2011 Joseph Roty, Gevrey-Chambertin, “Champs-Chenys”

Champs-Chenys is one of those vineyards that was given a short shrift when the official INAO classification occurred in 1936. While the vineyard just at its hip (the lower section of Mazoyères-Chambertin*) is classified as Grand Cru, Champs-Chenys was only classified as a village-level wine. At first blush, the two vineyard sections look like a mirrored image of one another. Both vineyards hold the same position and exposition on the hillside. Both vineyards sit above the same Comblanchien limestone. But the difference between Mazoyères (bas) and Champs-Chenys is that Mazoyères sits in richer, sedimentary soils, that over centuries have washed down from a small combe, or ravine, cut into the hill above. This gives the wine from Mazoyères significantly more depth, power, and authority than a wine from Champs-Chenys can, with its limestone-rich marl that is covered with pebbles and galets and sprinkled with pyrite.

Immediately above Champs-Chenys is the Grand Cru “au Charmes” which is more commonly known as Charmes-Chambertin. Charmes has a marl topsoil like Champs-Chenys, but under that lies Premeaux limestone which is more friable than the Comblanchien below Champs-Chenys, so the vine’s roots are better able to penetrate deep into the stone below. Charmes is also warmer with the vineyard being tilted on the hillside toward the sun, and better protected from the wind, being tucked behind the hill. Charmes is well known for its delicate fragrance and rich, seductive fruit, and round smooth mouthfeel.

“This is a wine that is prized by cognoscenti of Burgundy’s finest, yet most under-appreciated vineyards.”

 

While all of this side by comparison to Mazoyères and Charmes point to Champs-Chenys being a lesser wine, it is actually very good news for those who realize what a solid vineyard Champs-Chenys actually is…  not to mention what a value it is (in terms of Burgundy) due to its simple village classification.  Additionally, Chez Roty’s parcel of vines is north of 50 years old, and the old plant material, coupled with Philippe Roty‘s considerable winemaking skill, leaves you with a wine that is routinely superb in quality. This is a wine that is prized by cognoscenti of Burgundy’s finest, yet most under-appreciated vineyards.  Roty’s lieu-dits of Champs-Chenys is without a doubt premier cru quality, and it can age effortlessly for decades.

2011 Joseph Roty, Gevrey-Chambertin “Champs-Chenys”

The 2011 is just now coming out of what I felt was a considerable shock after shipping. A full 5 months after arrival, (Roty releases a year later than most other producers,) this Champs-Chenys is displaying this parcel’s distinctive smoky and savage aromas. It is the only cuvee in Roty’s line-up possesses these decidedly meaty smoky traits, indicating it is not the winemaking style rather the plot dictates the wine’s profile.  Although it drank well from the first moment, it really developed beautiful nuance over the course of a day, unfurling notes of roses, blood-like iron aromas underbrush, loam, blackberry and black cherry fruit.

After about an hour, it began showing the exotic, smoky, wild game-tinged aromas I expect to see from Roty’s Champs-Chenys.  The wine is round and quite fresh, and though not as powerful as bigger vintages, this does not lack for concentration. It has good structure, round tannins, and relatively soft acidity, making this a pleasure to drink now. The overall effect is a black-fruited, mid-weight Gevrey that is ripe, but without heaviness, nor is there any sur-maturity. It has excellent fresh fruit character of black cherry fruit that keeps it lively and long. The tannins are fine-grained and the finish that resonates long, and with nice complexity, all of which is highlighted by a deftly handled use of barrique. This a beautiful wine that will keep developing with age, but drinks beautifully now. 90 points when first opened.  92+ points when given time to open up. Very Highly Recommended.  $70

 

*Mazoyères-au Charmes can legally be, and usually, is labeled as Charmes Chambertin. This is because Charmes is a much more recognized name, making it easier to sell. Roughly 10% the wine make from this vineyard is labeled as Mazoyères-Chambertin

Lust-worthy: 2007 Joseph Roty Gevery “Les Fontenys” 1er Cru

Many of the 2007 Burgundies are showing beautifully right now, although the bigger wines do benefit with a lot of air. While the 2007 Joseph Roty Gevrey Fontenys did show very well when it’s cork was popped at 10 am, it really blossomed and expanded over the course of the day, gaining depth and girth, and multiplied its kaleidoscopic aromas and flavors. This is the second bottle of 2007 Roty Fontenys I’ve had open in the past week, and it has been consistently beautiful on both occasions.

2007 Joseph Roty Gevery-Chambertin

“Les Fontenys” 1er Cru   $110-$129  

2007 vintage is currently available 

This 2007 Fontenys is superbly rich from the first whiff. Now open for 11 hours, its nose is exploding with warm loam, smoke, game, leather, blackberries and black cherries, dried flowers, orange peel, dried apples, cream, and cocoa powder and notes of coffee. A fantastic wine!

In the mouth, this is grand cru-worthy, showing round and very rich, with so much depth, where all the flavors in the nose play out vibrating with verve. and exceptional complexity. Looking at the details of the wine, it was easy to miss the expansive backdrop of deep blackberry-blackberry fruit, that is so well-integrated and totally dry that it’s easy to miss – it was a ‘missing the forest for the trees’ moment. This is softer, open vintage, and for Roty is one of silky smoothness; with absolutely no raw edges – a sexy, hedonistic, yet quite intellectual wine. There is so much going on here, with remarkable palate presence, weight, and incredible length, yet is not in the slightest sweet, never cloying or heavy.  Spectacular right now, and should drink well for another 5 years, and depending on how aged you like your wine, another 15 to 20 years.   

Score: When first opened this was impressive, though slightly tight.  A solid 92 points.  After being open for a full day (and driving it a hundred fifty plus miles across the length of Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley the Fontenys really improved and showed gloriously for the above tasting notes. I’d absolutely love to have a case of this in my cellar.  94 points.

The Domaine

Joseph Roty was one of the pioneers of the small, family domaine when he started bottling his own wine  in the 1960s. The family has been based in Gevrey-Chambertin since 1710, and brothers Pierre-Jean and Philippe  mark the 11th generation of their family to be growers there. Philippe Roty took over the winemaking duties from his late father Joseph, around 10 years ago when Joseph became physically unable to continue making wine. And although Philippe gets the lion’s share of credit, it truly a family effort, with all members fulfilling the essential duties of vineyard work and wine production. 

The plots owned by Roty are reputed to be among the oldest in Burgundy, averaging 65 years. Some of the grand cru vineyards have vines that were planted in the 1880s, before their plots were organized in rows, and all cultivation was done by hand. Some of the vines were eventually removed when the family started to plow the vineyards – presumably, because they could finally afford a horse and a plow.

These old vines provide Roty with very concentrated fruit, to which they add another layer of concentration: they tend to pick a bit later than their peers, usually about a week. The family is very conscious of not letting the grapes get over-ripe, and indeed they never are. Despite the solid core of fruit, and ripeness, the wines are never heavy, and are never ‘sweet’ with fruit.

The winemaking is absolutely traditional, and that is the final piece to the Roty puzzle. Their wines are not flashy or vivacious, but rather nuanced, at times muscular, complex and somewhat intellectual. It truly is a formidable package of attributes.

The ravine Combe de Lavaux defines most of the premier crus of Gevrey-Chambertin

The Fontenys Vineyard

Les Fontenys sit adjacent to the Grand Crus Ruchottes-Chambertin and Mazis-Chambertin. There are

three features of the vineyard that keep it from Grand Cru status.  All three of these factors has to do with the fact that it sits at the mouth of the Combe de Lavaux, a ravine/valley that defines that part of Gevery-Chambertin. First, sediment has washed off the mountain and down the Combe (ravine), which has given the premier crus  more (and more fertile) topsoil than the grand crus at the base of mountain. Second cooler air rushes down the combe slowing the grapes maturity. And third, as the mountain turns toward the Combe (where Fontenys is) the orientation to the sun is not as optimal during harvest as the orientation the grand crus receive.  This was a bigger deal before global warming, when Burgundy was often too cold to regularly ripen only the most perfectly oriented sites – which were the grand crus. Today, I believe the longer hang-time is an absolute benefit, helping, drying stems, ripening tannins, developing phynols, adding complexity, and aiding concentration of the juice by dehydration of the berries.

Related articles

• Romanee-Conti Vies With Cros Parantoux at Hong Kong Sale – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Missing affordable Burgundies? Give Bourgogne a try (triblive.com)

A Great Producer That Fails Comparison Tastings: Joseph Roty

Stand Alone Producer

At Atherton, one of our best producers is Domaine Joseph Roty. But Roty doesn’t produce the most striking or flashy wines, and they are often overlooked in a flight of its peers. This wasn’t a problem some

(Photo credit: Wikipedia

years ago, before scores from the big periodicals started to influence the insular world of Burgundy drinkers. (who have been remarkably resistant to what Parker and the Spectator had to say.) But today the influence is felt, especially by Allen Meadows @Burghound.com who is closely read by lovers of Burgundy.

“It’s a beauty contest, and Philippe Roty’s wines come unprepared to compete in that arena.”

But Roty, like some of the most complex wines in the world, can get lost in a flight. They get passed over. When I have poured Roty’s brilliant 2008 Gevrey Champs-Chenys or the excellent 2010 Marsannay next to wines like Frederic Esmonin’s 2011s or Gros Frere et Soeur’s 2010 and 2011s, Roty’s wines fade to the background for almost all but the most experienced tasters.  Esmonin’s wines which are fresher, brighter (and less expensive) and Gros Frere’s wines with their liqueur-driven, lushly-textured fruit, overshadow Roty’s thought-provoking, terroir driven style.

Reviewers who taste blind, or taste in large groups of wines from the same region, recognize these wines as being of quality, but they rarely score highly. It’s as beauty contest, and Philippe Roty’s wines come unprepared to compete in that arena. For the most part, they rarely score much above 90 points. This is hardly a ring endorsement these days for a wine that costs $60. But if you taste Roty’s wines in the context of a flight what Philippe produces, their brilliance becomes immediately clear.

So yesterday I took a flight of Roty’s wines on the road to test my theory that standing alone, Roty’s wines would shine. It was immediately obvious that these wines were showing really well on their own. From the first two wines, The 2009 Marsannay Blanc and 2009 Marsannay Rose, every buyer loved these wines.  While there were some concerns about serving a 4-year-old rose to customers that expect a fresh and fruity (and simple rose) would be disappointed, they all were blown away by the wine’s stunning minerality (not acidity that masquerades as minerality) and surprising complexity.

Each red was lauded as it was poured through the line-up, beginning with the 2010 Marsannay, and the 2010 Marsannay Quartier. The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin showed the continuation of the house style of concentrated, but never over-ripe black fruit, great purity, and never a suggestion of heaviness, and to that added Gevrey’s textbook savage, meaty, truffle-like scents. But it was the 2008 Gevrey Champs-Chenys, which I have repeatedly loved so much, and had never caught anyone’s eye in flights of Burgundy’s before, that really got the most comments yesterday. Here, among it’s previously poured siblings, it shined brightly, with all of its smoke, meat, and underbrush, with plenty of fruit, and none of the sweetness that marks the high scoring wines today. Beautiful!  The last wine was the stunning 2007 Roty Gevrey Fonteny Premiere Cru. This drank like a grand Cru. And being from the softer 2007 vintage, it was lush, and rich, with a full mid-palate was absolutely seamless. There was not a single hard edge to this wine. It was remarkable wine.

Related articles

• Day 117: FRANCE IV oh Oddbins where art thou (oliveredirected.wordpress.com)
• I’m not a hoarder . . . I’m a collector! (#MWWC3) (armchairsommelier.wordpress.com)
• Bordeaux Grape Crop Seen Two Weeks Late in Worst Year Since … – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)