Speaking the Language of Gevrey

The following morning, it was time to take our leave of the Cotes de Beaune and head north. For a meeting with the wines of the great Phillipe Roty of Domaine Joseph Roty was to be our breakfast. Wouldn't you love to have Gevrey Chambertin as a mouthwash?

Pulling up to the gates, I could actually feel myself getting anxious, like when you're a kid about to ask a girl to dance for the first time. Lots of nerves firing, but in the best, most vital and life-affirming way. Phillipe greeted us with a wide smile and in an attempt to sound more French than American, I gave my best "Bon jour, Phillipe!" Of course, my obligatory next question is always, "Parlez-vous Anglais?" to which Phillipe gave a little smirk and replied no. Last year, Phillipe's brother, Pierre-Jean (pictured at the gates with yours truly), ran me through the wines with a good smattering of English and I had no problem piecing together every bit of info. Thankfully, the MW's French was far more acute than mine on this day as he did a great job of acting as a go-between.

I think I can speak for Chris here (mainly because we discussed it ad nauseum) in saying that we both are desperately in love with these wines. They are the absolute, undeniable truth to the question that is Gevrey Chambertin. As a set, it is the most successful collection of reds that I've tasted from the 2007 vintage and was absolutely my favorite stop on the trip. It rocked me when I put these wines into the context of vintage. The purity is astounding...

We shuffled into a garage filled with barrels and was lead through a sliding door to a tiny room filled cases of Roty on broken palates. Phillipe but a bucket on the floor and began opening 1/2 bottles of the following wines...

2007 Bourgogne Blanc

2007 Marsannay Blanc

2007 Marsannay Rose

2007 Bourgogne Rouge Cuvee de Pressonier

2007 Marsannay

2007 Phillipe Roty Marsannay Quartier

2007 Phillipe Roty Marsannay Champs St. Etienne

2007 Marsannay Ouzelois

2007 Phillipe Roty Cotes de Nuits Villages

2007 Gevrey Chambertin

2007 Gevrey Chambertin Champs Chenys

2007 Phillipe Roty Gevrey Chambertin Champs Chenys Vielles Vignes

2007 Gevrey Chambertin Les Fontenys 1er cru

At this point, I was nearly dizzy with the greatness that I was experiencing, but after slightly clearing my head, I noticed Phillipe was about to pour for us his magnificent Grand Cru's, Mazi-Chambertin and the crown jewel, Charmes Chambertin Tres Vielles Vignes. I asked Phillipe if it was possible to try the Gevrey Chambertin La Brunelle (its a favorite of our store manager, Tim) first before proceeding. Phillipe thought for a moment, gave a quick "Oui" and left the room. He soon returned and asked if we would also like to taste the Grand Cru Griottes Chambertin. Chris and I looked at each other, as if rehearsed, and said in concert, "NAH!" After the laughter subsided, we delved into...

2007 Gevrey Chambertin La Brunelle

2007 Gevrey Chambertin Clos Prieur

2007 Mazi-Chambertin Grand Cru

2007 Griottes-Chambertin Grand Cru

2007 Charmes Chambertin Tres Vielles Vignes Grand Cru

We are offering our selections (an extremely difficult task as the wines across the board were that superb) for these wines on Monday. Savvy 56 clients are advised to acquire these en masse. They are truly special, ageworthy and absolutely breathtaking wines of terroir, power, finesse, sex appeal and unadulterated beauty. What more could one ask for?

JCB the 4th