Get 10% off the purchase price with every order of 12 bottles or more of still wine not already on sale. The savings add up!
Candela Prol, highly experienced certified wine educator and friend of the shop, is available for tastings and training for private and corporate events. For rates and other inquiries, please contact her at candelaprol@gmail.com .
*Offsite events are contracted to and coordinated by a 3rd party, and are in no way affiliated with Chambers Street Wines.
Clearly the wines of Domaine Joseph Roty are rather unique, often requiring long aging to show at their best, coming from one of the largest concentrations of old vines in Burgundy and possessing remarkable structure and complexity. We recently had the chance to taste a wide range of the Roty wines from 2014 - 2016, some of which might be considered ready to drink with aeration or decanting, others clearly demanding another five to ten years of aging. They are fascinating wines that we are happy to make available in limitied quantities.
A bit of history from Steven Tanzer's excellent Vinous article from 2019: "The Rotys are among the oldest winemaking families in Gevrey-Chambertin: the family estate has existed since 1710 and they have owned and farmed vines in the village since 1817. Today, the Rotys control about 15 hectares of vines, and current winemaker Pierre-Jean Roty represents the 11th generation of Rotys in Gevrey-Chambertin. But I should note that back in the autumn of 1996, Roty told me that he had actually traced his lineage back 14 generations to Philibert Roty, who made wine under the reign of (“the Good King”) Henry IV, who was assassinated in 1610.
The Roty family has dealt with tragedy in the early years of the 21st century. Joseph, who took over the domaine from his paternal grandfather Charles Roty in 1968 (Joseph’s father had died at the age of 35), was a long-time chain smoker, and after having been in declining health for several years he died in 2008. His oldest son Philippe, who had worked with his father since 1990 and had already assumed primary responsibility for winemaking by the time of his father’s death, officially took the reins but was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2012 and after a valiant battle passed away at the age of 46, just following the harvest of 2015. For several years, Philippe had made a number of wines under his own Philippe Roty label but after his death his vineyards were consolidated under the Domaine Joseph Roty umbrella.
Philippe’s younger brother Pierre-Jean, who had worked with both his brother and his father since 2001, took over responsibility for the vineyards and winemaking from Philippe. Philippe and now Pierre-Jean adopted their father’s practices with very few significant adjustments; in my tastings with them over the past nearly 20 years, both made it clear to me that they were not interested in making any substantial changes to their father’s methods.
The Roty wines are typically outperformers from top to bottom. The multiple bottlings from Marsannay can be excellent values as well. On many occasions, Joseph Roty noted that Marsannays commanded much higher relative prices in the 19th century than they do now, and his versions were serious, structured, ageworthy examples of the appellation, deeply colored like nearly all of his wines and strongly mineral in character. Today, the Marsannays at Roty are a bit more refined, but without loss of spine."
Reviews of the wines on offer today are available from Vinous or Burghound - we offer brief impressions of how the wines showed upon opening last week. The 2015s from Marsannay were quite delicious and fairly ready to drink with decanting or aeration; the two 2014s were a bit austere but really showing the terroir and needing aeration or further aging; the 2016s were dense and concentrated, outstanding wines needing more time in the cellar...
Prices are net, no further discount, wines will be available for pick-up or shipping on August 16th.
Roty, Joseph 2014 Côtes de Nuits-Villages
The Roty Côtes de Nuits-Villages is from "Queue de Hareng" a high parcel in Brochon below an ancient quarry, with crushed limestone soil. 20% new barrels. Bright pale red color, aromas of cherry, raspberry, plum with secondary earth and sous-bois. Very chalky palate with some density of raspberry/strawberry fruit, very mineral with some tannin/acidity in the finish. Needs some time open or a few more years. (8/23) "There is excellent richness and real volume to the seductively textured and dense middle weight flavors that possess outstanding depth and length in the context of the appellation." Burghound (2016)
Roty, Joseph 2016 Côtes de Nuits-Villages
The Roty Côtes de Nuits-Villages is from "Queue de Hareng" a high parcel in Brochon below an ancient quarry, with crushed limestone soil.205 new barrels. This shows a bit more ripeness than the very earthy 2014 - is it the vintage or the winemaking under Pierre-Jean? Fairly dark red color, ripe black cherry/black raspberry fruit, elegant and earthy. The palate is dense and ripe, still more terroir than fruit, at least upon opening, this should wake up with an hour or two open or hold another 5 years. "Moderate wood stops short of competing with the fresher but still clearly ripe aromas of raspberry, dark cherry and earth. The sleek, delicious and attractively textured flavors are not nearly as dense, powerful or rich though they are more precise on the nicely energetic finish." Burghound 2018
Roty, Joseph 2015 Marsannay "les Ouzeloys"
The Roty "Ouzeloy" is from a large parcel in the center of Marsannay, normally giving ripe, full-bodied wines. 80 year-old vines. The 2015 shows a light red color with floral, raspberry/cherry aromas, quite pretty and bright. The palate is round and ripe but not fat with lovely berry fruits, earthy (of course) and a bit tight with a nice mineral finish. Should be delicious with an hour or two of air... "A background application of wood sets off a ripe and well-layered nose that combines liqueur-like aromas of red and dark cherry, spice and soft earth hints. There is a slightly finer mouth feel to the delicious and nuanced flavors that brim with dry extract on the energetic, powerful and relatively robust finale. This is impressive and the old vines are very much in evidence." Burghound 2017
Roty, Joseph 2015 Marsannay "Champs Saint-Etienne"
The Roty Marsannay "Au Champ Saint-Etienne" is from a tiny mid-slope parcel in Couchey. We found the wine to be quite lovely with a bit darker red/purple color with floral black fruits and licorice on the nose. The palate shows ripe black cherry/black raspberry fruit, a bit tannic still but quite expressive with earth and ripe fruits in the finish. "A discreet but not invisible application of oak still easily allows the black cherry, raspberry and earth aromas to shine. There is a bit more size, weight and punch to the more obviously mineral-inflected flavors that terminate in a mildly austere and persistent finish. This moderately chewy and serious effort is really quite good and I like the balance though it won't win any awards for refinement." Burghound 2018
Roty, Joseph 2015 Marsannay "Cuvée de Boivin"
The Roty Marsannay "Boivin" is from a parcel at the top of the slope in the center of Marsannay. (The name refers not to drinking wine but to Bois Vains, the legally open woods that were there in Roman times.) (Due to the limited quantity available, we were not able to taste this wine.) "Enough wood toast is present to remark upon but not so much as to interfere with the clarity of the wonderfully fresh red berry, pomegranate and spice elements. There is once again good richness and volume to the generous medium-bodied flavors that also brim with dry extract that buffers the firm tannic backbone on the lingering and well-balanced finish. This excellent effort should reward up to a decade of cellar time." Burghound 2017
Roty, Joseph 2014 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur Bas
The Roty "Clos Prieur Bas" is from 75 year-old vines, one third in 1er Cru Clos Prieur, two-thirds in the lower village parcel. 60% new barrels. Bright dark red color, nose elegant with complex black and red fruits, palate tight with black cherry/black raspberry, very mineral, tannic, terrific length, needs five to ten years. (8/23) "...there is a gorgeous mouth feel to the equally sleek, intense, detailed and dense medium-bodied flavors that are shaped by very firm but ripe tannins on the hugely long finish that evidence just a touch of youthful austerity. This is not your typical Gevrey villages partially because of the excellent level of quality and partially because it is very clearly constructed to age and indeed one that will absolutely need it." Burghound 2017
Roty, Joseph 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur Bas
The Roty "Clos Prieur Bas" is from 75 year-old vines, one third in 1er Cru Clos Prieur, two-thirds in the lower village parcel. 60% new barrels. This shows very pretty, floral, fresh black cherry and berry aromas. The palate seems more open than the 2014, with elegant tannins under lovely earthy cherry fruit, really pretty and with terrific length. Hold five to ten years. "Here the wood toast is quite prominent and fights somewhat with the aromas of dark raspberry, cherry, earth and discreet spice wisps. Once again there is excellent volume and underlying tension to the mineral-inflected middle weight flavors that are unusually powerful while delivering excellent length that, like the straight Gevrey cuvée, is borderline chewy. This offers impressive intrinsic quality though note well that it's not only built-to-age but a wine that is going to need it." Burghound 2018
Roty, Joseph 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Fontenys"
The Roty 1er Cru "Fontenys" (fontaine) is named after a source that casued flooding in the 19th century, located adjacent (north) to Grand Cru Ruchottes - same terroir but a bit more northern exposure. The vines are roughly 85 years-old, 80% new barrels. The wine is ripe and generous with notes of mint and eucalyptus. While this wine needs more time, its personality of grandness with elegance is promising and something to look forward to! "Once again ample wood toast suffuses the liqueur-like aromas of black cherry, earth, violet and a whiff of the sauvage. There is outstanding intensity to the sleek and even more mineral-driven medium weight flavors that are shaped by relatively refined but very firm tannins on the youthfully austere, serious and again, built-to-age finale." Burghound 2018