When one thinks of the best domains in Burgundy, it is hard to imagine that Prieuré Roch would not be on that list.
I was lucky to discover Prieuré Roch wines in 1998 when I was an apprentice sommelier at “Les Trois Marches,” a two-Michelin star restaurant in Versailles. The restaurant’s head sommelier (and my mentor) Laurent Beaudouin was ahead of his time: whilst traditional French sommeliers had yet to understand the Prieuré Roch style, the domain was referenced 15 times on “Les Trois Marches” wine list. (I wish I had kept a copy!) My first encounter with their wines was the 1988 Vosne-Romanée “Le Clos Goillotte", a plot that had been purchased from Domaine de la Romanée Conti the same year and Prieuré Roch’s very first vintage. For the first time, I fell in love with a wine. I realised in that moment that I had found my calling and would be working with wine for a long time to come. So far, so good!
Henri-Frédéric Roch used to visit us at “Les Trois Marches" quite often. After all, we were their most important trade client in France. He was imposing both in stature and manner, a true visionary. Back then, I was a shy 18-year old from Normandy and had never set foot in a palace. I dared not utter a word during the tastings, but listened in silence, captivated by his stories. He would go on about his impressive goals to make Prieuré Roch a renown domain producing full-bunch, natural wines and to one day be in charge of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, both of which he achieved years later. Henri will always have a special place in my heart!
With the goal of becoming a Chief Sommelier in one of the best restaurants in the world, I left ”Les Trois Marches” and went on to learn with Alain Ducasse in Monaco and Pierre Gagnaire in London before moving to Hong Kong to reopen “The Mandarin Oriental Hotel”. It was a wonderful ten years full of great memories and friendships.
During this time, I tried to convince local wine distributors to represent Prieuré Roch so I could list their wines, but it was without success. In retrospect, I thank them for not believing in the domain, as I later had the opportunity to be appointed as their first Hong Kong distributor in 2010 when I went on to work for a wine merchant.
I decided to try my luck and I contacted them by email telling them my story from Versailles. I received a reply two days later suggesting we speak on the phone. My enthusiasm and belief in the wines seduced Henri-Frédéric: having regularly tasted the wines over the years, I was convinced that Hong Kong and China would become a key market for the domain. Indeed, eight years later, Greater China had become one of Prieuré Roch’s most important markets.
2010 was an important year for the domain as it was also the year that Yannick Champ was named as Director of Operations, overseeing vineyard and cellar management, sales, and special projects like Bist’Roch and La Ferme du Poiset. I first met Yannick in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong and I knew from our first handshake that it would be the beginning of a great friendship. He is one of my closest friends and we have so much in common: we share the same vintage, the same values, have had similar struggles at the same times, and each have two amazing children who are lighting our lives everyday.
I was lucky to discover Prieuré Roch wines in 1998 when I was an apprentice sommelier at “Les Trois Marches,” a two-Michelin star restaurant in Versailles. The restaurant’s head sommelier (and my mentor) Laurent Beaudouin was ahead of his time: whilst traditional French sommeliers had yet to understand the Prieuré Roch style, the domain was referenced 15 times on “Les Trois Marches” wine list. (I wish I had kept a copy!) My first encounter with their wines was the 1988 Vosne-Romanée “Le Clos Goillotte", a plot that had been purchased from Domaine de la Romanée Conti the same year and Prieuré Roch’s very first vintage. For the first time, I fell in love with a wine. I realised in that moment that I had found my calling and would be working with wine for a long time to come. So far, so good!
Henri-Frédéric Roch used to visit us at “Les Trois Marches" quite often. After all, we were their most important trade client in France. He was imposing both in stature and manner, a true visionary. Back then, I was a shy 18-year old from Normandy and had never set foot in a palace. I dared not utter a word during the tastings, but listened in silence, captivated by his stories. He would go on about his impressive goals to make Prieuré Roch a renown domain producing full-bunch, natural wines and to one day be in charge of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, both of which he achieved years later. Henri will always have a special place in my heart!
With the goal of becoming a Chief Sommelier in one of the best restaurants in the world, I left ”Les Trois Marches” and went on to learn with Alain Ducasse in Monaco and Pierre Gagnaire in London before moving to Hong Kong to reopen “The Mandarin Oriental Hotel”. It was a wonderful ten years full of great memories and friendships.
During this time, I tried to convince local wine distributors to represent Prieuré Roch so I could list their wines, but it was without success. In retrospect, I thank them for not believing in the domain, as I later had the opportunity to be appointed as their first Hong Kong distributor in 2010 when I went on to work for a wine merchant.
I decided to try my luck and I contacted them by email telling them my story from Versailles. I received a reply two days later suggesting we speak on the phone. My enthusiasm and belief in the wines seduced Henri-Frédéric: having regularly tasted the wines over the years, I was convinced that Hong Kong and China would become a key market for the domain. Indeed, eight years later, Greater China had become one of Prieuré Roch’s most important markets.
2010 was an important year for the domain as it was also the year that Yannick Champ was named as Director of Operations, overseeing vineyard and cellar management, sales, and special projects like Bist’Roch and La Ferme du Poiset. I first met Yannick in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong and I knew from our first handshake that it would be the beginning of a great friendship. He is one of my closest friends and we have so much in common: we share the same vintage, the same values, have had similar struggles at the same times, and each have two amazing children who are lighting our lives everyday.
I fondly remember the moment that marked the beginning of Prieuré Roch’s success in Hong Kong. Our first shipment arrived in October 2011, coinciding with a visit from Michel Janneau, the VP of Champagne Louis Roederer. He had come to town to host a dinner for the city’s top sommeliers and, given his reputation as an entertainer, it was a full house. I had asked Michel prior to the dinner if I could show a wine from Prieuré Roch and he agreed without hesitation, as a Burgundy lover, saying it would be nice for him to taste a wine that wasn’t from the family.
I chose to serve my “coup de coeur” that evening: 2006 “Clos Goillotte” in magnum, served blind. By the time we finished pouring, the buzzing room had gone quiet. My dear friend Hervé Pennequin, Amber’s wine director at the time and title holder of 3rd Best Sommelier in the World in 2004, was the first to speak: “Pierre what did you pour us here? I have not felt such flavour in a wine since tasting La Tache”. I knew in that moment that the game was on and demand would soon outpace supply. It was a sensational bottle!
The next morning, my inbox was full of emails from guests from the previous night’s dinner. Not a single name was missing. I knew the messages were not only to thank me for a delicious dinner, the excellent Champagne and Michel’s delightful company, but to enquire about Prieuré Roch’s availability. There was even a request from the only non-sommelier of the group, arguably Asia’s most prominent and respected wine collector, asking to purchase whatever was available, regardless of the price.
I tell those who have their doubts about Prieuré Roch that the domain’s particular style requires patience, an open mind and the experience of several tastings. Start with the baby of the family Savigny-les-Beaune, pass through Nuits-Saint-Georges and end with Vosne-Romanée “Clos Goillotte”... it is an incredible journey. Yes, Prieuré Roch’s style is dominating and powerful, but it is also so refreshing. The best way I can describe it is as “gourmand”, a word that sadly does not mean much in English.
In a sense I can also relate: I have always been open with Yannick and admitted that it took me eight years of representing the domain to really understand their most expensive wine, “Le Clos de Bèze.”
Yannick was visiting Hong Kong and we were dining with several friends at one of my favourite places, my close friend Chef Philippe Orrico’s Upper Modern Bistro. We tasted the 2012 vintage. I remember getting up from my seat and spending the next 15 minutes making sure that the bottle from which my glass had been poured did not leave my sight.
That was the moment I finally connected with “Le Clos de Bèze”. It is a wine that requires poetic solitude, imagine listening to the great Jean-Sebastien Bach’s double violin concerto whilst contemplating Rene Magritte’s “The Empire of Light”. Yes, being a wine addict can be a difficult life!
I chose to serve my “coup de coeur” that evening: 2006 “Clos Goillotte” in magnum, served blind. By the time we finished pouring, the buzzing room had gone quiet. My dear friend Hervé Pennequin, Amber’s wine director at the time and title holder of 3rd Best Sommelier in the World in 2004, was the first to speak: “Pierre what did you pour us here? I have not felt such flavour in a wine since tasting La Tache”. I knew in that moment that the game was on and demand would soon outpace supply. It was a sensational bottle!
The next morning, my inbox was full of emails from guests from the previous night’s dinner. Not a single name was missing. I knew the messages were not only to thank me for a delicious dinner, the excellent Champagne and Michel’s delightful company, but to enquire about Prieuré Roch’s availability. There was even a request from the only non-sommelier of the group, arguably Asia’s most prominent and respected wine collector, asking to purchase whatever was available, regardless of the price.
I tell those who have their doubts about Prieuré Roch that the domain’s particular style requires patience, an open mind and the experience of several tastings. Start with the baby of the family Savigny-les-Beaune, pass through Nuits-Saint-Georges and end with Vosne-Romanée “Clos Goillotte”... it is an incredible journey. Yes, Prieuré Roch’s style is dominating and powerful, but it is also so refreshing. The best way I can describe it is as “gourmand”, a word that sadly does not mean much in English.
In a sense I can also relate: I have always been open with Yannick and admitted that it took me eight years of representing the domain to really understand their most expensive wine, “Le Clos de Bèze.”
Yannick was visiting Hong Kong and we were dining with several friends at one of my favourite places, my close friend Chef Philippe Orrico’s Upper Modern Bistro. We tasted the 2012 vintage. I remember getting up from my seat and spending the next 15 minutes making sure that the bottle from which my glass had been poured did not leave my sight.
That was the moment I finally connected with “Le Clos de Bèze”. It is a wine that requires poetic solitude, imagine listening to the great Jean-Sebastien Bach’s double violin concerto whilst contemplating Rene Magritte’s “The Empire of Light”. Yes, being a wine addict can be a difficult life!
