Domaine G. Roumier

In 1924, Georges Roumier, a man from the Charolais, married a local Chambolle-Musigny girl and as was the custom at the time, she brought with her a dowry in the form of vineyards – so was born the Domaine Georges Roumier.

Today, the winemaker at the celebrated Domaine Georges Roumier is the 52 year old Christophe, the grandson of Georges. Born in 1958, the young Christophe studied oenology at Dijon University, did a stage at the renowned Cairanne co-operative in the Côtes du Rhône before joining his father Jean-Marie in 1981. The wines were fine in Georges and Jean-Marie's time. They have reached even greater heights under the aegis of Christophe.

"I make wines from terroir which expresses itself through Pinot Noir," says Christophe Roumier, who today runs the domaine with the assisitance of his sister Delphine. There is a lot more to fine wine than merely the variety it is made from, he will point out. Roumier sees his role as an intermediary, as a facilitator. The vigneron's duty is to allow the vines to produce fruit which, when vinified, will be unmistakably typical of its origins. The winemaker's job is to effect this translation from fruit into wine. But it is a question of control rather than creativity. The creation is being done by the vine, by its location, by mother nature: not by man.

The Roumier reds are more muscular than most: full, virile, austere, made to last; not necessarily wines which sing in their youth. Time is required, a decade for the best wines in the best vintages. 

The Bonnes-Mares is always much more closed-in; somewhat solid at the outset, much less expressive. It seems to go through more of an adolescent phase, and it is only on the finish that you can see the breed, the complexity and the depth. 

When the Musigny is good, and it usually is, it is brilliant. It has less backbone than the Bonnes-Mares, less density. But it can be equally backward, needing just as much time to come round. What does Christophe Roumier have to say about Chambolle and his wines? "Yes. Chambolle is the most elegant wine of the Côte. There is nothing original about that statement. But for me the best wines are also the most mineral. There is a purity, a fruit, an elegance and a distinction which come in large part from the extra amount of limestone in our soil, and perhaps the marginally higher altitude. I try to make my wines express this."

In short, G. Roumier is one the premier domaines in Burgundy and Christophe Roumier is on the region's finest winemakers.