Clos(er look at) Saint Jacques

CLOS SAINT JACQUES PERSPECTIVE - Chez Gilberto (12/10/2016)

Six wines consumed blind. Wines were opened at noon and simply re-corked. Tasting commenced at 18h00. First without food in flights of 2 wines blind and then with food and the identity of the wines revealed.
Rousseau came out on top for all of the participants. Fourrier’s CSJ was more one dimensional, four square and driven by the house style at the outset. By the end of the night the Rousseau was showing the same whereas the Fourrier had gained in complexit, breadth and interest.

  • 2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
    Reduction obscures the wine for the first 10 minutes but it blows off and reveals a slightly spicy, slightly oaky wine which is very floral red fruit. Cardamon and peonies mix with a subtle note of stems in a wine which is relatively approachable with a well defined but pleasantly agreeable structure.
  • 2013 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    Cool, compact red fruit with a tight, precise structure. A subtly sauvage, animal note. The wine opens after a few hours and gains in intensity of the red fruit. Fourrier’s house signature stands out in the purity, the elegance and the directness of this wine.

Rousseau’s Charmes did what it said on the label, it charmed everyone. But it wasn’t able to distract anyone enough to prevent any of the participants from voting for the CSJ as wine of the flight. The Charmes brought a lot of interesting complexity whereas the CSJ was concentrated on delivering pure fruit.

  • 2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Dark fruit, black cherries and plums, is complimented by a smokey, rubbery menthol note. Tannins are silky but there is a slightly bitter end suggesting a bit of misplaced oak. A tremendously interesting wine which needs a little time to come together and integrate the oak.
  • 2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    Red bramble fruit and floral, rose notes are accented by a smoky coffee scent. The wine is firm, upright and serious in the mouth. With air the wine gains breadth and a certain waxy, confit character. Virile but elegant.

A flight underscored by juxtaposition. Scale and size of the Dujac was worthy of a GC. Clair’s CSJ was a reference wine for excellent PN.

  • 2013 Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    Dark, black morello cherry fruit. Réglisse, herbal, smoke and violet are all pronounced and as upfront as the fruit. A lot of southern character. Tannins have a good grip but they are well enveloped in the sweet, voluptuous fruit.
  • 2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    Classic, text book pinot noir. Red fruited, slightly caramélisée nose. Any lack of complexity at this stage is more than made up for with charm. Tannins are silky and well integrated. Palate is sweet, soft and structured with freshness.

Picked up on an auction sight for a song this wine was a pleasant reminder that very few of the wines from the region are at risk of being consumed “too late”.

  • 1966 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay
    Ripe strawberries and Amarena cherries with a balsamic note revealing the wine’s age. Nevertheless there is a freshness from a note of tarragon. The palate is lively, taught and deceivingly more youthful than expected. Seductive but subtile at age 50, a sublime villages wine.

All of the Clos Saint Jacques shared a common tannin structure; each were the more firm, rigid and structured of each pair. Rousseau’s Villages stood out for being able to keep up with the company in terms of complexity and structure. Dujac’s Combottes was a significant deviation from the theme both geographically as well as characteristically.

A 1966 Lafarge Volnay was thrown in for good measure and it revealed the stalwart nature of the domaine, the village and pinot noir in general.
Posted from CellarTracker

Thank you.

Did you think the 1er Crus seemed to young to drink now?

3 CLOS ST. JACQUES AND 3 ROUSSEAU’S + 1 DUJAC - (10.12.2016)

We decided for a blind tasting of three Clos St. Jacques (Clair, Fourrier and Rousseau) to be completed by two Rousseau from Gevrey-Chambertin - to have fun a Village and a Grand Cru - and a 1er Cru by Dujac.
Bottles opened at noon and tasting started at 18. The flights were organized so that in each one there was one CSJ, but nobody knew which one. Technically it was for everybody single blind.
We scored the wines with zero to three stars, and somehow ended up giving half stars too. My scores and the total (we were five) are given for each wine.
Tasting blind is always very instructive.

Retasted over three more days, this showed more clearly a green streak on the nose, reminding of geranium - not very nice, but it dissipated eventually.
Also: tannins became more prominent. This needs a lot of time.

  • 2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
    N. 2
    Darker fruit than the previous one, in an elegant expression, even though the oak is felt and covers the rest.
    Balanced and centered, dark, lively, with a spicy touch. Tannins from oak.
    Me: 1
    Group: 9


  • 2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
    N. 3
    Oak here too, under which some beautiful red fruit emerges, in a delicate expression. Some oranges too.
    Lively and fresh, almost spicy, but then the oak takes over and covers everything. Good potential, if the oak is absorbed.
    Me: 1
    Group: 10
  • 2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    N. 4
    The oak is even stronger here. Well chosen, but dominating.
    Similar in style to the previous one, lively and spicy. Fresher and somewhat saline. Very nice and better balanced than the previous one.
    Me: 2
    Group: 11

Retasted over three days: the oak slowly dissipated and on day three showed a wonderfully aromatic and spicy, and very graceful nose. The palate is elegant, lightfooted, fresh but at the same time very intense. In great shape and at this point clearly the best of the six wines.


  • 2013 Domaine Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    N. 5
    Beautiful, natural, expressive, floral and citrusy. Sweet spices, like in a lebkuchen.
    Fresh and lively, full of energy. Beautiful texture from the tannins.
    WOTN for me.
    Me: 2.5
    Group: 11.5
  • 2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
    N. 6
    Floral and sublimated nose, beautiful!
    A bit of oak, but delicate and very well judged.
    Very enjoyable on the palate, but softer than the previous one. This too has a nice texture, but is less lively. Lovely.
    Me: 1.5
    Group: 11

Perhaps surprisingly, but the Dujac was the WOTN for me, with the most natural expression and a lot of energy.
Bruno Clair was also showing very well, but coming after the Dujac suffered a bit in the comparison.
Rousseau’s were all dominated by the oak, so that at this stage I think that one can judge them only on the second or third day.
In fact, the CSJ became just beautiful on the third day and stood clearly above the Dujac (on day three).
Fourrier showed best immediately after opening, and otherwise was not in very good shape, often showing an off-putting green streak. I am confident that this can transform into a beautiful floral twist if it gets absorbed well. But the wine will need time.

Very nice tasting, lovely people.
Posted from CellarTracker

I finally managed to add my own notes about this wonderful tasting.
I don’t think one can merge the notes of two people into one tasting event on CT, so I added a new one…

Thanks for the notes guys.