Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2021

Domaine Marc Roy's Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes is the wine that most completely captures Alexandrine Roy's vision for her village — a benchmark for what old-vine Gevrey can achieve at the village level, and the cuvée that has built the domaine's international reputation bottle by bottle over two decades. Alexandrine farms her vineyards as if they were a personal garden, consistently ploughing the soils of old-vine parcels — many more than 100 years old — to allow roots to dig deep into the shallow limestone, with minimal intervention and extraction allowing the vines to express themselves with immense depth of flavour and clarity. The Vieilles Vignes is drawn from the domaine's oldest parcels of Pinot Noir, averaging 80 years of age, grown on the worked soils of Gevrey's limestone-rich terroir, harvested by hand, 100% destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged in French oak with 30% new barrels for 16 to 18 months before bottling unfined and unfiltered. 

A fine and open nose, almost elegant, with darker red berry notes — wide on the palate, faintly accented with the finest of tannin at the base, widening and filling out through the middle and finish, a wine that just keeps opening wider and wider. A combination of red and black fruits alongside something earthy — silky of texture with perfect balance, flavours that linger with real persistence. A complex and subtle nose of red fruits, sous-bois, light smoke and minerality; the palate straight and fresh, finishing on a mineral note that confers something very airy — beautiful length. This is a village Burgundy that makes a compelling argument entirely on its own terms — no premier cru suffix required.