TN: 2016 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc (France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc)

I’ve enjoyed a couple of earlier vintages of this wine so was more than happy to pick up a bottle for 35€ in Lyon’s wonderful wine shop Malleval. Soon after the negative notes started appearing: ”not up to the usual standard”, ”grapes purchased from all over the region”, ”Roulot should be ashamed”… I felt like I had overpaid for what would not be any better than a generic bottle of négociant Mâcon.

Obviously it is not that. 35€ is quite much for a BB and you can definitely find better QPRs. However this is still a very solid bottle of white Burg that sports good fruit and showcases skillful use of oak and has a very high evaporating rate. I certainly had to exercise some self-control as too many glasses midweek is not great for my sleep. Not something to confuse with single vineyard Meursault but a very pleasant drink nevertheless.

• 2016 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc (11.2.2021)
  Expressive and bright on the nose with tangy lemony fruit, flint, smoky reduction and a hint of oak. Extremely pleasant and attractive! On the palate expansive and airy with a strong presence. More heady than I remember previous vintages being with some bite on what I feel is a slightly uneven finish. Has very good drive and energy. Not as refined as the previous vintages, rougher on the edges if you will, but most definitely nothing to say no to. The standard is high and for sure this is not as good as the 2015 but I am personally perfectly happy with the purchase - the drinkability especially is very high.

Posted from CellarTracker

I used to enjoy these and they were a relative bargain years ago. 35E is a great price. Pricing in the US is approx $90+, or 75E. You can probably get a better deal in the US if you’re a regular buyer, have a strong retail relationship and know the secret handshake. Preferred pricing down to 35E seems unlikely.

RT

+1

To get 35€ in the US, I think the strong relationship you would need is with dockworkers or truckers…

Well, there’s the old Scott Deluca technique. Slip the expensive bottle under your shirt and sneak out. Failing that, you might need to wrestle the shop owner to get out the door with the goods.

RT

I had no idea it is that expensive over there. In Europe you rarely see Roulot’s wines on the shop shelves - they seem to mostly go to restaurants (and perhaps directly to private customers?) - so I thought the going rate was similar to let’s say Sauzet or Boisson-Vadot’s BB. This definitely helps me understand people’s disappointment better as the US pricing indeed is close to what one would pay for a lesser name’s Meursault.

I am sure that once the material was partly Puligny-Montrachet partly Meursault or 100% Meursault. The 2014 and 2010 are great

+1 on the 2014; I’ve been drinking them with great pleasure. The tariff was not too terrible–around $60. They’ve doubled since then, though.

i own the 2016 but haven’t tried it yet. Thanks for the positive note. paid $60US

I also paid $60 locally for the 2016. Felt like $30 too much based on what was in the bottle.
Not a great year for Roulout BB. Though, Ilkka seems to have caught better bottle than mine. ymmv

My experience with this was completely opposite. I paid $60 a few years back and was not happy with this. I think because of the producer I guess I just had higher hopes or maybe his style is just not for me.

There was a prior thread on this exact wine and a contingent that agreed with me.

This is the great thing about most wine. Someone loves it and someone hates it.

In fairness, I’ve not seen a bottle of this actually say “Domaine Roulot” on the label. Mine were all labelled “Jean-Marc Roulot”. It’s poor form that many retailers did not notate that distinction.

I believe there was Macon fruit mixed into it. That, combined with the already poor 2016 white Burg vintage yielded a really flabby wine.

I don’t know about loving, I merely enjoyed it. I think the price paid is a big factor here indeed - at 35€ it’s a decent purchase but anything more than that and it quickly becomes a disappointment for me.

Tons of flawed entries on CT… Didn’t find this flabby myself, fortunately, although not an acid bomb either. If I’m not mistaken there is some Chablis fruit as well.

Anecdotally, I paid ~$45 for the 15 BB…

I own several bottles of BB 16 labeled as Domaine. I have also seen bottles labeled as Jean-Marc. More fodder for conspiracy theories.

I will open this over the weekend and report back.

Well, there you have it.

I do know at least one example in 2016 where the Domaine and Jean-Marc labels have the same juice in the bottle, but never bothered to dig deeper into the Bourgogne Blanc. Frankly, even in other years, this wine doesn’t represent a very compelling value, at least at the prices that are readily available to me.

Speaking of poor value, did you see the Crush offer today for the 2018 at $85/bottle?

I got the 2018 Meursault at roughly 2x the price. For the difference in quality, passing on this was a no-brainer.

The 2015 Bourgogne is very good. Not as good as the 07 but really nice. I had the non-Domaine bottle recently but also have the Domaine in my cellar. I suspect that they are from different sources of fruit but don’t know for sure.

The 2014 was both an excellent value and is drinking well today. I’ve had the wine 19 times since then, and still have a couple of cases I am working though. Given that the wine in now 2X the cost in the USA vs. the 2014 and given the relative quality deltas vs. the 2014, it isn’t the steal it once was.

-mark

OK, circling back with TN. I had the Domaine labeled bottling last night and my impressions mirror those of OP. It tastes like a Roulot – full but airy, bit of reduction and smoke. Chalky and persistent for a BB. Hits a small hole in the middle palate, but its a BB after all. I don’t get anything tart/Macon like with this. Won’t comment on relative QPR but almost any white Burg lover would be very happy to be drinking this.