Grand Cru Burgundy

wines

(Chambertin “Clos de Bèze”- Domaine Armand Rousseau) The 2017 Clos de Bèze from Domaine Rousseau is an equally compelling wine in the making, but it is a bit the inverse right now of the Chambertin, as it is a bit more reserved on its youthful nose, but more open and flamboyant on the palate. The bouquet is very, very pure, precise and promising, offering up scents of red and black raspberries, cherries, raw cocoa, a very complex base of minerality, lovely spice tones and a very well-done framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and sappy at the core, with superb transparency and grip, ripe, seamless tannins and a very long, very energetic and vibrant finish. The wine is already suave and caressing on the attack, with all of this sappy reserve at the core and yet, it finishes completely defined by its complex minerality. A great wine. (Drink between 2030-2100).John Gilman | 98 JG(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru Red) While the wood treatment is certainly evident it remains reasonably subtle on the overtly cool and restrained nose that is markedly spicy with its broad-ranging combination of exuberantly fresh aromas of dark cherry, raspberry, rose petal, violet, plum and a suggestion of earth. There is excellent power and punch to the large-scaled flavors that are a combination of power and refinement while being blessed with an abundance of sappy dry extract that imparts a seductive quality to the mouthcoating, hugely long and firmly structured and chiseled finish. While the Chambertin appears to have a slight edge at this very early juncture due to having slightly better complexity, it's going to be interesting in 20 to 25 years' time to see which is the better wine! (Drink starting 2027).Burghound | 96 BHSumptuously oaked and always poured last in any tasting at Domaine Rousseau, this is riper and plusher than the straight Chambertin bottling, with the power and density to age well, framed by 100% new wood and showing a bloody, ferrous undertone. Drinking Window 2027 - 2035.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2017 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has quite a high-toned bouquet, a touch of boot polish coming through and then receding to reveal very complex floral aromas. The elegant palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, perfect acidity and fine proportion. Maybe it is missing a little weight on the back end, but it is still a refined Clos-de-Bèze that will age with grace. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMThe 2017 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru bursts from the glass with extroverted aromas of dark, plummy fruits that mingle with notes of chocolate, licorice, sweet oak spice, grilled meats and espresso. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and ample with broad shoulders, a generous core of fruit and more mid-palate amplitude and tannic bite than the Chambertin.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RP

Muscular' is how Cyrielle Rousseau describes her Clos de la Roche, made from two parcels - one high and one low - that total 1.48ha, with some parts over a century old. Everything is relative, of course, because this isn't an especially tannic wine, although it certainly has good intensity. It's sappy, subtly oaked and refined with succulent bramble and black cherry fruit. Drinking Window 2025 - 2032.Decanter | 96 DEC(Clos de la Roche- Domaine Armand Rousseau) The 2017 Clos de la Roche from Domaine Rousseau is another absolutely beautiful bottle in the making, with more early sex appeal on display than in either the Charmes or Mazy this year. The pure and seductive nose delivers a beautiful constellation of sappy red plums, cherries, raw cocoa, gamebird, a very complex base of soil, woodsmoke, a touch of violet and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, sappy and soil-driven, with beautifully fine-grained tannins, great focus and balance, exceptional complexity and grip and a very, very long and velvety finish. I love the lift here on the backend! (Drink between 2027-2075).John Gilman | 94+ JG(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Red) An overtly floral and markedly earthy nose is quite restrained if exceptionally pretty with its cool array of red and blue pinot fruit scents laced with hints of leather and herbal tea. There is terrific vibrancy to the slightly more muscular large-scaled flavors that culminate in a linear and beautifully delineated finish that really firms up as it sits on the palate. This taut, youthfully austere and very serious effort is very much built-to-age and is going to need at least half a dozen years to unwind and 20+ to reach its full potential. (Drink starting 2037).Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2017 Clos de la Roches Grand Cru, which is tasted from two barrels since one is reduced, has a well defined bouquet with brambly red fruit, candied orange peel, hints of cassis and later, vanilla pod. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, slightly sorbet in character with hints of mulberry and fig towards the complex and quite persistent finish. One of the more cerebral Clos de la Roche releases from Domaine Rousseau.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMThe 2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru displays notes of sweet red and black berries, licorice, rich soil, grilled meat and citrus peel. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with more density and concentration than the Charmes-Chambertin, balanced by juicy acids. Though the tannins are supple, it will demand and reward bottle age. This is a cuvée that continues its upward trajectory chez Rousseau.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93+ RP