Domaine Guy Roulot is headed by Jean-Marc Roulot, scion of the namesake founder, who took the reins of the Domaine in 1989 from a succession of caretaker winemakers who had overseen production since the death of his father in 1982. The Domaine is known primarily for its plot-specific whites from Village and Premier Cru sites in Meursault but it also produces red wines with grapes sourced from Auxey-Duresses and Monthélie as well as a Bourgogne red sourced from Volnay and Puligny-Montrachet parcels. In this post I examine the estate and revisit some of our experiences tasting the wines.To taste a Domaine Roulot wine is to taste a sense of deep rootedness, fine and crystalline, and yet somehow open. Although subtly powerful, the wine never imposes itself before the taster has time to form his own reactions... For me, the subtlety and finesse of Jean-Marc's very feline wines fulfill the criteria for a legitimate work of art: conventions coexisting with freedom of access and interpretation (Jonathan Nossiter (Liquid Memory) describing the wines of Domaine Guy Roulot).
The Estate
The estate's Meursault holdings are shown in the chart below.
 |
| Source: compiled from kermitlynch.com |
Jean-Marc's commitment to these terroirs, and their wines, is illustrated by his comments to Nossiter: "... I am as attached to my village vineyard designation as the premier cru. The day I can't bottle my Tillets, Meix Chavaux, and Tessons separately is the day I'll leave any system of official designation ... We need to continue to work to understand the individual identities of each parcel of vines, whether it is at the village, premier cru, or grand cru level." In a conversation with Benjamin Lewin MW, Jean-Marc ranked the differences between lieux-dits as: (i) exposition, (ii) elevation, then (iii) the clay-limestone proportions with a resultant 1-week differential in harvest-initiation between Luchets and Narvaux.
One of the early decisions that Jean-Marc made upon taking the reins at Domaine Roulot was to pursue organic farming. In explaining his decision to Nossiter, Jean-Marc spoke admiringly of biodynamicism but going organic was a huge step for the winery. It was a step, however, which allowed the individual identity of each plot to be "more strongly expressed." Even though practicing organic principles since 1989, the estate was not formally certified until 2013.
The estate produces both white and red wines with the whites made from Chardonnay or Aligoté and the red from Pinot Noir. The winemaking processes are illustrated in the graphic below.
Tasting the Wines
In this section I will address (1) our tasting during a Raj-Parr-led visit to the domaine, (2) a lunch tasting in NYC, and (3) the bottles that Ron, Bev, Parlo, and I have tasted during our Wednesday lunches or visits to NYC restaurants.
Roulot Visit
It was clear that Raj and Jean-Marc were good friends and were happy to see each other because they immediately fell into an animated winemaking conversation which threaded its way through our entire visit. It was fascinating and a wonderful learning opportunity for us.
The wines to be tasted were placed on an upright barrel in the center of the room and Jean-Marc began to open them. The tasting would unfold in two parts: a tasting of the 2012 whites followed by a tasting, some of it blind, of some older vintages.
As he opened the first bottle, Jean-Marc looked around the cellar ruefully noting that, under normal circumstances, barrels would be stacked three rows high. The 2012 vintage had not been normal though with hail damage, mildew, odium, and heat combining for a 60% reduction in stock.
The wines to be tasted were placed on an upright barrel in the center of the room and Jean-Marc began to open them. The tasting would unfold in two parts: a tasting of the 2012 whites followed by a tasting, some of it blind, of some older vintages.
As he opened the first bottle, Jean-Marc looked around the cellar ruefully noting that, under normal circumstances, barrels would be stacked three rows high. The 2012 vintage had not been normal though with hail damage, mildew, odium, and heat combining for a 60% reduction in stock.
 |
| Jean-Marc Roulot opening bottles for our tasting |
 |
| Rajat Parr and Jean-Marc |
The tasting proceeded on two tracks: a tasting of the 2012 whites followed by a tasting, some of it blind, of some older Roulot vintages. The 2012 tasting segment tasered terroir onto our palates while the free-form segment cemented Raj Parr's reputation as an accomplished blind taster with superior knowledge of Burgundy wines.
The 2012 vintage had been abnormal with hail damage, mildew, odium, and heat combining for a 60% reduction in stock. We tasted through the full range of Meursault wines. Given that these wines were from the same vintage, and had been subjected to similar winemaking treatments, any differences should be attributable to terroir. And we did note such differences. There were consistent observations of fruitiness, minerality, and crisp acidity but texture, degree and shade of fruitiness, type of minerality, and florality varied depending on the source of the fruit. Our observations regarding these wines are captured in the table below.
Domaine Guy Roulot 2012 Meursault Wines
Classification | Climats/Lieux-Dits | Location | Characteristics |
Bourgogne Blanc | Meursault | Citrus, mineral, acidity | |
Meursault | Slope south of valley | White fruit, citrus, floral, mineral, freshness | |
Tillets | Highest on the slope and facing south | Floral, focused, step up in quality | |
Vireuils | North of Tillets at slightly lower elevation; east-facing | White fruit, richness, crisp acidity, will age well | |
Luchets | Further north and lower | Sweet white fruits, floral, citrus, chalky minerality, richness | |
Narvaux | Adjacent to Tillets | Only 1 barrel made. Slight oakiness | |
Meix Chavaux | North of Premier Crus but at same elevation | Lemon, stone, denser than wines preceding, mineral, sea shell | |
Tessons | do. | First bottle deemed improper by Jean-Marc. Second bottle fresher fruit, minerality, crisp acidity. Balanced with a long finish | |
Premier Cru | Bouchères | Northernmost | White fruits, mineral, citrus |
Porusot | South of Bouchères | Tight minerality, sea shell, citrus, crisp acidity | |
Charmes | On Puligny border; 70-year-old vines | 4 barrels made. Big, rich fruit structure | |
Perrieres | Big structure. Grand Cru quality. Pear. Weighty, mineral. Long finish |
The first wine tasted in this segment was the 2011 Bourgogne Blanc. Jean-Marc said that this vintage had experienced early flowering and harvesting and there had been no attacks of odium or mildew. This wine had great texture and balance. Ron voiced that it was the best Bourgogne on the planet. The next offering was the 2011 Tessons, a wine which revealed lemon, pear, and a distinct mineral note.
The next wine was offered blind. Tangerine, earthiness, and a chalky minerality. One of the things that we noted during this trip was that the winemakers all wanted to have Raj taste their wines blind. They constantly put him to the test and he consistently hit the mark or came pretty close. In this case he surmised 2010 Bouchères. It was 2009 Bouchères instead. Jean-Marc rapidly followed with another blind wine which Raj thought was a 2005 Tessons. It was. The third blind wine was ripe and open. 2003 Tillets said Raj. Right again. A tour de force of blind tasting in my opinion. The next wine offered had tangerine and honey on the nose and was very rich. I got lucky and tagged the vintage as 1989. It was a 1989 Bourgogne Blanc.
The final wine tasted was the 1992 Perrieres. Sweet tropical fruit to include pineapple. Ron described it as absolutely amazing. Jean-Marc called it "old Chardonnay." Raj said that this is one of his 10 best wines of all time.
La Paulée Lunch at Daniel
The main event of La Paulée's official Thursday afternoon schedule was a multi-course lunch, prepared by Daniel Boulud and his team, accompanied by selected wines from Domaines Guy Roulot and Georges Roumier, said wines to be presented by the respective vigneron. As the attendees streamed in, I was pleasantly surprised to see Aubert de Villaine enter and stride to a place at the Roulot-Roumier table which was centrally located within the room. Daniel Johnnes welcomed us all and then launched the event.
The first course was accompanied by 2010, 2009, and 2004 Roulot Les Luchets, the former two in magnum. The 2010 Les Luchets exhibited spice, orange-tangerine, power, minerality, orange rind, burnt orange and a slight pricking on the nose. On the palate, bright, powerful, intense. Long, intense finish. The 2009 Les Luchets had similar characteristics to the 2010 except it had a little more stemminess, was a little more aromatic, and showed riper fruit. It was also not as tightly wound as the 2004. The 2004 exhibited a lemon-lime aroma along with minerality, crushed stone, sea shells and a hint of sulfur. Slight salinity and great acidity. Balanced. Bright, long, coating finish.
The second course was accompanied by a Roulot Meursault Charmes 2004, Roulot Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 2000 (in Jeroboam) and Roulot Meursault Perrières 1999 (in magnum). The Meursault Charmes 2004 had tangerine and orange rind citrus characters accompanying notes of spice and herbs. Voluptuous, with bracing acidity and a long finish. The 2000 Meursault Tessons was elegant with apple-pear notes, spice, herbs, cardamom. The 1999 Meursault Perrières had citrus and citrus rind on the nose. Powereful, mineral, and coating on the palate.
 |
| de Villaine and Roulot |
Our Lunch Tastings
The 2012 Les Tillets showed lemon, lime, citrus with crushed rock and refreshing acidity. The 2007 was a beautiful wine. Reduction which blows off to reveal honeysuckle, white peach, apple, lemon, and a limestone minerality. Fresh, mineral, textured with a lengthy finish. The 2006 showed Apple, pear, citrus, and mineral notes. Clean and precise flavors with perfect acidity (Ron's notes).
2012 Les Luchets -- white fruit, citrus, minerality follow an initial reductive aroma. Reserved on palate. Lengthy mineral finish.
Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux 2012 -- Lemon, lime, and green apple on the nose. Slightly reserved. Mineral intensity with crisp acidity (Ron's note).
2011 Clos de Bouchères — match flint, citrus, apple, minerality on the nose. Lean but with good concentration and a long finish.
The Roulot Meursault 2010 was placed on the market as a negociant offering as the juice came along as part of the Bouchères purchase. Flint and minerality on the nose, lemon and crispness on the palate. Un-Roulotish. The 2011, exhibiting florality, minerality, and crispness, is a domaine offering with fruit sourced from Clos de La Baronne, Cotot, and Gruyaches. The 2013 showed matchflint, apple, citrus, stony minerality, and herbs on the nose. Vibrant, fresh, and complex on the palate. Crisp citrus finish. 2014 Roulot Meursault showed white peach on the nose. Very light of body and finish. Had a bottle of this wine earlier in the year and found it impressive. This one not so much. Almost an off bottle.
The Roulot Meursault Porosut 2012 shows green herbs, green apples, baking spices, ripe lime-lemon. Lime, lime skin, bright, faded lime, and acidity rising to a crescendo and then mushrooming into an austere minerality. Lime, lime pith, minerality, and salinity with time.
2012 Les Meix Chavaux -- Matchflint plus citrus and minerality on the nose. Elegant. Citrus and stony minerality on the palate. Creamy with a balanced finish. The 2004 is an elegant wine. Ripe apple, citrus, and minerality. Rich, lemon, almonds and a crisp, clean finish. The 2002 is rich, with ripe candied fruit, creme brulee, lemon and mineral notes. Concentrated with brulée flavors and minerality coming through. Clean finish.
************************************************************************************************************
Roulot was the first Meursault that led me away from thinking of Meursault's as rich, lovely wines and more as chiseled, Puligny-Miontrachet-like fare. Its characteristics to me are matchflint, and a citrus-and-minerality-driven precision which translates to the palate along with a bright acidity and a mineral-driven finish. I love this estate, this producer, and the wines. And I know that Ron feels that way cos he has a ton of this wine in his cellar.
