New Maison Petit-Roy
4/5/21 -
Being introduced to a new Burgundy producer is always interesting. After all, the region is not getting any bigger. There is only so much land available and prices have become prohibitive. But Burgundy's allure is hard to resist and aspiring young winemakers seem to keep finding ways to work. In recent years there has been an explosion in the number of tiny negociants making small lots of wine, often from relatively humble appellations. Invariably, these upstarts have spent years learning from A-list domaines and often hail from abroad. Catherina Sadde of Domaine Les Horées is German, Christian Knott of Domaine Dandelion is Australian and Jae Chu of the short-lived (but much-loved) Maison des Joncs is Korean. Chris Santini of Santini Frères is an American. All of them are making incredibly delicious and exciting Burgundies. Today we are very excited to present Seiichi Saito and Maison Petit-Roy.
Seiichi arrived in Japan from Burgundy in 2006 to study viticulture in Beaune. Over the next ten years, he spent time working with a string of outstanding domaines, including Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, Domaine Lefalive, Armand Rousseau and a long stint at Simon Bize. Today he is making and bottling a range of regional and village-level appellations, farming some himself and purchasing others.
I had the opportunity to taste most of them recently and it's clear that Seiichi has a great deal of talent. The wines feel terrifically understated, juicy, bright, and energetic. The whites show high-toned white fruit and floral notes, while the reds are full of bright red berries and spice. Seiichi favors whole-cluster fermentation for the reds and there is no new oak in the cellar. When I tasted the wines I had to keep reminding myself that they were 2018s, as they showed no heat or heaviness at all.
As is often the case with wines like this, the quantities available are very small. This is definitely a "when they're gone, they're gone" situation and as they become better-known I only see them getting more difficult to get a hold of. You should not wait if you don't want to miss out on these delicious Burgundies.
-Sam Ehrlich
