Winemaker Notes
TheMarsannay Rouge ‘Boivin’from Domaine Joseph Roty isa single vineyard bottling from theupper slope in the village of Marsannay-la-Côte. The vineyard site ‘Boivin’was previously part of theforest that can be seen from the vineyard. The name ‘Boivin’refers to the evolution of the site from forest ‘Bois’meaning wood)to vineyard (‘Vin’meaning wine). Wine produced from Boivin is typically firmer withdarker redand black fruit than most other Marsannay that are produced from vines downslope or on the plateau.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Including many of the frosted lieux-dits that Roty normally bottle separately, the 2016 Marsannay unfurls in the glass with a deep bouquet of cassis, dark chocolate, grilled game and espresso roast. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and nicely concentrated, with excellent depth at the core and a long, penetrating finish. It's a decidedly superior Marsannay from Roty.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Perched up in the northernmost position in the Côte de Nuits, Marsannay is the only appellation village of Burgundy to produce classified wines of all three colors: red, white— and rosé. The official Rosé de Marsannay earned its high reputation in the early 1900s.
Its reds, made of Pinot Noir, burst with red and black fruit and are consistently long on the palate. Chardonnays from Marsannay are charming, floral and full of citrus fruit and mineral. Top Marsannay vineyards include Clos du Roy and Les Longeroies.