Joseph Roty Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Fontenys MAGNUM 2017

“The 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Fontenys is showing even better from bottle than it did from barrel, opening up in the glass with notes of cherries, cassis, smoked meats, sweet soil tones, orange rind and toasty new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, its charming core of succulent fruit is underpinned by a serious chassis of ripe, powdery tannin. This has turned out more serious and reserved than I anticipated, but given the track record of this parcel and its 80+-year-old vines, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.” 93 Points William Kelley The Wine Advocate Feb 2020

Once again, this was an extensive tasting with affable 11th-generation vigneron Pierre-Jean Roty—who took the helm at this discrete family-owned domaine following his brother's untimely passing in 2015—but this year, Roty and I decided to confine our attention to his bottled 2017s. These wines see a long élevage, and it's quite simply more interesting, more reliable and more useful to taste the finished product. Sure enough, the 2017s have turned out brilliantly, surpassing the high exceptions I formed last year and reminding Pierre-Jean of the domaine's 2012s and 2009s, in so far as such comparisons can be drawn. Roty reiterated that he pruned short in 2017 and debudded hard to limit yields, sometimes even performing a green harvest. Everything reviewed here comes warmly recommended.  William Kelley The Wine Advocate Feb 2020