I will REALLY regret drinking this Red Burgundy !!! (04 Joseph Roty Bourgogne)

WINE TALK
1

A fellow board member gave me this wine, the 2004 Joseph Roty “Bourgogne,” which I think he picked up for some insanely cheap price. Less than $10?? At any rate, I popped it open on Saturday afternoon. I will DEEPLY regret doing so because I have not had a single Red Burg in all of 2009. Not…one. I have had Pinot, but not Burgundy.

I had honestly forgotten what Burgundy was like. Seriously! I may have had close to 1,000 wines since my last Red Burg and I have become so accustomed to the smell of Cabernet and North Coast Pinot, the sensation of Red Burg was but a distant memory.

But once I smelled and had my first sip, it all came rushing back to me. It was like when you have a dream, and while you are dreaming you remember the dream. And when you wake up you say “Wow! That was some dream!” Then later in the day you are trying to remember the dream…and you have completely forgot it? And then maybe a month later you will see something or hear something or lay back on your bed in a certain way and “Bam! Oh yeahhhh! That’s what that dream was!”

It was like that.

Red fruits, a touch of earth. Medium-body. Nothing harsh or out of place. Just the opposite! It is hard to describe the fruit of this wine, or any Red Burg, because I try to use the same fruit descriptors (cherry, strawberry, etc) but they are NOT the same cherry and strawberry as in a Pinot. The fruit itself seems to occupy a different PLACE in the senses than Pinot. It is like it is within a hidden door that you can’t sense when you drink Pinot but when you drink a Red Burg, somehow you sense the fruit is there, in a different corner of the experience. I don’t know how else to describe it.

The wine itself was very yummy, but it was not great. It did not have the complexity of a serious Burg, nor quite the length. But it was big on charm and finesse, especially when I have been knee-deep in Cabernet this harvest.

What this bottle did was remind me of great Burgs I had tasted years ago. So this bottle did not just taste like THIS bottle, but it reminded me of the taste and aromas of excellent bottles of Red Burg I have not had in some time. It takes a special grape to make a wine you taste in the present remind you of wines tasted in the distant past OTHER than itself! It was Red Burgundy as a time machine.

So why will I regret this bottle? Because it was easy to “just say no to Burg.” And it was easy not to want to subscribe to Burghound. And it was easy to grab a Pinot off the shelf in any store here instead of having to search far and wide for a Red Burg. I had forgotten about how these tasted and my wallet (and sanity) was better off for it. But now I can’t make such rationalizations because I have a sense-memory for it again. And this time…I won’t forget.

2

Is Joe Roty a friend of yours or what? [wink.gif]

3

I think when someone has their burg epiphany from a lower level wine like this as oppossed to a grand cru, I think the burgundy sickness hits harder and more powerfuly.

I feel bad for you. Your life will never be the same.

BTW, burgs don’t have to be expensive. If you learn the producers you like and buy carefully you can average $30 a bottle.

4

Yeah Roy, stop pimping your buds. neener

Seriously, this Roty was $7.99 at PC on a couple rounds. Just couldn’t pull the trigger thinking it would be even a little money wasted. Notes like this make me cringe. Dang.

5

Totally. Or maybe Roy is falling under peer pressure… all the winemakers in Napa only drink burg ;p

6

Personally can’t imagine going 10+ months without a Burg. Great that you fell for an 04 Bourgogne after all the badmouthing of the vintage and the Bourgogne level (maybe some other BB?). I must’ve been misled that Red Burgs were Pinots…silly. newhere

RT

7

My case from PC at $7.99 each is due here Friday. [wink.gif]

8

I never saw that PC offering. WTF?

9

Well considering it came out about 2 years ago I can see how you missed it. [soap.gif]

10

Are you saying the wine was first released to the public 2 years ago or this particular PC sale was 2 years ago?

11

The particular PC sale was 2 years ago.

12

roger, thanks

13

I remember the thread over on WinoDepot – the group of us that would call every 6-8 weeks and see where our wine was. My account wasn’t updated, so I called to get my credit and buy some champagne… lo and behold, they were in stock! I’m glad I didn’t trade 'em in, as they are well worth the time & effort expended.

(Although I’ll be interested to see if anyone else notices medium level bottle variation here)

14

Roy, I totally hear you. I too have been trying to pretend that burgundy doesn’t exist, for the health of my wallet. And yet the lure calls, having to do with the unique nature of burgundy that’s distinct from pinot from anywhere else. My cellar has inexorably been tilting toward burgundies in the last year or so after some quiet time.

About your note, was it the Bourgogne Pressonier? I really liked the '05 of that bottling, but a bottle of the '04 was somewhat flavorless back to me in late '07, so I didn’t jump on the PC deal. Maybe I just had it at the wrong time, or did you have a different bottling?

15

Has anyone tried the 04 Ouseloy (sp?) Marsanny by Roty? I bought a bunch at $14 or so, but have not shipped them yet.

16

Ouzeloy…that’s a ridiculous price. Paid a good bit more for the 01s and 06s…both have nice finesse. Not tried any Roty 04s.

RT

17

FWIW, the PC offering may have first been 2 years ago, but that '04 Roty and an '04 Magnien were definitely reoffered in the past year. There were tons of '04 close outs, from Tardy at $20 and under (Vosne Chaumes, NSG Boudots…), Lignier Morey for $15, ridiculous bargains. Dangerous stuff for Burg geeks without an account at Ft. Knox.