Domaine Marc Roy (Alexandrine Roy), Gevrey-Chambertin
Background
Standing in the heart of the prestigious 600 hectares of vines of Gevrey-Chambertin, this estate has been handed down from father to to son for three generations, and the winemaking has now passed to Marc's only daughter Alexandrine. She has certainly made quite an impact at this small family estate, and brings with her a wealth of experience, having spent time in other Pinot hot spots, such as Oregon, and Central Otago, N.Z.
Although Alexandrine has no Grand Crus or 1er Crus in her portfolio, her village wines are of supreme quality, coming from very old vines (70 years old for the 'Vieilles Vignes'), and her
Gevrey 'Clos Prieur' is an excellent site, not far from the Grand Cru vineyards.
Size: 4 hectares
| Soil type: | clay-limestone for the Gevreys, and heavy clay/iron soils for the Marsannay. |
| Vine age: | 70 years old for Gevrey Vieilles Vignes; 50 years for Gevrey Clos Prieur. |
| Yields: | 35-40 hectolitres per hectare |
| Annual production:: | 20,000 bottles |
Viticultural and vinification methods
In the vineyard, they always remove any undesirable shoots, and carry out a green harvest, so as to keep yields very small and ensure the best fruit possible. Harvest is always by hand, and winemaking is a successful combination of traditional methods and modern tools. 'Pigeage' is still done by foot, but the winery is equipped with stainless steel tanks for the fermentation process. The wines then spend 12 months in oak barrels before being bottled, and then cellared for 6 months before release.
For her Cuvée Alexandrine she hand selects 'millerande' berries (grapes which have not developed to full size although they ripen perfectly normally). These provide high skin to juice ratio giving very intense, highly concentrated character to the wine.
Wines
White
Marsannay 'les Champs Perdrix'
Red
Gevrey-Chambertin 'Vieilles Vignes'
Gevrey-Chambertin 'Clos Prieur'
Gevrey-Chambertin 'Cuvée Alexandrine'
