Burgundy Crus

wines

A heady, exotic Burgundy, the 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques is remarkably vivid for such a big wine, with freakish levels of concentration that are beautifully balanced by insistent veins of underlying minerality. Layers of pure Pinot fruit build through the mid-palate and finish as this voluptuous, racy wine shows off its fabulous pedigree. It simpy doesn't get too much better than this.Vinous Media | 97 VM(Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos St. Jacques”- Domaine Armand Rousseau) The 2012 Clos St. Jacques chez Rousseau is another simply brilliant wine, and I was starting to get a bit worried, as I was already beginning to run out of numbers and I still had the Clos de Bèze and Chambertin to go! In any case, the 2012 Clos St. Jacques is a stellar example of the vintage, wafting from the glass in a stunning and very flamboyant nose of red plums, red and black cherries, cocoa, hints of the grilled meats to come, a brilliantly complex base of soil tones, exotic spices and vanillin oak. I think this wine was raised in sixty percent new wood this year, but the depth of fruit has positively eaten up the impression of new oak, and if you told me it was raised in twenty percent new oak, I would think that it was probably just about right! On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and stunningly suave on the attack, with a great core of sappy fruit, a very refined sense of soil, fine-grained tannins, outstanding focus and grip and a very, very long, unrepentantly elegant and velvety finish. The synthesis here of soil and gloriously sappy fruit is remarkable. (Drink between 2022-2060).John Gilman | 96 JG(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin "Clos St. Jacques" 1er Cru Red) There is a deft touch of wood to the reluctant but ultra-elegant essence of red pinot fruit, floral elements and wet stone scents. This is splendidly well-detailed with a terrific sense of underlying tension adding energy to the medium weight flavors that brim with a fine minerality before culminating in a balanced and stunningly long finish. This ageworthy effort is the most refined wine among these four 2012s and dances across the palate. In a word, dazzling. (Drink starting 2027).Burghound | 95 BHTasted blind at the annual 'Burgfest' tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint Jacques from Armand Rousseau has the most sensual nose of the quintet, perhaps the ripest with maraschino cherries, fresh strawberry and fruits pastilles. This is certainly the most generous nose. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin, more modern in style but very pure and harmonious. The oak is a little more pronounced on the finish but that will be subsumed in time, and then it will be a Clos Saint Jacques that you'll wish you could drink every day.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 95 RP-NM

The 2012 Richebourg was just a touch reduced at the time of my visit, but underneath is another legend in the making. The bouquet is a blend of cherries, red plums, cocoa, gamebirds, a very minerally signature of soil, woodsmoke, fresh nutmeg and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with stunning depth, fine-grained tannins, superb precision and a very, very long and tangy finish. This is a very elegant and refined vintage of the Hudelot Richebourg and it will be one of the greatest wines ever produced in the long history of this illustrious domaine. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 97 JGThe 2012 Richebourg Grand Cru, which comes from a 0.28-hectare parcel planted in 1950, this year contains 20% whole bunches and the domaine were graced with five barrels. It has a very refined and distinctly aristocratic bouquet adorned with beautifully defined black and red fruits, perhaps leaning towards the former with aeration. Touches of seaweed and tilled earth emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins. It does not have the charm of the RSV at the moment, but there is beguiling structure and symmetry with a long mineral laden finish. Superb.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPBright medium red. Darker and more primary on the nose than the RSV, showing lovely lift to the aromas of dark berries, violet and minerals. Quite tight and high-pitched in the mouth, with strong, ripe acidity accentuating the impression of density. The crop level here was a bit higher than that of the RSV, at 30 hectoliters per hectare, but the wine is still wonderfully sappy, taut and concentrated, not to mention beautifully balanced. Lovely lurking saline minerality here. Lay this one down for a decade.Vinous Media | 94+ VMThere is a whiff of reduction lurking in the background of the otherwise pretty and spicy red and dark berry fruit aromas that include hints of Asian-style tea, cinnamon and sandalwood. The middle weight flavors possess a sleek and nicely intense mouth feel along with good detail on the lightly stony, delicious and sneaky long finale. For my taste, while this solidly powerful effort could certainly be enjoyed now, there remains enough upside development potential to warrant holding it for another 5 to 8 years. Lovely and fashioned in an understated style.Burghound | 94 BH

The 2012 Romanée-St.-Vivant from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is glorious example of both this great terroir and this historic vintage. The very pure and very sappy nose soars from the glass in a mélange of red and black raspberries, cherries, roses, fresh nutmeg, orange zest, Vosne spices, a very, very complex base of soil tones, duck and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with a greater sense of reserve (or is that resolve?) than the Clos Vougeot, very elegant tannins, tangy acids and laser-like focus on the perfectly balanced, elegant and endless finish. Glorious juice! (Drink between 2022 - 2065)John Gilman | 97 JGThe 2012 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru comes from 0.48-hectares of vine planted back in 1920 It already boasts a show-stopping mineral-rich bouquet that offers astounding definition and focus. Terroir, terroir and terroir. The palate is medium-bodied with superb definition and so much freshness it does not know what to do with itself. Beautifully focused, refined and feminine, this might be the quintessential R.S.V. of the vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPA buoyantly spicy nose displays elegant aromas of red currant, raspberry, sandalwood and soft floral nuances. As is almost always the case chez Hudelot this possesses the most refined mouth feel in the range with ultra-fine grained tannins adding to this impression. Notwithstanding the refinement exhibited by the mid-palate, the strikingly long and well-balanced finish seems to flirt with a touch of rusticity. Whether this quality will persist is hard to say but it would be fair to observe that 2012 isn’t the most refined vintage that I have ever seen for this wine.Burghound | 94 BH(totally destemmed but the stems were then added back for the vinification): Bright medium red. Knockout nose combines strawberry, raspberry, licorice, underbrush, spices and flowers. Plush and sweet but electric in the mouth, conveying terrific concentration to its sappy red fruit and spice flavors. The stems have contributed piquant energy but no herbacity. Finishes with firm but fine tannins and terrific building length. Made from a crop level of about 25 hectoliters per hectare, this wine should blossom beautifully in the cellar.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

The 2012 vintage is not one that I reach for right now, as this low yield and truly stunning vintage has been in deep hibernation for a few years already. This was true of the 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin from Cécile Tremblay, and yet its enormous potential was also manifest when she generously opened a bottle at the domaine in March. The very youthful bouquet is bottomless and loaded with sweet fruit and great soil signature, delivering a constellation of black cherries, sweet dark berries, gamebird, dark soil tones and smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with great focus, length and grip, ripe, buried tannins and a very, very long, still quite primary finish. This has the same potential for elegance and perfume as the stellar 2014 Chapelle here, but even more depth and length! A brilliant, brilliant young wine, but do not touch it for at least another decade! (Drink between 2029 - 2100)John Gilman | 97 JGTremblay’s daughter was born on July 28, and her new winery building was completed on September 10, in time for the beginning of harvest on September 15—so this was a busy year for Cécile. The 2012 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is developing beautifully, having shed a touch of youthful reduction it exhibited on release to reveal, today, a youthful bouquet of wild berries, rose hips, exotic spices, musk and vine smoke. Full-bodied, velvety and textural, it’s a deep, powerful wine with lively acids and beautifully refined tannins. One of the least-evolved wines from this period of Tremblay’s career, the 2012 will continue to reward patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP(95% vendange entier): Medium red. Knockout deep nose combines small red fruits, sexy vanillin oak, a distinctly wild animal quality, soil tones and a note of menthol. Powerful but youthfully closed, with intense raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors complicated by sweet spices and a rocky quality. The explosive, ripely tannic finish builds and mounts. This soil-driven grand cru will need patience.Vinous Media | 93+ VMAn interesting and slightly atypical nose displays notes of wild strawberry, lavender, warm earth, spice and a hint of underbrush. The wonderfully precise and almost painfully intense big-bodied yet elegant flavors possess both plenty of minerality and underlying tension before culminating in a balanced, gorgeously complex and seriously long finish. This is distinctly austere at present but the ripeness is such that it shouldn’t last.Burghound | 92-95 BH

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Musigny Vielles Vignes Grand Cru from de Vogüé has slightly brighter and more vivacious fruit than J-F Mugnier, and in fact, the two wines seem to go in two different trajectories in the glass, this blossoming and the other becoming more occluded. De Vogüé’s Musigny is unashamedly floral in style, very elegant and yet delineated. There is a noticeable estuary scents, mudflats and seaweed, that begin to permeate the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, wonderful acidity and succinctly integrated new oak that is barely tangible. It is intense but elegant, long and tender in the mouth. It is a fabulous Musigny, one of the best that the domaine has produced in recent years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPA brooding but gorgeously spicy nose is comprised of liqueur-like dark berry fruit scents that also display plenty of floral influence that includes notes of lavender, violet and, somewhat curiously, honeysuckle. There is outstanding concentration and punch to the seductively textured and marvelously intense big-bodied flavors that are borderline robust as the supporting tannins are dense but refined. I really like the Zen-like sense of harmony to the explosively long and pungent mineral-driven finish that really stains the palate. This is flat out remarkable.Burghound | 97 BHThe 2012 Musigny Vieilles Vignes from the Comte de Vogüé is also a brilliant wine in the making. The deep, pure and nascently complex nose wafts from the glass in a stunning blend of red and black cherries, raspberries, red plums, cocoa, a stunning base of soil tones, hints of the smokiness to come, pungent (morning) violets and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and perfectly focused, with a sappy core of fruit, glorious transparency, fine-grained tannins and impeccable balance on the very, very long, pure and perfectly focused finish. A great wine. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 97 JGDeep, bright red. Brilliantly complex, focused nose offers scents of redcurrant, blueberry, crushed stone, spices, red licorice, menthol and botanical herbs. Boasts extraordinary sweetness and depth to its chewy, sappy red and dark fruit flavors. Really bulletproof fruit here! Spreads out on the back half to saturate every square millimeter of the palate, finishing with penetrating berry fruit and salty minerality. Remarkably long and tactile.Vinous Media | 96+ VMFractionally more evolution to the colour compared to their Bonnes Mares. The bouquet is reserved but suggest great depth. There is a sensuality to the nose, and an assured length, but still we are waiting. This will grow from here, and has the weight of sensual fruit that we want, albeit for the moment in abeyance. Tasted Jun 2022.Jasper Morris | 94 JM

(one-third whole clusters): Good deep ruby-red. Smoky aromas of dark cherry, black raspberry and spices. Broad and fine-grained but tightly wound today, with serious but suave tannins currently dominating the wine’s fruit. This will need at least a few years of bottle aging upon release.Vinous Media | 90+ VMSoft floral hints add a touch of elegance to the pretty red currant, plum and earth aromas. There is once again a really lovely sense of underlying energy to the lightly mineral-inflected flavors that possess admirable purity of expression, all wrapped in a mouth coating, linear and highly persistent finish. There is some youthful austerity and a hint of dryness present but the harmony is such that this should come together in time.Burghound | 90-92 BHThe 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles, which comes from the domaine’s two parcels that total just over one hectarewas raised in 25% new oak. It includes one-third whole-cluster fruit and during elevage this cru tended to be reduced and therefore underwent more remontage than usual. The nose is difficult to discern at the moment and I feel that at this juncture it needs to divine more focus. The palate is better with fine tannins and very well-judged acidity. The finish is masculine, foursquare but well-delineated, swerving towards an unexpected ferrous finish. This will need 4-5 years in bottle and should delight with bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 89-91 RP

There are three barrels of the 2012 Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru from 75-year old vines. It has a fragrant bouquet that offers a smorgasbord of red berry fruits and minerals to the point where the new wood in imperceptible. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannins and very well judged acidity. The finish is more linear that other vintages that I have tried from barrel, nicely focused with a touch of spice popping up on the extraordinary long aftertaste.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP(these vines are 75 years old, according to Cathiard): Bright, dark red. Subtle aromas of crushed cherry, minerals and smoke verge on liqueur-like. Then creamy-sweet and superrich in the mouth, delivering outstanding plushness and a seamless texture. This very large-scaled wine boasts terrific volume. Finishes with substantial but firm tannins and lingering notes of sweet raspberry and spicy oak. I wanted a bit more complexity and grip for an even higher score: am I underrating this grand cru today?Vinous Media | 93+ VMA strikingly spicy nose offers up notes composed of essence of red pinot fruit, black currant, violets and sandalwood. In much the same fashion as the En Orveaux this possesses an ultra-refined mouth feel as the shaping tannins are quite fine-grained that could not be more different compared to that of the Malconsorts yet this is perhaps even longer. Even at such a young state of development this is a remarkably harmonious wine of understated grace. Wow.Burghound | 93-96 BH

The 2012 vintage of Clos de la Roche from Domaine Dujac is still a very, very young wine, but it is going to be magnificent in the fullness of time. Today it offers up superb purity and transparency, though still a tad marked by its new oak component in this very early stage. The bouquet is a fine, fine blend of red and black cherries, plums, raw cocoa, a fine base of soil and plenty of smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and marvelously soil-driven for such a young wine, with a sappy core of fruit, fine focus and grip and a very long, suavely tannic finish. The balance here is just perfect, and once the new wood is fully integrated into the base of the wine, it will probably close down for an extended period of hibernation. I would not touch it again until it has celebrated its twentieth birthday- not because it is not going to be impressive to drink younger- but there is so much waiting in the wings here that it is crazy not to give this great wine time to develop all aspects of its beauty! Drink between 2032-2075.John Gilman | 96 JGDujac's 2012 Clos de La Roche bristles with palpable energy and intensity. One of the more polished wines in the range, the Clos de la Roche is all about saline-infused energy and brilliance today. I very much like the precision here, but time has shown that the Clos de la Roche only starts to blossom with considerable bottle age. Today, the layers of dimension are present, but also compacted. In a few years, the 2012 will be truly magical.Vinous Media | 96 VMThere is enough reduction to notice though not so much as to completely dominate the floral-suffused nose. This also possesses relatively fine-grained tannins though there is notably more size, weight and power as well as a bit more complexity to the mineral-driven and impeccably well-balanced finish that is both explosive and palate staining. This is most impressive as it manages to deliver stunning intensity and depth of material without any undue heaviness. Note however that this is one very structured wine that will require a lengthy stay in a cool cellar to arrive at its full peak. (Drink starting 2030)Burghound | 95 BHThe 2012 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru had a lot of reduction on the nose, but the palate tannic and masculine, dark and introspective yet well balanced with a crescendo of flavors towards an energetic, spicy finish that leave the tongue tingling after the wine has departed. This looks like being a vin de garde, such is the grip and forcefulness of this wine.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94-96 RP-NM

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes shows a much more aromatic, lifted side of Chambolle than the Groseilles, which precedes it in this tasting. Sweet floral notes meld into bright red berries in a classy, understated Chambolle that should drink nicely pretty much right out of the gate. Finely cut, chalky tannins give the wine much of its drive and focus.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMThis offers a noticeable step up in aromatic elegance with its ultra-fresh, cool and restrained nose that is comprised of essence of red and blue pinot fruit, spice and stone nuances. There is excellent tension and beautiful delineation to the racy and silky medium-bodied flavors that also exude a fine bead of minerality on the delicious finish that tightens up quickly. This is a really beautiful and harmonious effort, indeed the word Zen comes to mind.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes comes from vines that border the village, around two-thirds planted in the 1920s, the rest in 1966. It owns one of the most appealing and complex aromatic profiles of the Chambolle premier crus, adorned with ripe blackberry, bilberry and mineral aromas that are vivacious and captivating to the senses. The palate is energetic with a crisp, citric line of acidity and impressive poise on the finish. I just love the vibrancy, the passion already evident in this Chambolle-Musigny.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP