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Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques 1er Cru 1996

Gevrey Chambertin / Rousseau

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Tasting Notes

There is grand cru breed and elegance to burn in a medium bodied, finely detailed package with good richness and compelling complexity to the reasonably concentrated and very long flavors. As one would expect from a '96, there is enough acidity to notice yet in this case it appears reasonably well-integrated and gives real lift to the persistent finish. In short, this is a fine if not truly outstanding Rousseau Clos St. Jacques that has arrived at full maturity though it should hold there for many years. Mostly consistent notes.

Score: 91

Allen Meadows, Burghound Maturity: 2013+ 23 August 2013

This dark-colored wine is produced from vines that were planted in 1920 and 1921. Profound aromas of red cherries, blackberries covered in chocolate, morel and porcini mushrooms, road tar, and toasty oak lead to an awesome explosion of densely packed fruit on the palate. Layers of juicy and plump cherries, minerals, stones, and fresh herbs are intertwined with vanilla-imbued oak in this expressive and feminine beauty. It possesses extraordinary depth, concentration, and structure. This full-bodied, velvety-textured, refined, and focused wine also possesses an extremely long and delineated finish. It should be at its best between 2003 and 2010. As far as the 1996 vintage is concerned, Rousseau's comments were bluntly candid - "the North wind is concentration. It saves a harvest, prevents rot, concentrates color and sugar, concentrates everything we want. 1996 is better than 1990, it may be too early to say, but there, I said it." With that, Rousseau picked up one of the tastevins hanging on the wall (these are the small, wide, shallow, and traditional silver utensils used for tasting. As far as I know he is the only Burgundian who continues to use them on a regular basis), and the tasting began.

Score: 92 - 94

Pierre Rovani, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2003-2010 31 August 1998