Rare Wines

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The 1990 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques 1er Cru is magnificent. It displays stunning definition on the nose; there’s no messing about as it ladles out captivating raspberry, wild strawberry and light oyster shell notes. Though opulent and reflective of the growing season, the bouquet oozes class. The palate has a sorbet-like freshness and so much vitality after 31 years, building toward a perfectly symmetrical finish featuring vivacious morello cherries and raspberry coulis and hints of bay leaf. This is simply Rousseau in full flight. How do you follow that pair?Vinous Media | 97 VMThis was a wine that I was quite curious to try because while I had the good fortune to have enjoyed it several times in the 1990s, it had not come my way since 2001. I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint with its ripe yet airy aromas of sous-bois, spice, earth, game and beautifully well-layered secondary fruit. There is fine richness as well as very good power to the delicious and attractively textured medium-bodied flavors that exhibit equally good layering on the impressively persistent finale. This is not a particularly elegant vintage for the Rousseau CSJ and there remains enough tannin to notice on the slightly warm finish but overall, I found this to have aged out extremely well.Burghound | 93 BHThe outstanding Gevrey-Chambertin-Clos St.-Jacques possesses a saturated deep ruby color, and an explosive nose of black fruits, spicy new oak, flowers, and truffles. In the mouth, the wine is dense, seductive, and ripe, with low acidity, glycerin, and alcohol in the finish, making it a voluptuous, opulent mouthful of chewy Pinot Noir. Drink it over the next decade.Robert Parker | 90 RPA supple 1990, with a firm core of solid tannins and enough fruit to compensate for the tannic backbone. A well-integrated wine, with lots of raspberry, mushroom and wet earth flavors. Best after 1996.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

It is pretty amazing, when drinking this stunning wine, to realize that this was only the second vintage made by the Mugneret sisters on their own after the tragic passing of their father Georges in 1988. Their 1990 Ruchottes is one of the finest examples of this vintage that I have tasted in several years, offering a purity that is hard to find these days in this slightly roasted vintage. The nose wafts from the glass in a very complex blend of red and black cherries, sweet dark berries, grilled meats, dark soil tones, a touch of cigar ash, espresso, mustard seed and plenty of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and tangy, with a great core of black fruit, superb soil signature and grip, still a wisp of backend tannin and lovely balance on the long, focused and very complex finish. Great juice with many, many decades of life still ahead. (Drink between 2023 - 2070)John Gilman | 96 JGThe 1990 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru is consistent with the bottle poured at the vertical in London. It offers mainly black fruit on the nose laced with mulberry, liquorice and Clementines, though I would have liked more delineation. The palate is rounded and generous in terms of fruit, grippy in the mouth with a dense finish that just lacks the grace of more recent vintages. Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune.Vinous Media | 91 VM

(Domaine Armand Rousseau, Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Clos-St-Jacques, Burgundy, France, Red) Medium-full colour. Rich, concentrated, high quality nose with a touch of new oak. Fullish body. Profound. Youthful. Excellent grip. Very impressive finish. Splendid quality as usual. Will still improve. (Drink between 2003-2025)Decanter | 96 DEC(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin "Clos St. Jacques" 1er Cru Red) Knockout aromas of wonderfully intense black and red cherry fruit loaded with cassis and a touch of new oak introduce medium-bodied, sweet, harmonious, very expressive and long flavors all underpinned by racy minerality and firm structure. The tannins are prominent but ripe and the density of extract is impressive and this both coats and stains the palate. As it always does, this delivers finesse with real mid-palate punch with near perfect grace. For my taste, I would hold this for another 1 to 3 years but it would be no vinous crime to be drinking this now. Note to be sure to serve this cool as the alcohol becomes noticeable if it becomes a bit too warm. (Drink starting 2013)Burghound | 93 BHRousseau’s 2001 Grevey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques is a very pretty wine, bursting from the glass with a projected bouquet of rose petal, cassis, red cherry, cedary new oak and sweet forest floor. On the palate, the wine is youthful but expressive, with a sweet, almost candied core of succulent fruit, framed by supple tannins. At first glance, this seems to epitomize Rousseau’s elegant style, but by the time the bottle was finished, the wine had begun to seem just a touch facile and diffuse, missing the intensity and concentration that this bottling can attain.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPGood medium red. Strawberry, coffee, rose petal and smoky oak on the nose. Sweet, ripe and plump, with aromatic flavors of plum and spicy oak. Here the nearly 100% new oak percentage (the foregoing wines get little or no new oak) adds considerable sex appeal and nicely frames the wine’s rather delicate fruit. Finishes long, subtle and aromatic, with an impression of finer tannins.Vinous Media | 90 VM

(Chambertin- Domaine Dujac) The 2007 Chambertin is also a beautiful bottle in the making, as it offers up a beautiful aromatic mélange of cherries, red plums, coffee, cocoa, a great base of soil, spice tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and magically complex, with great length and grip, flawless focus, a sappy core and superb length on the modestly-tannic and very tangy finish. Quintessential Chambertin. I would love to drink this wine side by side with Éric Rousseau’s example a dozen years from now. (Drink between 2017-2050)John Gilman | 96 JG(Domaine Dujac Chambertin Grand Cru Red) A much more restrained and certainly cooler nose of all red berry fruit aromas that possess obvious mineral and underbrush highlights dissolves into precise, intense and driving medium full flavors that possess simply terrific length and vibrancy. This is not a super concentrated effort but it is extremely well balanced, persistent and classy. A qualitative choice. (Drink starting 2019)Burghound | 91-94 BHBright medium red. Aromas of black cherry, red berries, iron and flowers hint at a liqueur-like ripeness. Dense, sweet and deep, but in a rather polite style for Chambertin, with its fruits and flowers to the fore. But this classy, beautifully balanced wine shows a weightless quality that is compelling.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2010 Chambertin is arguably the most complete of the Trapet Grand Crus. The Chambertin is distinguished for its seamless, generous fruit and totally inviting personality. Crushed flowers, sweet spices and licorice are some of the many notes that develop in the glass, adding complexity and depth to the expansive, creamy finish. The 2010 Chambertin was stunning a year ago, it is stunning today and my impression is it will always be magnificent, even if it is likely to go through a stubborn period somewhere along the way. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2045.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPJean-Louis Trapet’s 2010 Chambertin is another stunning yardstick of this great vintage. The cool, reserved and utterly complex nose delivers a superb mélange of cherries, red plums, woodsmoke, mustard seed, brilliantly complex soil tones, coffee and a discreet base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure on the attack, with a reserved profile, a rock solid core of sappy fruit, ripe tannins, bright acids, flawless balance and laser-like focus on the hugely intense, seamless and very soil-driven finish. Just a brilliant bottle of Chambertin in the making. (Drink between 2025 - 2100)John Gilman | 97+ JGBright, moderately saturated medium red. Alluring, nuanced, soil-driven scents of raspberry, smoke, mocha, coffee, licorice, cinders and underbrush; at once more expressive, more complex and more harmonious than the 2012. Again, wonderfully sweet in the mouth as well as impressively dense for the vintage, showing a stronger element of salinity than the 2012. Intense dark berry, licorice, mineral and coffee flavors are a bit more reticent than the nose would suggest but this wonderfully silky, salty, soil-driven wine boasts near-perfect balance and a very long, subtle, rising finish that leaves behind a perfume of dried flowers and white pepper. Classically dry on the finish, with the tannins perhaps a touch less mellow in the early going than those of the 2012. (13% alcohol, 3.5 pH; 4.1 g/l acidity; 31 hectoliters per hectare; harvested on September 26; vinified with 50% whole clusters)Vinous Media | 96 VMA reticent, even shy but highly complex nose features intensely floral aromas of pure wild red berry fruit, wet stone, underbrush and a whiff of the sauvage. This is a big and powerful wine which makes for an interesting contrast with the silky palate impression of the well-muscled and large-scaled flavors that are underpinned by very ripe tannins and that lovely sense of tension on the wonderfully energetic and persistent finish. This should age well for years to come, though once again, note well that this will require ample bottle age before it can deliver all of its full, and considerable, potential. In sum, this is a stunningly good Chambertin.Burghound | 96 BH

The 2018 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru has a very elegant bouquet that is more poised and detailed than the Charmes-Chambertin, offering black cherries, raspberry and ground gravelly scents; floral notes emerge with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, gorgeous blueberry and strawberry fruit and a silky-smooth, sensual finish that is utterly refined. Stunning.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThe 2018 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with aromas of cherries, raspberries and rose petals, framed by a deft touch of new oak, and on the palate it’s more reserved than the Charmes at this early stage. Medium to full-bodied, deep and elegantly structural, it’s lively and nicely defined, but it will need a bit more time than the Charmes to come around. As readers will remember, Dugat’s vines in Chapelle-Chambertin are located in lieu-dit Les Gémeaux, a site that tends to produce somewhat more structured wines than adjacent lieu-dit La Chapelle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95+ RP(Domaine Claude Dugat Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru Red) A riper and more deeply pitched nose is comprised by notes of plum, cassis, violet and discreet earth and spice nuances. The sleek and almost painfully intense big-bodied flavors possess event power and muscle while delivering excellent persistence on the minerally, crunchy and youthfully austere finish. This too is very clearly constructed for the long-term and it’s pointless to buy this without the expectation of aging it properly. (Drink starting 2036).Burghound | 92-94 BH

(Mazy-Chambertin- Domaine Joseph Roty) The 2019 Mazy-Chambertin is utterly brilliant. The bouquet is pure, precise and beautifully sappy in personality, soaring from the glass in a mix of black cherries, cassis, smoked meats, very complex, dark soil tones, woodsmoke, those savory elements particular to Mazy’s terroir, coffee bean and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and perfectly balanced, with a beautiful core of fruit, stunning mineral drive, ripe, buried tannins and a very, very long, complex and seamless finish. A great, great wine in the making. (Drink between 2035-2120)John Gilman | 98 JGThe 2019 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru opens in the glass with aromas of wild berries, plums, rose petals, loamy soil, black truffles and smoked meats. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it’s a fleshy, textural wine with terrific concentration, lively acids and a long, saline finish. It’s one of the high points of the range.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2019 Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru has an almost confit-like bouquet, wild strawberry intermingling with crème de cassis and incense, plus just a touch of melted tar. The fresh palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Quite oaky on the finish (100% new); this will require several years to assimilate.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM(Domaine Joseph Roty Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru Red) Discreet though not imperceptible wood sets off the very spicy and smoky liqueur-like aromas of mostly dark berries that are liberally laced with notes of the sauvage and warm earth. The caressing but imposingly powerful big-bodied flavors brim with both minerality and sappy dry extract that buffers the super-saline finish that goes on and on and where the wood telegraphed by the nose gradually reemerges. This is a robust, even slightly rustic, Mazy that should comfortably reward 15+ years of cellaring. (Drink starting 2034)Burghound | 93 BH