2008 Domaine Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Fontenys"

I often find that the premier cru of Fontenys can often be a bit dense and black fruity out of the blocks, but in the 2008 vintage the really beautiful soil characteristics of the vintage have produced by quite a wide margin the most transparent and refined young vintage of Roty Fontenys that I have ever had the pleasure to taste. The fantastic nose jumps from the glass in a blaze of red and black cherries, raw cocoa, grilled meat, mustard seed, a great base of soil tones and a deft touch of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a rather atypically suave attack, ripe tannins and lovely focus and balance on the very long, tangy and soil-driven finish. Fontenys, like les Corbeaux (which lies below it on the slope) is often one of the cooler microclimates in Gevrey, and this often translates into a bit more reticent wine in its youth, but this is emphatically not the case with the supremely elegant and transparent 2008 Roty Fontenys. A very, very exciting vintage of this old vine cuvée. (Drink between 2018-2050)

The Roty 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Fontenys represents a jump in ripeness, textural allure, and complexity over the non-cru Gevreys that preceded it in this year’s line-up. Ripe dark berries, black pepper, cardamom, and nutmeg scent the nose and occupy a subtly creamy, palpably dense palate. Smoked meat, black tea, fruit pit, and caramelized, singed manifestations of fruit skin add complexity in a bright, chalk-dusted, focused finish. Follow it for at least a dozen years. (DS)