Chateauneuf du Pape
The Royer family has been farming winegrapes in Chateauneuf du Pape since the 1800s. More specifically, they have been growing grapes in the very best parts in the southern sector of this historic area. Due to financial constraints, Jean Marie's mother needed to lease out their vineyard holdings to ensure a consistent income while Jean Marie was a young boy. At age 18, already having plenty of experience in the vineyards, he decided to formally learn oenology. At this point he would begin to purchase the land the family had rented out to such renowned estates such as Tardieu Laurent. Today Royer is making his wines from about 12 hectares of vines in the prestigious areas of Bois de la Ville, Les Grandes Serres, and recently a very small portion of La Crau located next to Rayas.
When I met Jean Marie for the first time, he came right out and apologized that the recent reviews in the American press were not higher. I had seen the reviews going back several vintages and I wondered what in the world he was apologizing about since his wines consistently ranked among the best of the region. (90-94 pts for those keeping score.) He went on to say that maybe he could have made wines that would have received higher scores but he wasn't willing to change the style that he prefers in order to do that. To paraphrase him, the wines from this warm southern region are plenty powerful and ripe on their own, they don't need to be forced into another dimension.
Later we would go on to talk about his past as a rugby player after tasting though various tank, barrel, and bottle samples. At this point I began to understand the reasoning behind the intial apology. Jean Marie is a man with a heart of gold but inside, by his own admission, he is fiercly competitive, and it's evident he takes real pride in his work. At this point in his life, now in his mid-40s, no longer playing rugby at the competitive level, making Chateauneuf du Pape is his game and he takes it very seriously.
Certainly when it comes to the recent French press, Jean Marie is proudly floating at the top with the recent "Our Discovery" feature in La Revue du Vin revue of 2010 Southern Rhone. Here Royer was ranked in the same elite "exceptional" grouping with Chateau Rayas, Clos du Mont-Olivet, Charvin, Domaine la Barroche, Domaine les Cailloux, Mayard and Bois de Boursan.
