Back to Earth

Created in 2017, this cuvée comes from grapes selected from a small pocket of clay from the "Champ-Rond" plot.

These grapes are then vinified in clay, in 800L terracotta jars. This selection of old vines (65 years old) grafted on “Riparia Gloire de Montpellier”, an old rootstock obtained in 1880 with very little vigor, gives low yields with magnificent little golden berries.

Viré-Clessé "Return to Earth" 2019

The clayey zone from which "Retour à la Terre" is extracted was a little less affected by the spring frost than the rest of the estate thanks to a later budburst. On the other hand, this clayey terroir that retains water better has tempered the very hot and dry character of 2019. After a more opulent 2018, we are returning to the straight, tense and refined line of 2017.

A chiselled wine!

Viré-Clessé "Return to Earth" 2018

2018 is a rich and powerful vintage, "Retour à la Terre" is no exception, but the jar tames this energy and gives it shape. An aromatic profile marked by yellow fruits (Mirabelle plum), a good structure and a slightly grainy finish, which can recall the texture of terracotta or dried apricot.

Although "Retour à la Terre" is still more open than Quintaine in its youth, I think it will go further in time thanks to a breathtaking look and this atypical structure which should blend in giving a beautiful wine spine.

Viré-Clessé "Return to Earth" 2017
2017 presents the typical exotic notes of the estate with an additional openness due to the "breathing" of the amphora.

The small golden berries of “Champ-Rond” ripen while keeping a low degree. Thus, although picked on the last day of the harvest, "Retour à la Terre" has half a degree less alcohol than our "Quintaine" cuvée, which, combined with the raw material of the amphora, gives it a very great purity.