Tag Archives: Roy

Parker Reviews for Roy Estate

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Click here for winery website.

Proprietor Shirley Roy and her consulting winemaker Philippe Melka have a done a great job with these current and upcoming releases. One of the key attributes of Roy’s wines is their early accessibility. The 2009s have turned out just as well as I had hoped, while the 2010s – the product of tiny yields – are a touch more complex.

—Antonio Galloni
Wine Advocate
December 2012

91-93 POINTS (NOT YET RELEASED) 2011 Roy Estate

The 2011 Proprietary Red is nicely balanced in this vintage. The cool, late growing season complements some of the wine’s more overt, jammy leanings. Grilled herbs, smoke, tobacco and licorice all add complexity on a finish laced with expressive floral and spiced notes. I am curious to see how the 2011 develops over the coming years. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.

91-93 POINTS (NOT YET RELEASED) 2011 Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is another vivid, complex and multi-dimensional wine. Savory herbs, new leather, tobacco and mint all take shape in the glass, but today the 2011 is mostly defined by its dark, enveloping personality. Shirley Roy’s Cabernet Sauvignon shows plenty of promise in 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026.

92-94 POINTS (NOT YET RELEASED) 2010 Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon presents an intriguing array of smoke, scorched earth, incense, new leather and savory herbs. Tense, full–bodied and opulent, the 2010 brings together the best qualities of this site and the vintage. The 2010 is unusually vivid, nuanced and complex for such a big wine. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.

91 POINTS 2010 Roy Estate

Roy’s 2010 Proprietary Red has a little more delineation and nuance than the 2009. Freshly cut flowers, violets, super ripe dark fruit, mocha, espresso, chocolate, plums, cassis and black currants all jump from the glass in this opulent full-bodied huge wine. Layers of fruit continue to build to the creamy, expressive finish. In 2010, the blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot.Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.

92 POINTS 2009 Roy Estate

The 2009 Proprietary Red bursts from the glass with juicy dark cherries, flowers, mint violets and tar. A super-ripe wine, the 2009 caresses the palate with gorgeous depth. This voluptuous, opulent wine has plenty of energy, not to mention considerable appeal. The 2009 is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.

shirley roy olivier houston

 

Above: Shirley Roy (far right) with the owners of L’Olivier in Houston (foreground) and Classified owner David Smith (background).

Acclaimed Napa producer Shirley Roy visits L’Olivier in Houston

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Above, from left: L’Olivier co-owner Mary Clarkson, David Smith (Classified Wine), Chef Olivier Ciesielski, and acclaimed Napa Valley winemaker Shirley Roy.

After more than a decade as acclaimed executive chef at world renowned Tony’s, Olivier Ciesielski has taken his untouchable talent to new heights by opening his own doors.

L’Olivier Restaurant & Bar, located at 240 Westheimer in the heart of Montrose. Known for his unique artistry, Ciesielski looks forward to creating inventive, beautiful fare in the city that has made him feel at home and looks forward to continuing his dominant presence on the ever-expanding culinary scene in Houston opening his doors with partner Mary Clarkson.

Born in France, Ciesielski perfected his craft as the sous chef of Michelin three-star restaurant, Bernard Loiseau; as well as in the kitchens of France’s leading pastry chef Yves Thuries, and at the celebrated Le Crillon in Paris. He quickly garnered a reputation as ‘one of the best and the brightest,’ with his talents soon leading him to an impressive stint as personal chef to the Onassis Family in Switzerland before voyaging to the States in 1991 where he started his career in Houston as the executive chef at La Colombe D’Or.

During his tenure at Tony’s, Ciesielski’s skillful cuisine propelled the restaurant into the culinary spotlight with national accolades including Esquire’s “Best New Restaurant” in 2005 and Wine Spectator’s “Best Restaurant in Texas” receiving four stars, the highest rating, from the Houston Chronicle. Ciesielski was an essential component of the 2005 rebirth of Tony’s, when he developed a uniquely collaborative European menu marrying his French roots with modern Italian — even Asian — inspirations. The new menu and his talents were met with enthusiastic acclaim, anchoring Tony’s position as a Houston culinary landmark.

Roy Estate

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From left, star winemaker Phillippe Melka and proprietor Shirley Roy.

Winery website.

Our seventeen acre vineyard was planted in 2001 and 2002 by Piña Vineyard Management under the direction of Helen Turley. The vineyard is divided into seventeen blocks, twelve blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, four blocks of Merlot and one block of Petit Verdot. The three varietals are planted with four rootstocks and nine clones. The spacing is six feet by three feet, which equals 2,430 vines per acre. The vineyard has elaborate irrigation systems which allow us to farm vine by vine.

The Piña Company is also responsible for the farming of the vineyard.The tight spacing of the vines cause the vines to compete with each other, thereby producing more intense fruit. The extreme rocky soil also adds to the character of the fruit. John Piña says, “It doesn’t get any better than this!”

One distinguishing aspect of this property is that the Wappo Indians lived here along a rock ledge overlooking a spring; the Roys respect and honor this key part of the ranch’s history.

Winemaker Phillippe Melka

Philippe Melka began working at Roy Estate in April 2005. He is one of the world’s most respected winemakers, who is best known for ‘finding the voice of the vineyard through its terroir,’ as Philippe puts it. Philippe was born and raised in the Bordeaux region and graduated from the University of Bordeaux with a degree in geology in 1989 and then earned a second degree in enology in 1991, specializing in agronomy and vineyard soils. He began his career working at wineries in France (Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau Petrus), Italy (Badia a Coltibuono), Australia (Chittering Estate) and California (Dominus and Ridge) before settling in the Napa Valley in 1994.

“Philippe’s attention to detail is amazing,” explains Charles Roy, “whether it’s how he ropes off sections of the vineyard to differentiate how and when they’re to be harvested or how he adds his touch with his thorough understanding of the vineyard as well as each step in the winemaking process.”

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