Tasted in Gevrey with Pierre-Jean Roty, 29 November 2016.
Domaine Joseph Roty
24 Rue Mal de Lattre de Tassigny
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: +33 3 80 34 13 59
The Rotys of Gevrey work in their own way, which means they like to show wines when they are ready for the market – so no 2015s here, but you can’t really complain when tasting these 2014s!
Pierre-Jean on 2016:
“2016 was quite something; heat, cold, frost. We lost 40% of our volume versus a normal year. Just 2 Marsannays made it. We saw roughly 1.5 clusters per vine vs 4 normally. Our Marsannay Champs St.Etienne was made, all the other Marsannay grapes went into a Marsannay villages – but it will be a very good one! Still, we made a Marsannay rosé because the clients for this are very loyal. We have no cuvée of white Marsannay, because from 4 ouvrées, we collected just 10 cases of grapes. For all that, we had good maturities and degrees for those that made it. We started our harvest on the 27 September 2016.”
Pierre-Jean on 2014:
“2014 is a good vintage, really a pure and classic pinot vintage. We had good flowering in good weather. Our harvest started 17 September. Maturities were fine, despite generous quantities of grapes. I like the purity of this vintage – it’s fresh and refined.”
The wines…
What a selection of wines! There is much more elegance here than I usually associate with the Roty label – but maybe that’s because I’m tasting in the middle of a 2015 campaign. The length is not the same in these 2014s vs 2015s – but those are vintages…
2014 Bourgogne Blanc
Gevrey and marsannay grapes. Plenty of pinot blanc in this, depending on the vintage, but here is 80%
Modest but faintly saline nose. Bright, fresh, fine intensity nose. A bright wave of intense finishing flavour.
2014 Marsannay Blanc
From 3 parcels. All chardonnay, from various lieu dits including Champs St.Etienne
A little extra mineral depth. Wider, more mouth-watering, a modest extra sweetness and still the wave of intense flavour. Better packaged than the Bourgogne and really rather nice finishing – yum!
Elevage in wood, 2-3 year-old barrels, no maceration, a wine of the press.
A little red fruit and flowers. Hmm, this is fresh and growing in intensity, lovely, lovely wine. Bravo. Finishing really well too.
Les Rouges…
2014 Côteaux Bourguignone
As I’m sure you’re all aware, 2012 was the first vintage where this label came into being; a replacement for the old Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire label. In this case the wine is 100% pinot noir form ‘very good’ parcels below Morey and Gevrey, all with oak-elevage (2-3 year-old barrels). Selection massalle from the family, planted by Joseph Roty about 35 years ago.
A nice mineral and faintly floral nose. Supple, nice bright width with a comforting texture. A fine finishing line of flavour, faintly floral. Very nice wine indeed. From the label perspective, it’s really super.
Which reminds me, I must get hold of the case of 2010 I bought!
A parcel that was classed as Gevrey in the 1960-80s – you might find old bottles from this time labelled Roty Gevrey Pressonniers. A little more than 1.5 hectares.
Just a hint more colour. Silkier and deeper aromatic. More depth and a little more texture. Wide, mouth-watering flavour. Very fine red fruit. Lovely wine, really lovely. Need to pinch myself – it’s ‘only’ Bourgogne…
The domaine now have 8.5 hectares in Marsannay:
2014 Marsannay
From multiple parcels.
A little extra width of aroma, freshness with a tighter red fruit below. Bright, and of fine direct line, a flavour that really opens out from the mid-palate, but is very freshly delivered. Tasty, but not for the acid shy…
One of the lieu-dits with oldest history, nun replanting in the 1600s – just like Chambertin.
Just a little darker but still medium, medium-plus colour. More supple, a little more depth of texture, and weight of flavour. Fresh but very lovely. Super wine and with an excellent finish too, very faintly supported by some tannin. Excellent!
It’s 30-40% new oak here, it depends on the vintage, some villages will get 50% ‘if the grapes look great.’
2014 Marsannay Ouzeloy
This was the first climat cultivated in Marsannay by the Rotys.
Again a little more colour, deeper nose, fine transparent dark fruit. Silky, growing modest tannin, dark fresh fruit. Fine intense flavour, long, more mineral wine.
2014 Côte de Nuits Villages
Was labeled Philippe Roty before. From Que de Hareng in Brochon, near Les Evocelles.
Less deep colour. The nose is fresher, if a little more diffuse. Supple, very nice over the palate, fine red flavour and long too. This is a very elegant and tasty wine. Very yum indeed.
2014 Gevrey-Chambertin
An assembly of Platieres, Les Crais and Bas de Champerry.
Relatively pale. A fine, silky red nose, tighter below. More weight of flavour, very modestly more depth of texture, pretty red fruit with lovely fresh finishing flavour, here with a small tannin. Lovely open finishing flavour. Again quite elegant with a suggestion of cocoa in the finishing flavour.
About 0.5 hectares, all next to Charmes-Chambertin.
A deeper, darker fruited nose. Supple, red fruited flavour, lovely intensity. Wide flavour perspective. Lovely red fruit again as the wine fades into the finish. Simply a very, very lovely wine.
Such restraint yet elegance in these 2014s so far – not what I expect with the name Roty in mind!
2014 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Brunelle
A deeper nose, more coffee-oak inflected. Fresh, a little herb, more tannin but also more intensity. It narrows quickly into a good long line of finishing flavour. Modestly encrusted with slightly dry tannin. I prefer the last wine today for its overall shape…
Hmm, this has lovely depth of aroma – dark fruit, faintly spiced – very inviting indeed. Full, round, intense complex – plenty of finishing intensity. This is a lovely wine… clearly a step up, very much so aromatically…
2014 Mazy-Chambertin
Medium, medium-plus colour. There’s great depth to this nose, if a little more oak inflected than the last. Much bigger in the mouth, joyous energy and finely complex. A bigger wine of-course but beautifully proportioned. Long finishing, with some oak prominence today, but this is young Roty, its supposed to be like that and it’s not bad for 100% new oak! Super wine!
Deep, relaxed muscle, beautiful aromatic depth – simply sumptuous gorgeousness. Fresh, great volume, not much fat, but fine texture, some tannin. Wide, wide and long, long. The last anecdote from this wine is a little tannin on the tip of the tongue. Simply class!!