Chateau Roylland Wows the Critics!
I came across Chateau Roylland in the spring of 2017 at the UGC event in St Emilion. That’s where multiple Chateau gather their wines under one roof for convenience and comparison. I was there for the annual En Primeur week and this was my day to taste about 50 St Emilions. I was crammed into the space, elbow to elbow with hundreds of other tasters (did I mention En Primeur week draws hundreds of tasters from around the globe?), shuffling from one winery’s booth to the next. It was here that I discovered Roylland, so completely superior to practically all the other St Emilions in the room that I stood at their booth for a good 15 minutes (truly unheard of when there are so many wines to taste).
Roylland – like everyone else – was showcasing their 2016. You should know that “Bordeaux 2016 was a brilliant vintage, one of the best in recent decades” per Decanter magazine (I whole heartedly concur, having tasted about a 100 examples), and Roylland thoroughly knocked it out of the park that year. This was far from their first top 10 example to be sure: they’re an ancient property dating to the era of Eleanor of Aquitaine. What’s more, the world-famous uber-consultant Michel Rolland oversees every aspect of winemaking here, so phenomenal wines are a given. But 2016 was something extra special. One taste, I knew it.
And when I opened my own shop, I stocked up!
You should too! The quality for the sale price is unreal!
Vinous: The 2016 Roylland showed modestly out of barrel but has blossomed spectacularly in bottle. It presents an attractive bouquet of beautiful red currant and wild strawberry aromas laced with minerals. The medium-bodied palate is well balanced, displaying fine tannin and good grip and density, and offering plenty of cedar-tinged red fruit and great precision on the finish. This is a little gem that should drink well for 15 years or more.
93 points – Neal Martin
Reg price: $34.99
Sale price: $25.99 (93 points and less than $30?! Jump on this folks!)