Red Wines

wines

The 2013 Clos de Bèze is a magical young wine in the making. The stunning bouquet is a brilliant blend of red and black cherries, black raspberries, exotic spice tones, raw cocoa, lovely meatiness, black minerality, a touch of fresh nutmeg and a very discreet base of cedary new wood. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and almost racy in its tanginess, with a sappy core of black fruit, magnificent complexity, extremely refined tannins, laser-like focus and a very, very long, svelte and intensely flavored finish. Today, this wine is a profound middleweight in profile, but I suspect it is in the process of putting on weight and will be plenty full-bodied when it reaches its summit of brilliance. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 98 JGA bright and beautiful colour, clear and bright, with a riotously stylish nose. It is not massive in this vintage but all the class is there. Indeed, Rousseau’s Clos de Bèze was hard to spit as the balance is nigh on perfect. Glossy without being vulgar, showing waves of detailed fruit, with admirable precision at the finish. Drink from 2023-2035. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 96 JMSubtle if not invisible wood serves as a backdrop for the mildly reduced nose so again do yourself a favor and decant this if you’re going to crack one before 2020 or so. There is knock-out intensity to the gorgeously textured and mineral-inflected flavors that are imposingly scaled yet there is not even a hint of heaviness on the restrained, delineated and explosively long and mouth coating finale. This is a breathtakingly robust and powerful Bèze that is going to require all of 20 years to reach it zenith.Burghound | 95 BHGood dark red. More closed today than the Clos Saint-Jacques, showing a stronger oak presence to its reticent aromas of dark raspberry, strawberry and blood orange. Then hugely rich, opulent and pliant on the palate if still youthfully reserved. Completely different in shape from the Clos Saint-Jacques, conveying a strong impression of solidity and saline minerality. Finishes with big but ripe, thoroughly integrated tannins. This may not have quite the fruit intensity or verve of the 2014 but it still leaves the salivary glands humming.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

This wine stood out at a recent vertical that stretched back to 1964. The 2014 vintage is an unqualified success here, with voluptuously ripe red and blackberry fruit, nuances of smoke and spice. The texture is silky and dense but perfectly balanced by a lovely freshness that carries the fruit to an impressively long finish. It is assembled from the three Rousseau parcels that total 1.42ha. Destemmed and fermented slowly on native yeasts before ageing in new casks.Decanter Magazine | 99 DECBy the time I arrived at the Clos de Bèze and Chambertin here, I was emotionally spent from the symphony of 2014 brilliance that had preceded them. However, both these wines are so profound that there is no doubt that they are the two red wines of the vintage this year! The 2014 Clos de Bèze soars from the glass in a brilliantly expressive nose of red and black plums, red and black cherries, gorgeous minerality, raw cocoa, gamebirds, violets and cedary new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and sappy at the core, with magical soil inflection, laser-like focus, enormous nascent complexity and a very, very long, tangy and fine-grained finish of enormous energy and seamless balance. Stunning juice. (Drink between 2027 - 2090)John Gilman | 99+ JGA towering well of cherry, raspberry, wild herb and mineral flavors are the hallmarks of this red, which possesses terrific energy and concentration on a slim frame. The fruit-, mineral- and spice-filled finish goes on and on, with an aerial component that drives the complex aftertaste. Best from 2023 through 2045. 61 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSA brilliantly discreet spicy nose consists of sandalwood, essence of black cherry liqueur, violets and a hint of the sauvage. There is seriously good size, weight and power to the imposingly scaled flavors that display almost painful intensity on the driving, explosively long and very firmly structured finish where a pleasing bead of minerality appears which helps to add lift to the finish. This is powerful and presently quite compact yet my sense is that despite being very tightly wound today, it should progressively unfold such that in 7 to 8 years, it may be sufficiently civilized to enjoy if you don’t wish to wait for its full maturity.Burghound | 97 BHSaturated, bright dark red. Knockout soil-inflected aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, mocha and gibiers, with the wine’s 100% new oak element nicely integrated. Boasts outstanding sucrosité for the vintage but strong saline minerality and firm acidity perfectly counterpoint the wine’s sweetness. This very large-scaled, densely packed wine spreads out horizontally on the inexorable rising finish, saturating the palate with a fine dusting of tannins and shimmering minerality. This stunning Clos de Bèze has all the elements for greatness.Vinous Media | 96+ VM

The reference standard in Chambertin. This is every bit the equal of the Clos de Bèze, if slightly less approachable young. Blended from four parcels including a cooler section near the southern end and another near the top of the slope, this gives a wine of incredible concentration if a bit reserved initially. Here, ripe berry fruit, a strong mineral/saline edge and a gamey note all emerge with time, and the texture is firm and tightly wound. This should age gracefully for the better part of a century. Drinking Window 2029 - 2069.Decanter | 99 DECThis too evidences subtle wood influence on the ripe yet cool nose that combines notes of spice, earth and floral elements with those of dark berries and poached plum. There is excellent intensity to the full-bodied, concentrated and mineral-inflected flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract while delivering excellent depth and persistence on the beautifully balanced and imposingly powerful if decidedly compact finale. This strikingly pure effort is already Zen-like in its sense of harmony and should prove to be remarkably long-lived. Brilliant. (Drink starting 2041)Burghound | 98 BHThe 2019 Chambertin Grand Cru is very promising, unwinding in the glass with aromas of exotic spices, grilled meats, cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, licorice and loamy soil. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it was the most introverted, tightly wound wine in the cellar on the day of my visit. Broad-shouldered and elegantly muscular, it’s bright and precise, concluding with a penetrating finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPThe 2019 vintage of Chambertin from Domaine Rousseau is a perfect synthesis of power and elegance. The bouquet is still quite primary, but offers up a refined blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, espresso, a fabulously complex base of soil, grilled meats, cedary oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is pure, deep and full, with a sappy core of fruit, stunning transparency and grip, fine-grained tannins and a very, very long, very complex finish. All this magical wine needs is time in the cellar to reach its cruising altitude! (Drink between 2035-2100)John Gilman | 96+ JGThe 2019 Chambertin Grand Cru is initially tightly wound on the nose, opening gradually to reveal blackberry, raspberry, orange pith and rose petal scents; more sous-bois character develops with time. The palate is very harmonious with a lightly spiced entry. A little oak remains to be subsumed, but there is fine depth on the finish, and veins of blood orange on the aftertaste. This feels like a Chambertin that is holding everything back and letting the Clos-de-Bèze steal the show. Once in bottle, we will find out if that was just part of its tactics.Vinous Media | 95-97 VM

Produced from three parcels: two in the original Clos de la Roche vineyard and almost 1ha in Les Fremières. Aged in used casks like the producer’s Charmes, this has a very different character, with dark, plummy fruit alongside an earthy note on the nose, and a texture that is less firm perhaps, but broader and more full-bodied. Very solid. Drinking Window 2024 - 2059.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2019 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru opens in the glass with rich aromas of berry fruit, loamy soil, peonies, dark chocolate and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and elegantly muscular, it’s generous and enveloping, with velvety tannins and fine depth at the core. Bright and lively, it’s another wine that marries maturity with freshness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2019 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru is highly perfumed on the nose, presenting an irresistible mixture of red and subtle blue fruit, very harmonious and exquisitely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. A feminine and very elegant Clos de la Roche that may well be earlier-drinking than others but feels very poised, with a touch of spice on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Red) Here too there is just enough wood to remark upon surrounding the well-layered blend of red and blue pinot fruit, earth and a plenitude of spice and floral elements. The wonderfully energetic, sleek and equally muscular larger-scaled flavors also brim with minerality on the refined, focused, balanced and even more persistent finish. This is terrific and a wine that should easily repay two decades of cellaring if you have the patience. (Drink starting 2036)Burghound | 92-95 BH