtie for reasons that go beyond wine quality alone. The domaine's commitment to Serine, the old massal-selected biotype of Syrah native to Ampuis, is an act of viticultural conservation at a moment when pressure to replant with higher-yielding, more technically consistent certified clones is real. René Clusel's early decision to bottle independently in 1969 helped establish the culture of estate identity in the appellation. The organic transition beginning in 1990, predating certification by 12 years, positioned the domaine as an authentic sustainability pioneer rather than a marketing adopter. With total production at Les Grandes Places under 250 cases and La Viallière under 300 cases, these are genuine artisan quantities from genuinely ancient vines. For students of Northern Rhône, Clusel-Roch illustrates how terroir expression, traditional viticulture, and generational continuity interact in one of France's most demanding appellations.

• One of the earliest adopters of organic farming in Côte-Rôtie, converting in 1990 and certifying in 2002
• Preservation of Serine Syrah through massal selection is a contribution to Ampuis's genetic viticultural heritage
• René Clusel's 1969 estate bottling decision helped pioneer the independent domaine model in Côte-Rôtie
• Production of Les Grandes Places under 250 cases and La Viallière under 300 cases underscores the genuinely small-scale, terroir-focused nature of the estate