WTN: 2002 Domaine Digioia-Royer Chambolle Musigny

Also posted on another forum.

Yum, yum, yum! Yum, yum!
A lovely example of this storied Burgundy district. This village wine is the equal of most premier cru red burgundies.
13% alcohol
Dark purple-red color with some pretty scarlet or crimson glints when held under direct light.
Quite aromatic with floral fragrance (primarily violets and maybe some lilac?) and rich, ripe black fruits.
Ripe dark fruits predominate mid-palate. Tartness only kicks in a little on the finish. Lengthy finish.
An enticing, sultry wine of finesse. I had it with porkchops with mushroom sauce and rice but it would be a good candidate for pairing with duck breast with blackberry or plum sauce.
It's listed at $34.99 while the 2003 Roumier Chambolle Musigny is listed at $59.99 pre-arrival. I paid slightly more for the Digioia-Royer C-M VV (old vines) but I actually prefer this to the old vines rendition which may see more French oak aging.

This is a good producer across the board.

Agreed on the quadruple yum.

Glad to see you posting here Alan.

Thanks. Glad to be with all the old friends here!

JC or Alan,

Can you tell me a little more about Digioia Royer? Are they negociants, or do they own the estates, or some mix of the two? Who is the importer?
Reasonably priced good quality Burgundy is always of interest.

Thank you,

I first heard about them about a year and half ago while perusing Berry, Bros & Rudd's site. My theory is that the British wine merchants always find out about the next big thing before us in the states. Anyways, here what they say:

"This 3-hectare estate based in Chambolle Musigny was founded by Michel Digioia's wife's grandmother in the 1930s. 1999 was Michel's first vintage and he followed this up with some excellent wines from the 2000 vintage.

He has a quality-orientated philosophy of the highest order and this led to making two green harvests in 2000 to ensure low yields and excellent fruit. Michel is a welcome addition to our increasing ranks of high quality Burgundy growers."

From: http://www.bbr.com/US/shopping/producer.lml?property_code_F=9870&

As luck would have it, I tasted the at a portfolio tasting in September (?) and really enjoyed them. The guys name who imports them and who's tasting it was eludes me but I'll remember here shortly. We bought a couple, and they are particularly nice at the low end end as JC suggests, Bourgognes and Villages are nice.

JC's description's pretty accurate of the whole line in my opinion. They are indeed floral. They remind me a bit in style of the Chambolles from Drouhin perhaps, elegant but with good stuffing and grip when young.

They remind me a bit in style of the Chambolles from Drouhin perhaps, elegant but with good stuffing and grip when young.

High praise indeed!

Thanks, Alan

I have tasted at and written about this estate several times. It is a tiny cellar on the eastern edge of Chambolle-Musigny. The style reminds me more of Dujac than of Drouhin, but either way is high praise in my book.

Credit Roy Richards of Richards-Walford, Ltd., through whom Berry Bros. buy the wine, for discovering this estate.

It is one of the rare sources of Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruenchers, along with Dujac and Fourrier, which can make for some very interesting and pleasant comparisons. It is also the only source I've ever seen for the premier cru Chambolle-Musigny Les Groseilles, situated just east of Gruenchers.

Hi Claude, nice to see you've made it over here as well.

Keep in mind that my tasting of this domaine has been limited to 2003's so I got a little more compactness than you or JC suggest. It's certainly reasonable to think that my stylistic comparison or impressions are less accurate due to limited tasting and the vintage.

My source for the Digioia-Royer wines was Carolina Wine Company. Chrish Peel, the owner, works closely with a British importer so what Alan says about BBR makes sense. I know Roumier has a good reputation but the $25 difference between village Chambolle-Musigny from Digioia vs. Roumier struck me as emphasizing the relative bargain of the former. Plus the Roumier was from 2003 which is an atypical vintage for many European wines. (Both prices were at CWC).