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Wine of the Week: Jean Royer Le Petit Roy 2008
March 16th, 2011
The Royer family has been growing wine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape for over a hundred years.
The father of Jean-Marie Royer died when Jean-Marie was a child and for some years all their land was let out to other vignerons. As a young man, Jean Royer helped his grandmother in her small vineyards, and when she died, he inherited a small part of her fields. In 1985, having finished his viticulture schooling, Jean-Marie returned to the family vineyards, and over the years has bought more land from the family. Today he owns 6 ha with 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah/Mourvedre.
The Petit Roy grapes come from a parcel on the commune of Chateauneuf du Pape, which borders oxbow lakes of the Rhone beyond the AOC area (Syrah, Grenache). They also come from a parcel located between Chateauneuf du Pape and Orange within the Cotes du Rhône AOC.
The philosophy and vinification governing this vintage are identical to the Chateauneuf du Pape, right down to the bottling.