2014 Domaine Marc Roy, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes, Red Burgundy, France.
In October of 2015 Alexandrine Roy of Domaine Marc visited San Francisco and showed off her beautiful Gevrey’s, these preview barrel samples gave great insight into the vintage and showcased Roy’s gifts as a winemaker, in was a great pleasure to meet her and finally taste her wines, something I had wanted to do for a few years now. While tight and young all the Marc Roy 2014 Burgundy look outstanding with deep flavors, wonderful intensity, verve and length, these are all offerings you want to look for come this next Spring when they are scheduled to arrive, in particular I adored the basic cuvee, this Vieilles Vignes and the Gevrey-Chambertin “La Justice” though all of the Roy wines merit attention. The Vieilles Vignes Gevrey is the most forward and open of the four wines I sampled, it comes off ten small plots just south of Gevrey, these Lieu-dits average out at over 70 years old with some much older and historically have made some classic wines, this shows in Alexandrine’s latest effort, this is one wine I hope to meet up with again. The 2014 Gevrey-Chambertin Old Vines starts with a hint of reduction, which blows off easily and reveals dark red and black fruits, a brilliant ruby color in the glass with a nose that plays with you, showing rose petal, spices, mineral notes and pencil shavings along with forest berries and stones. The palate is medium weighted with a touch of baby fat and pleasing textures with black cherry, plum and currant fruits, black tea, crushed violets, minty herbs and wild ceps, while a frame of sweet oak cinnamon, vanilla and cedar add luxury without being intruding. Alexandrine sorts vigorously and everything is de-stemmed in 2014, but there is plenty of style and substance here with a good firm structure and juicy acidity making for an elegant Burgundy that also has some grip and power in reserve, and the finish is sublime and lingering velvet. This is a big sneak peek and a heads up, the Domaine Marc Roy 2014’s are a stunning set of red Burgundies, these should be treasures to covet over the next decade, also be sure to check out Alexandrine’s Oregon wines, the Phelps Creek Vineyards, especially the 2012 Pinot Noir Cuvee Alexandrine, thrilling and lovely stuff!
($78 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive