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Jean Royer Le Petit Roy
Although settled in Chateauneuf du Pape since the 18th century, the wines of the Royer family have only come to prominence in the last 20 years. Upon finishing his viticultural studies, Jean-Marie Royer took over the estate in 1985. After his father’s passing in 1966, the land had been let out to different vignerons of the appellation by family members and so, it was Jean-Marie's first task to rebuild the Domaine.
Convincing his family to let him reclaim the vineyards was only a first step as the wines produced from the land were been sold entirely to the negociants. Slowly building credibility and recognition, he now produces a range of six different Chateauneuf expressions and the dark horse of the family, “Le Petit Roy.” Designated simply as 'Vin de France', Le Petit Roy could almost fall into the category of 'U.V.O.' (Unidentified Vinous Object) if it wasn’t for the impeccable pedigree of the land it grows on, some of it just outside the Chateauneuf appellation near the dead arm of the Rhone and another block of Mourvedre near Courthezon.
Garagiste in Seattle recently described this as "...a wine with its own unique style – one that crosses the Southern Rhone with Royer’s signature dose of Vosne-Romanee in Grenache clothing. In vintages where Royer hits the bulls-eye (2010), they are reluctant to bottle any Petit Roy, intended for the European (and specifically) French market for near-term consumption. It is always the first wine to sell out at the winery cellar and insiders in France routinely place reservations for the Petit Roy as it is noted as one of the most transparent examples of each vintage."
Deep dark crimson red colour with crimson red hue. The nose displays youthful freshly crushed raspberry aromas followed by some cherry, plum and spice. The palate is a youthful essence of Grenache possessing excellent concentration with mouthfilling flavours of raspberry, plum, dark cherry, confectionary and spice. Very fine grained well integrated tannins. Good length with long raspberry, plum and spice aftertaste. Cellar 3-4 years (2015-2016). Alc 14.5%