Joseph Roty's Champs Chenys mini-vert

Back on the burg world again, and number poses no issues for the intrepid burgnuts in our group. Just the three of us and we went headlong into this mini vertical of Joseph Roty's Gevrey-Chambertin les Champs Chenys. This is a villages wine but my experience had shown that Roty's wines are typically consistently treated from top-to-bottom and each cuvee represents a unique interpretation of both the terroir as well as the admirable "Roty style" of winemaking. Four vintages of Champs Chenys were presented in semi blind format. There were 2003, 2002, 1997 and 1993. Add to that, two bottles of white preluded the tasting.

Tasting impressions?

Sanford Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Santa Rita -- Flinty, almost meaty nose. Wooded, spicy Sauvignon. Quite grassy but overcome by rich texture and ripeness. Textured and rather alcoholic but still maintained varietal character. Finished a bit warm (alcohol level read 14.5%) and possessed a texture of a new world Chardonnay. Not exactly my cup of tea but easy to appreciate and held its own throughout the night (and the next few days).

Chateau du Tourte 2004 Graves (Blanc) -- This was in complete contrast from the previous wine. Sauvignon dominated nose (but it's made of Sauvignon-Semillon as I understood it). Quite rich but not oily. Apparently it's a sur lie wine. Simple but flavoursome with crisp acidity and bright citrusy flavour. Quite steely yet fleshy in the mouth. Superb value. I can have this anytime. Superb table white.

Wine #1 -- Meatstock nose. Densely coloured. Sauvage aromas of black cherries. Almost roasted fruits but bright and well-pitched. Gevrey minerals. Quite intense yet simple at first. Finished with dusty broad tannins. Rather austere, but with a voluminous palate presence. Took a while for me to enjoy this wine. Started out rather hollow in the middle but with time the wine fleshed out and turned sweeter and denser in the midpalate. Impressive even on second day. Roty Champs Chenys 1993.

Wine #2 -- Candied raspberries. Dense but with bright yoghurt-like creaminess in the palate. Finished quite clean for a wine this ripe. Quite plush and textured. Expectedly this was the Champs Chenys 2003.

Wine #3 -- Lightish orange hue at the rim. Again, telltale meaty nose of Roty's. Fragrant cherry-skins, quite Gevrey like. Oily textured and with a pronounced sweetness supported by a healthy levels of acidity. A wine of pleasure. Held on very well until the last third hour when it became evident to have come from a less complete vintage. Nonetheless I have always admired Roty's 1997 (his Charmes-Chambertin TVV came to mind) and this, being a mere villages wine, was flat out delicious. Champs Chenys 1997.

Wine #4 -- Pure crushed red raspberry fruits. Ripe, candied yet minerally. Some telltale meat too but not quite as pronounced as the rest. For some reason the fruits of this wine eclipsed the earthiness that the other wines tend to show. The most complete and impressive wine of the tasting which combines purity of fruits and admirable structure that was non-domineering. Roty Champs Chenys 2002.