Domaine Joseph & Philippe Roty Marsannay Cuvee de Clos de Jeu, Cote de Nuits, France

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The Roty 2006 Marsannay Clos De Jeu comes from old vines with exceptionally tiny bunches and berries in a site only 50 meters distant from the Boivin (and near the better-known Grasses-Tetes), but sitting practically right on the mother chalk. The 2005 was simply the finest wine I have ever tasted from its appellation, and this 2006 refuses to leave that honor unchallenged. It features ripe cherry and plum transparent to their pits and to iodine and chalk mineral notes, all indeed reminiscent of the Boivin, as is the density of fine-grained tannins and the energy on display here. But there is simply greater concentration of all elements; the addition of high-toned distilled fruit essences; wafting, gardenia-like perfume; an especially saline savor; and a finish that both invigorates and grips. Try not to miss out on this (there are only some hundred cases) – and plan to follow at least a couple of bottles for 6-8 years, because – who really knows? – what Philippe Roty jokingly calls his "Marsannay grand cru" might well remain fascinating for even longer. Apparently, this site's name comes from the medieval jousting ring of the Dukes of Burgundy. There's no question who's the unchallenged white knight in that ring today! Philippe Roty is among the many growers to assert that under-ripe fruit rather than rot was what really drove his 2006 selection process. "But, hail or no hail, I do a strict triage regardless; and besides" he notes with a laugh, "it hails every year in at least one part of Marsannay." He picked in a relative hurry the last week of September, because "as far as I'm concerned, above 13% potential alcohol you have surmaturite, and that's not good." Besides, like the Mugneret sisters and a considerable number of other top-notch growers, Roty favors routinely – if only slightly – chaptalizing his entire range to promote longer and, he believes, flavor- and texture-enhancing fermentation. (While I have mentioned in the text of my tasting notes those wines that are part of the personal domaine of Philippe Roty and bottled under his name, I have not reflected this in the naming of the wines, as the same label is used for those as for the Domaine Joseph Roty wines and they are all vinified and aged together by the same team.) Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173