Domaine Joseph Roty

Vintage: 2001

Producer: Domaine Joseph Roty

Region: Gevrey Chambertin

On My Palate:

Vicks vapor rub screams off the nose. “Miso,” a tasting partner aptly throws out. An iron minerality closes the back door of the wine.

The nose never backs down to let the fruit and other complexities express themselves.

The Dregs:

Dumb stage? Maybe we should have decanted it or waited another five years to

check development. The Vicks note points to something gone wrong in the winery or bottle, not to a defining characteristic of place.

I expect more from Joseph Roty, by all accounts the quintessential old guard winemaker who still inspires mystery in wine and reiterates the winemaker as both peasant and nobleman.

Could a UC Davis lab intern help him pinpoint the malignant bacteria or sulfite causing the “problem?”

Where: In the empty lounge at Addison del Mar. The Sabonet silver clinks against the Bernardaud porcelin and echoes under the vaulted ceiling.