Profile: Domaine Prieure Roch (Premeaux)

Update 7.10.2009(12.11.2006)billn

prieure roch nuits clos des corveesSometimes visits to a particular producer or vineyard can stand out in the mind; for a variety of reasons they can remain with you or even effect the way you might think about things in the future. The visit to Domaine Prieure Roch was certainly one such visit.

The domaine was born in 1988 to Henry-Frédéric Roch. Henry is the son of Pauline Roch – older sister to Lalou Bize-Leroy – and Henry is also co-director of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Pictures I’ve seen of a younger Henry very much give him the look of an ‘angry young man’, today in his mid-40’s (we share the same vintage), I sense that conviction of thought, but those thoughts are delivered in a considered, and convincing manner. Conversations go off on tangents about art, architecture, viticultural philosophies and even philosophy – then back again. Littered through our time and conversations together his throwaway remarks and observations kept going off like small bombs in my mind. Some is best not recounted, but hopefully I can give you some flavour of this complex, personable and interesting man – and of-course, a little about his wines. The domaine is little reviewed by the ‘paid-for’ critics; I can only assume that Domaine Prieure Roch is a hard place to fit into a reviewer’s 45-60 minute schedule of ‘slots’ – given the ‘ideals’ Henry works to, you might be there for 4 hours, or he just might throw you out after 4 minutes…

The Domaine

logo prieure rochThe origins of Domaine Prieure Roch can be traced to 1966 when Mlle Marey-Monge leased her family’s vines in Romanée Saint-Vivant to the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti – the option of ‘first refusal’ (should the holdings of the Marey-Monge estate come-up for sale) was exercised in 1988 when her heirs the Neyroud family finally sold to the Domaine. This purchase required funds beyond the reserves of the domaine so financing involved selling their vines in Echézeaux and a smaller amount in Grands Echézeaux, but retaining the use of the land on a renewable 30 year lease. The domaine also owned several plots of vines around Vosne; Henry Roch decided that he would buy these parcels himself.

Henry recounted that he found himself in an unusual position in 1988 – he now owned vines in his own right, but there were certain issues arising; first he had no premises – well, only a small cabotte in Vosne (Cape Canaveral!) – and second he had no clients! Then what should he call the domaine? Domaine Roch implied a little too much self-importance and the name already seemed well covered by other businesses in France. One day Henry happened to see a wooden case of Bordeaux with the name Château Prieuré-Lychine and he thought – why not? – Prieure Roch (the priory Roch) had a nice ring to it.

Parcels of vines were acquired here and there, some purchased, some ‘en fermage’ – premises were found in Nuits – a former garage was converted and is still quite visible as you drive through the centre of town, it’s large doors fashioned as giant oak barrels. More recently additional premises were found in Prémeaux – additional barrel cellars and a fantastic dining hall for the team. In contrast to the ostentation of the entrance to the premises in Nuits, in Prémeaux you need to look out only for the spray-painted arrow and number 6 on a gate to point you the ‘head office’!

An idea of the man

Whilst the domaine is driven by one man’s vision/passion, of-course it’s not just one man; today Henry is ably assisted in the vineyards and cuverie by his new number 2 – Yannick Champ – yet it’s clear that Henry has strong thoughts on a number of subjects:

  • Labels; the vintage and the name of the wine are the only important indicators, Henry almost foams at the mouth at the thought of having to write “Clos de Bèze – Grand Vin de Bourgogne” for people that might not know! Of-course the domaine have their legal obligations, so all such ‘details’ are observed, it’s simply up to the buyer to decide which is the front and which is the back label!
  • Whole clusters; Henry is clear that this is the traditional way to make burgundy and that’s how it will be done at his domaine, and it’s not just to improve drainage in the cuvées – he does, however, believe that he works in fortunate times – in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s many vintages would have shown borderline ripeness in the stems giving a rather vegetal aspect, but in recent years, this has not been such an concern.
  • It’s about the challenge; the Clos des Corvées is a large vineyard, but Henry is not looking for a southern or northern cuvée – rather the best cuvée – he is wide-eyed with admiration for those that managed the ten times larger Clos de Vougeot – though he clearly thinks it’s a ‘catastrophe’ that the vineyards are now so subdivided. For his great vineyards it’s also clear that he feels a great obligation to produce the best ‘burgundy’ that he can. He has to balance the fiscal with the romantic, but given his resource position, he can pretty-much focus on the romantic!
  • Terriors; since he was a young man riding his motorbike in a t-shirt he noticed that in some of the places he rode, he was warm, in others he was cold, enough proof of the existence of different microclimates – ever since he has been striving to reflect these differences – the ‘esprit in the glass’.
The Vineyards

A tour through the domaine’s vines…

Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire 0.82 hectares red and 0.6 hectares white
The red is a mix of Pinot (0.56 ha) and Gamay (0.26 ha), and the white is a barrel ferment chardonnay. All the vines are located in the commune next-door to Vosne-Romanée – Boncourt-le-Bois.
Nuits St.Georges 1er Cru Clos des Corvées 5.21 hectares
A vineyard that was exploited for many years by Louis Jadot – though they only managed around 5 of the 5.21 hectares. Henry Roch managed in 1995 to unite all of the Clos for the first time in hundreds of years. The average age of the vines is ~70 years, some over 90 years old. Since 2002 there have been 3 passes in the vines, the first pass takes in the smallest and ripest grapes from all but those vines under 30 years of age – for 2005 this amounted to 10 barrels – this is the Clos des Corvées. Then there is another pass which will be simply named Nuits 1er Cru. The last pass – which includes the fruit of the young vines – is declassified to ‘villages’ and called Nuits St.Georges Number 1.
Vosne-Romanée Les Clous 0.72 hectares
Les Clous is a name with a very old history in Vosne; in this case the name is taken for a blend of three village lieu-dits, Le Pré de la Folie, La Colombière and Aux Champs-Perdrix. The vines are relatively young, being planted in the 1980’s.
Vosne-Romanée Clos Goillotte 0.55 hectares
Almost like a garden to the fantastic old hunting-lodge of the Dukes of Burgundy. At one time it extended to almost 1 hectare, today 0.55 hectares of 40 year-old vines remain enclosed by a wall. Despite its documented existence for hundreds of years this wine was ‘lost’ to villages labels until 1988 when Henry Roch put Goillotte on a label for the very first time. Henry calls this the most ‘baroque’ of his Vosnes.
Vosne-Romanée Hautes-Maizières 0.63 hectares
Despite its village appellation, this vineyard often serves up a significantly more complex and compelling wine than its villages counterparts. With an average age of ~40 years, these vines are sited close to the Suchots 1er Cru.
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 1.02 hectares
Thirty year-old vines at the northern end of the vineyard, bordering the Clos St.Denis lieu-dit of the grand cru Echézeaux. For info, the 2002 vintage yielded ~5,000 bottles or 36 hl/ah
Clos de Vougeot 0.68 hectares
This is a very well sited plot within the clos, sitting just below the château. Guyot trained, the vines are a blend of ages with planting dates in the 1930’s, 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. A little under 3,000 bottles was the result in 1999 and 2002
Clos de Bèze 1.01 hectares
Henry leased this old parcel of vines in 1994 from a famous old name; Domaine (Dr) Marion. The average vine age is a little over 45 years, in 2002 this vineyard yielded ~4,000 bottles or 30 hl/ha, and only 32 hl/ha in the high yielding 1999 vintage.
The vines and the wines

The domaine is certified bio – it was a long and painful process as yields plummeted, but year by year as balance returned to the vineyard the yields in the best vineyards edged up from a miserly 15 hl/ha to around 25 today – their eventual aim is 30hl/ha. The only ‘feeding’ comes from a compost made from crushed vine shoots and grape marc composted with a little cow manure. Herbicides are banned and weeding done manually.

Triage is a core focus during the vendanges; the cleaned-up whole clusters go directly into the tank. There is also no/little sulfur used at this stage, the aim being to harvest as many local yeast populations as possible – Henry describes these as the “relay runners”, one following another until the sugars are exhausted.

During fermentation there is twice daily pigeage – normally lasting around ten days. Total cuvaisons are around three weeks before gravity feeding into the barrels in the cellar below for the malolactic fermentation – most of the cuvées see 100% new oak. The total elevage lasts approximately 18 months. The wines are neither filtered, nor fined, and the avoidance of pumping gives the wines a relatively high level of natural carbon dioxide. Even the Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire has the same treatment – just a little less time is spent in the barrels.

The domaine’s vinification methods produce relatively light coloured wines, but to open a bottle of wine from this domaine is to be drawn into a fabulously aromatic world – of course you have to be a fan of the dimension that the whole cluster fermentation brings, but if you are…

prieure roch labels

2004 Prieure Roch, Nuits St.Georges #1try to find this wine...
Made from the last of 3 passes in the vineyard. There was a severe trie in 2004 – only half of the normal crop. Medium cherry/ruby red. The nose is a lovely, deep and soft mix of (100%) stems – quite wild and ripe, smoky and red. The palate is wide with both dimension and extension into a long finish. Not a wine of precision, but certainly one of complexity…
2004 Prieure Roch, Nuits St.Georges 1ertry to find this wine...
Made from the 2nd of 3 passes through the vines. A little paler and more ruby-red in colour. Wide and smoky nose – this time distinguished by a mineral element and more precision to the fruit – this is really lovely. High-toned, mouth-filling fruit, good acidity and tannins with a little astringency. Just a little modesty on the finish – not short, but I was expecting more given those singing aromatics.
2001 Prieure Roch, Nuits St.Georges 1er Le Clos des Corvéestry to find this wine...
A very different nose; high-toned fruit that only slowly releases the stems. The palate is wide and subtly concentrated – longer than both the 2004’s, perhaps with a little coconut – ripe tannin is present but not overdone.
2001 Prieure Roch, Vosne-Romanée Clos Goillottetry to find this wine...
Quite pale colour. The nose is a very different perspective after the Nuits; the aromaticity of the stems still shows itself but the fruit character is deeper, darker and spicier – very classic Vosne – apart from a slight mushroom. This wine shows a really excellent width with grainy tannin attaching flavour to your mouth, but melting to leave a smooth feeling on your teeth. A wine of many facets. Perhaps a trace of coconut on the medium finish.

With food we also drank the 2002 Les Clos des Corvées and Clos Goillotte, and the Vosne-Romanée Hautes-Maizières, we finished with the 2003 Clos de Bèze. I won’t aggrandise my recollections with individual tasting notes, rather just leave you with my impressions: The 2002’s were darker in colour and aromatically more fruit-driven – only slowly did the stem elements emerge. None wore a refined suit of tannin but all were deep and interesting – particularly the Mazières which seemed the more concentrated, explosive and wide – it was also the longest finishing before we moved to the Bèze. The Bèze was tight, linear and much more mineral and fresh than most wines from this vintage, easily the most concentrated and long finishing; the tannins were a little more abundant but also better balanced as they were quite fine – a fantastic wine in the making.

Summarising

For a number of reasons amongst which I include the domaine’s approach to vineyard management, yields, stems, prices and even family connections etc., I had a number of benchmark styles in mind before visiting, these were Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy and Domaine Dugat-Py. I also had in the back of my mind a number of comments I had read that the oak was often overpowering.

What I took away with me had little correlation to my benchmarks. The older wines are not strongly coloured but show very good palate intensity. Whilst my benchmarks aromatically show their stems to varying extents, none are so pronounced as these wines – they are similar in that respect to their near neighbour Domaine de l’Arlot. I had zero issues with ‘excessive’ oak character. The wines perfectly snapshot the vintages; lighter colour in 2001 and 2004, deeper colour in 2002 and 2003, in all vintages tasted, the aromatics are wonderful. I don’t want the same style with every bottle I drink, but every third or fourth bottle in this style would be a nice balance.

I tasted no bourgognes, but I hear very positive things about these wines, and their pricing is very fair. With the exception of the Clos de Goillotte, the village Vosnes are also well-priced – the Haute-Maizières is probably the star – Henry fell in love with the Clos de Goillotte vineyard the first time he saw it, and from his pricing it is an expensive mistress! It has super aromatics and a wild, very good premier cru complexity (I like his description of ‘baroque’) but perhaps not a premier cru length. The domaine’s Clos des Corvées, like the Clos de Goillotte, is a very expensive bottle, but their current approach yields well under 20 hl/ha for this label.

The grand crus are also expensive, though much less-so than equivalents from Leroy or Dugat-Py. I was very impressed by the mineral intensity of the 2003 Clos de Bèze – certainly one of the best Bèze I have tasted from that vintage.

Domaine Prieure Roch
Villa Denbee
6 Route Nationale 74
21700 Prémeaux Prissey
+33 3 80 62 00 00 tel
+33 3 80 62 00 01 fax

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

There are 23 responses to “Profile: Domaine Prieure Roch (Premeaux)”

  1. pablo19th November 2006 at 9:44 pmPermalinkReply

    Hi Bill
    is it possible that you also could bring in the prices(same as $, without TVA if possible) which we would pay when we go directly to the vigneron.
    Many thanks for your answer. Pablo

  2. bill nanson19th November 2006 at 10:12 pmPermalinkReply

    Hi Pablo,

    Sorry but I didn’t take note of the prices – a simple fax to the domaine on the number above will probably get a quick answer.

    From memory I think ~€10 for the Bourgognes, closer to €200 for the Clos de Bèze. The two monopoles are also very expensive: ~€150, more-so than the Suchots for example…

    Best I can remember, sorry
    Cheers, Bill

  3. Jeff Samuelson21st November 2006 at 4:50 amPermalinkReply

    Great overview of a Domaine it is very hard to find info on- thanks. I had a very memorable bottle of ’99 Clos Goillotte at Taillevant and about a half case of ’01 and ’02 Goillot and Beze I brought back from Paris. Do you have any idea of the drinking window on these? Thanks, Jeff

  4. bill nanson21st November 2006 at 10:29 amPermalinkReply

    Hi Jeff,
    I personally would get pleasure from any right now, but to best effect I would say another 5-10 years for the Goillotte – longer for the 02 – and easily 10+ years for the Bèze if the 03 is anything to go by
    Cheers

  5. Phil27th November 2006 at 8:26 pmPermalinkReply

    Bill
    Hi Bill

    Just an observation but this issue always niggles me

    You write that Henry Roch is interested to make his wines reflect their terroir
    yet he still makes a Vosne labled Les Clous which comes from three different
    vineyards? Why does he just not call it Vosne Romanee – village class without a lieu dit in particular when that name has nothing to do with its origins?

    Having said that it is refreshing to note the care that goes into the Clos des Corvees under its 1 er label I have a 1999 which cost 84 euro in a Nuits
    shop so I guess it had better be good

    And when it is done under a 1er name !!!!!!!! such as Ponsot Morey Clos des Alouettes this realy is commercial expediency at its worst in Burgundy

    I would be interested in your thoughts

    regards
    Phil

  6. bill nanson28th November 2006 at 11:00 amPermalinkReply

    Hi Phil,

    Personally I have no problem with ‘Clous’ or ‘Alouettes’ and that’s simply from the perspective that many villages wines are anyway a blend of different vines (lieu-dits) from within the appellation. The same goes for 1ers, though I appreciate it might have people struggling to find Alouettes on their maps! I would go as far as to say that virtually all négociant bottlings are blends of lieu-dits. If they want to add a name (brand), let them…

    Re your 99, note that only since 2001 has there been 3 passes through the vines, though you should assume they were anyway trying to make a good wine with the old regime!
    Cheers

  7. jerry brown11th December 2006 at 12:07 amPermalinkReply

    Have just bought a case of the 1988 hutes maizaires, paid a fortune, at auction, what should it have gone for!

  8. bill nanson11th December 2006 at 3:35 amPermalinkReply

    Hi Jerry,
    Let’s be honest you are paying for (hopefully) well stored older wine – not easy to come by. The domaine will have had very little input into the vineyard management but will have been responsible for the harvest and elevage. Maizières can offer some very good wines but even for ‘novelty’ of this being their first vintage, I don’t think I’d be interested above 30 Euros per bottle…

  9. Ron1st January 2007 at 6:41 amPermalinkReply

    Hi Bill,
    Thanks for all your info and tasting notes. Really appreciate your time and effort in sharing.
    I have bottles of the 1995 and 1999 Vosne Suchots; was wondering if you could recommend a drinking window for when these will be mature.
    Thanks in advance.

  10. bill nanson1st January 2007 at 4:59 pmPermalinkReply

    Hi Ron,
    Patience is a virtue I suspect. I’d personally look for 15 years on both these wines – as a starting point.
    Cheers

  11. “Les Clous is a name with a very old history in Vosne . . . ”

    Indeed, it was once (500 years or so ago) the name of the Romanée-Conti vineyard, but M. Roch probably keeps that as an inside joke in order not to cause conflict of interest problems.

  12. bill nanson21st September 2007 at 10:42 pmPermalinkReply

    Claude – you honour us with your presence, then you let the cat out of the bag – tsk!
    Bonne weekend, Bill

  13. jeff24th October 2007 at 1:15 amPermalinkReply

    Bill,
    Would you buy these in 05 if they were available. Do they make a good investment. There is so little information concerning these wines. Your thoughts…

    Jeff

  14. bill nanson24th October 2007 at 5:17 amPermalinkReply

    Hi Jeff,
    I think the monopoles are more than I would look to pay – more even than the grand crus – if cash were available though the others would tempt me, particularly the Haute-Maizières and the Clos de Bèze were excellent.
    Cheers, Bill

  15. Frederick Mommerency (Belgium)14th December 2007 at 5:31 pmPermalinkReply

    Hello,
    I have quite some bottles from 1999 but 1/3 has some mistake. It’s like re-fermentation ? Is there anyone else with this problem ?

  16. Saluki (Singapore)29th March 2008 at 6:21 amPermalinkReply

    Hi, I only come across your website recently. Interesting and very informative information you have given here. Thanks.

    Anyway I have a bottle of Le Clos Goillote 2002, when is the best year to drink it? Also what is the price you will pay for this bottle if you were to buy it? I bought it at SGD548 (approximately USD390), is it too expensive?

    Thank you

  17. Frederick Mommerency (Belgium)31st March 2008 at 11:55 pmPermalinkReply

    Dear Saluki,
    Yes : it is quiet expensive !! Normal price is 120 €. But be lucky that you have a bottle because it’s a rare one (because it is a monopole)
    2002 is a fantastic year ! Power ! And you can leave the bottle in your winecellar at least till 2012-2015.
    Regards from Belgium. f.mommerency@iq4.be

  18. Rowena1st April 2008 at 2:03 amPermalinkReply

    Great article. I tried the Prieure Roche Nuit 1 on Saturday at St Julien restaurant in Singapore – a delight – and I was wondering how to contact the producers in order to track down their distributor here. Do you have an email address?

  19. Siang Wee24th April 2008 at 3:54 amPermalinkReply

    Denise wines distribute PR in Singapore and Malaysia. Just had a PR wine dinner in Kuala Lumpur on 8 April with David Lim and his team.

  20. Gordon Pike24th July 2009 at 8:14 pmPermalinkReply

    Dear Sirs,

    I have a bottle of Vosne Romanee Les Clous 1990.
    The fill is mid neck and the label is mint.
    Would you please tell me the value in US dollars?

    Thank you,

    Gordon Pike
    pigslips@comcast.net

  21. billn25th July 2009 at 7:36 amPermalinkReply

    With perfect provenance a retailer may charge $80-120. A singleton with no guarantee – maybe $40…

  22. Oliver10th July 2013 at 12:10 amPermalinkReply

    2000 Clos de Beze, blew my mind. No oak issues… Great aromatic Pinot… Great pleasure…!

  23. Lim Siang Wee26th August 2013 at 6:12 amPermalinkReply

    I have drank a few bottles of 2001 Les Sutchots over the last 12-24 months. The nose bouquet continues to be exotic, enthralling, and so vastly different in style and aroma that one wonders how did it come about? Grapes and terroir? there are other Les Sutchots too but not similar. Method? is it that different from others? Including whole stems? is that the way to introduce more complex aroma and taste??? I wonder if anyone can provide some insight. By the way, I also found that once opened, the 2001 Les Sutchots is best finished in a couple of hours. Is that the experience of others?

    • billn27th August 2013 at 2:33 pmPermalinkReply

      Dear Lim,
      I would guess that the wine of Confuron-Cotetidot might offer you some similarities… (here)
      Cheers!

      • Things happen for a reason15th July 2014 at 9:20 amPermalinkReply

        Thanks, will certainly try. Apologies for discovering your reply only so much later. Just had my last bottle of Les Sutchots 2001 on Sunday. The bouquet has less of the vegetal notes and more floral and cherry notes standing out, almost like a Les Amoureuses from ?my little experience. What others with similar characteristics would you recommend?

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