From: Marsannay, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Taste & Critical Acclaim: A well-integrated assortment of red fruits (morello cherry and strawberry), black fruits (blackberry, black currant, plum skin), and crushed violet evolve and blossom under a toasty, generous exterior. The mid-palate keeps to vibrant, mineral, red-fruited tones and finishes with length and persistence. This is a deliciously crowd-pleasing Marsannay Clos du Roy, and we highly recommend keeping a few bottles on hand for personal consumption and sharing in groups with mixed palates; this will make everyone happy.
BH 91 Burghound.com
A moderately toasty array consists of plum, violet, dark currant and earth aplenty. There is a highly attractive texture to the more obviously mineral-inflected middle weight flavors that are sleek, vibrant and saline while displays much better complexity on the nicely persistent finale. Lovely.
Barrel Sample: 89-91
JS 91 James Suckling
This has a very taut and brightly fruited palate with a fresh array of red flowers and little red fruit on the nose and a fine, chalky edge to the tannins. Try now.
Pairing: The Marsannay reds are natural partners for red meats: rib steak, or flank steak with shallots, prime rib with a shallot reduction, or even Steak au Poivre. Grilled Portobello mushrooms, beef bourguignon, roasted duck, lamb stew, coq au vin, and hearty stews or braises (check out the braised lamb dish below!) are other fantastic options for this rich, mineral, and attractive Marsannay Clos du Roy.
Braised Lamb With Red Wine and Prunes
By Mark Bittman
About Louis Jadot. There is a wealth of history behind the name Louis Jadot, a name etched into the winemaking annals since the family, then vignerons, acquired their celebrated Clos des Ursules in 1826. The house was officially founded in 1859 and has since blossomed under the astute management of Pierre-Henri Gagey and the indomitable head winemaker Jacques Lardière.
Domaine Louis Jadot boasts over 60 hectares of vineyard, many being premier and grand cru, and Jacques Lardière has one of the most respected winemakers working in Burgundy today. The domaine vineyards belong to various entities: Domaine Louis Jadot itself, Les Héritiers de Louis Jadot, Domaine André Gagey, and, on farming contracts, Domaine dela Commaraine and Domaine du Duc de Magenta.
Lardière's winemaking philosophy is compelling, underpinned by a desire for minimal intervention and unwavering faith in the natural course of winemaking. He nurtures the belief that every intervention is a closing of a door rather than an opening. He intends to guide the wine in its own time and pace, from the vat to the barrel.
Marsannay Clos du Roy, additional information, with many thanks to Becky Wasserman & Co. for the following information.
Etymology: Roy is the ancient French spelling of Roi, meaning king.
This Clos in Chenôve was originally called “Le Clos des Ducs”, as it was a possession of the Dukes of Burgundy. The vineyard was renamed Clos du Roy in 1477, after the defeat at Nancy of the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, and the subsequent annexation to the Kingdom of France of his lands.
Source: Syndicat d’Appellation Marsannay.
Site: Clos du Roy is located in Chenôve. It is the northernmost lieu-dit in the Marsannay appellation. The vineyard sits at 270-meters elevation. The slope is moderate. It faces slightly south of east.
Geology: The upper portion of Clos du Roy sits on a large deposit of the light, gravelly, and calcium-rich grèzes litée. This deposit sits on top of a bedrock of White Oolite limestone at the top of the slope, and red sandy marl towards the bottom. The lowest portion of the slope consists of ancient alluvium from the old Ouche riverbed.
Soil: The depth of soil is variable throughout the vineyard. The soil of Clos du Roy is poor, but very rich in iron and gravelly.
With many thanks to geologist Brenna Quigley for putting the physical and geologic aspects of these vineyards into words far more meaningful than we could have written on our own. https://www.brennaquigley.com
We are also greatly indebted to geologist Françoise Vannier of Adama Terroirs Viticoles who created the soil and bedrock maps for Fixin that Brenna based part her work on. www.adama-terroirs.fr
The 2017 Vintage Report: Fixin and Marsannay, by Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy.
“Marsannay is one part of Burgundy which really needed a good crop in 2017, having suffered particularly badly from the 2016 frost as well as being more prone than most appellations to hail. Progress also continues here on the 1er cru classification proposal. The precursor to this is that the boundaries of the AC are being clarified and it appears that quite a proportion of what is currently Bourgogne will be upgraded to Marsannay. I was pleased to find some very good wines at the Château de Marsannay, which was a source to be avoided not so long ago.”
“It is easy to understand what Marsannay is about as the wines tend to be relatively approachable. Fixin though struggles a little bit to find its place in the market, the default position being that it is a little brother to Gevrey-Chambertin with more rustic tannins. Fortunately, the appellation now has a new ‘locomotive’ in Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet – not just because Amélie Berthaut is making lovely wines but she is now making a wider range of single-vineyard cuvées which will help get the appellation on the map. She notes that recent studies have shown as many different types of geology in Fixin as in Gevrey.”
