There are three very important things to make clear. We love anything remotely connected to the name Roy, the country of Japan and drinking good value Burgundy. So, when you have all three of those things and add them together in a delicious vat of grape juice, then holy moly guacamole, we know that we are onto a winner!
Seiichi Saito is the man behind this new micro-négoce, Domaine Petit-Roy. Located in Chorey-les-Beaune, which is found on the lower slopes of the Côte de Beaune. Seiichi is a Japanese expat with Chinese origins who studied at the wine school in Beaune in 2006. Having returned to Japan for a brief time, he then moved to Burgundy to devote full time to winemaking. Before starting Petit-Roy, Seiichi spent time working with a few brilliant domaines (Leflaive, Rousseau etc), with the most significant being a long stint as head winemaker at the exquisite Simon Bize. Pretty cool, right? Well get this, as an additional feather in his cap, Seiichi also found time to co-launch one of the most successful restaurants in Beaune, La Lune, before focusing on his solo project which began life in 2017.
Today, Domaine Petit-Roy covers 2.1ha of vines of regional appellations which Seiichi looks after personally and works biodynamically, as well as a small portion of purchased fruit from like-minded growers based in and around Beaune's more "modest" appellations. This makes sense when you consider the variety of wines in his portfolio. As a house style, it's important to note that in the cellar, he favours whole cluster fermentation (see jargon buster page) and gentle management so not to over extract and maintain brightness across the entire range. There is absolutely no new oak involved, while everything is bottled strictly without filtration.
We like this type of Burgundy. Both white and red wines provide immediate enjoyment, combining fruit, elegance and purity that lingers on the palate. A name to get to know, and one that we are very happy to pour. C'mon the Roy!!
