By Adam Ketteringham
Approx. 3-minutes read
Hidden behind an unassuming gate in the heart of Gevrey-Chambertin is Domaine Joseph Roty. Now in its 11th generation, Roty somehow manages to both fly slightly under the radar and also have a sizeable cult following. Personally I’m a big fan of the wines and as such was excited to hear I would be tasting the 2022s on our November trip to Burgundy. Roty was one of the first domaines to begin releasing wines in bottle, so the tasting was Roty’s 2022s… rather than the 2023s we were tasting for the rest of the week.
We arrived to a warm welcome form Pierre-Jean Roty, great-grandson of Charles Roty, son of Joseph Roty, who was responsible for setting the domaine on its current path. The tasting set up is fairly informal, no fancy tasting room to be found here… although I am told the spittoons were new and replace the usual bucket! Roty is known for producing wines with elegance, richness and underlying, understated power and the 2022s are very much in that tradition. With 21 wines to taste it was a marathon not a sprint.
Pierre-Jean starts with a bit of background on the approach at Roty; as non-interventionist as practical, grapes are 100% destemmed, the proportion of new oak is dependent on the characteristics of the vintage. Oak is usually 5-10% for regional-level wines, 30-40% for villages, 50% for premiers crus and 90% for grands crus. There are plenty of old vines at Roty and in the case of the Charmes Grand Cru they are very old, planted in 1881.
There were a couple of highlights from the tasting for me. I always think a domaine’s ‘entry level’ wines give you a good picture of the overall quality. The Marsannay Rouge definitely does that. A blend of five plots that Pierre-Jean describes as a ‘bon voyage’.
We tried six different Gevrey-Chambertins during the tasting, Cuvée de la Brunelle stood out for me. Dark fruited with a notable step up in intensity. The tiny 0.17 ha plot is the ‘back garden’ at the domaine and is warm and humid, so the intensity of fruity is perhaps unsurprising.
Rosé is perhaps not what first springs to mind when you think of a domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin, but Roty’s Marsannay Rosé from 50+ year old vines is well worth seeking out. Great for food pairing and it also has the ability to age well.
It’s impossible to talk about the highlights without mentioning the hot-from-the-oven Comté gougères that Pierre-Jean’s mother arrives with mid tasting… the perfect interlude!
If you’re already a fan of Roty, the 2022s are a vintage not to miss and if you are new to the domaine they’re a good place to start. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Read our Burgundy 2024 vintage report here