Clos St Jacques Tasting 2009 and 2010 (Long) updated with 99-00 Esmonin CSJ

WINE TALK
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Clos St Jacques Tasting 2009 and 2010
Organised by Mark St Clair

The tasting was held in Wellington on Wednesday 12 February. Mark St Clair had been gathering the wines for quite a while as well as received contributions from some of the tasters’ cellars. Having all of the 5 CSJ producers over two vintages is not a straight forward proposition in New Zealand as these are very difficult to source from here. This was very much a labor of passion on Mark’s part and a very well organized tasting with extensive notes and a great setup (thanks to the good doctor).

Helen Master (Ata Rangi) chaired the tasting and in attendance were several other winemakers from Martinborough: Larry McKenna and Huw Kinch (Escarpment), Paul Mason (Martinborough Vineyards), Guy McMaster (Urlar), Chris Reid (Ata Rangi) and John Kavanagh (Foley Family Wines). There were some serious wine professionals too (Raymond Chan http://www.raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz) and connoisseurs and a some of the usual Wellington bunch (Mikey D. Number 7 and the good doctor).

The wines were served blind and all at the same time, had been decanted into another bottle 2 hours before, and all we know is that they were grouped per vintage. I wrote the notes as we tasted and before knowing what the wines were.

Nine of the sixteen he tasters agreed to communicate their rankings at the end. I’ve indicated those as well as my ranking.

wine 1: 2009 Sylvie Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Dark and opaque; surprisingly dense. Lifted toasted notes of oak, vanilla, spicy plums and plush dark cherries. There are spices (full-stem influence) and game character but vintage influence (I’m immediately thinking 2009) dominates; this is very ripe and tary. Very ripe, dusty, dry and astringent tannins with mid-palates of spicy plums and rich fruit. This is resting on the sweetness of fruit and oak. This is extractive and overworked winemaking. Hard to find any characteristics linked to place and varietal.

Group ranking 10th My ranking: 10th

Wine 2: 2009 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Ruby with translucid core. More lifted but also more subdued than the first wine with spicy and gamy notes, with raspberry, cherry and current. No obvious florality as this is developing savory notes. As it opens further, this has candied character but it’s not over the top. The wines has plenty of ripe and succulent tannins. It is immersed in rich fruit with some acidity. It’s very primary and not entirely in balance at this point.

Group ranking 8th My ranking: 8th

Wine 3: 2009 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
This is more reserved and more elegant than wine 2. Distinct floral characters, rose petals, violets with bitter cherries. Later it also shows some candied notes but it works quite well with the floral lift. Impressive palate: totally infused with fruit and tannins, big structure, big tannins, plenty of oak but already quite harmonious. Totally coiled and concentrated. A massive wine with some degree of rusticity because of its extractive nature.

Group ranking 7th My ranking: 7th

Wine 4: 2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieilles Vignes
The most evolved wine of the night; some browning. This is more oxydative style of winemaking. There are cherries, spicy plums, but the earthy and gamy characters dominates. The wine is more open and approachable than any of the other wines and it shows evolution in its savory notes. On palate there are bitter and spicy plums and cherries. It is a long and rich wine with sweet fruit and plenty of stuffing. I associated this with the style of winemaking I see at Gros Frères with the more oxidative, hot ferments and savory characters, and similarly it can be fantastic (Grands Echezeaux 2010) and disappointing (Grands Echezeaux 2009). Here I was looking at this the same way I look at the Gros Frères 2009: expressive, open but a bit of a caricature.

The wine was controversial. The consensus was that the savoury and gamey character was brett. Some of us dismissed the wine on that basis. Others were willing to accept that level of brett and mark the wine up for its complexing qualities But we all agreed that it would actually be a good bottle to take for dinner.

Group ranking 9th My ranking: 9th

Wine 5 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
More reserved style again, more like wine 3. Beautiful floral lift, and pure crystaline fruit. This is a big wine with a lot of fruit but there is no sense of jammy or candied fruit here. Plenty of toasty oak and game here. Tighter and fresher on palate than any of the previous wine. More crystalline an purer on palate. There is great bright and fresh berry fruit here. Good focus and length. Built to last.

Group ranking 4th My ranking: 3rd

Wine 6 2010 Sylvie Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Leather, game, sweaty animal; very gevrey in its animal expression. Big ripe fruit in a quite open and expressive way. It is toasty and extracted with notes of tobacco and sous-bois. Stems seem to play a key role here. Finishes on fresh bitter cherries. There detailed textural structure, good acidity, and freshness: lots of potential but whether this will harmoniously come together remains to be seen.

Group ranking 6th My ranking: 6th

Wine 7: 2010 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Much cooler and classic expression than wine 6. Cherries, plum, but cooler and tighter than most other wines in the second group of 5. Raspberry, and violet lift. Good ripe fruit on the front palate and then mid palate is infused with sappy richness and structure. Very powerful. This finishes with in a spicy and rich focus. Lots of extract. Concentrated, structured and powerful with less influence from oak than the next wines.

Group ranking 5th My ranking: 4th

Wine 8: 2010 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Again, a cool expression. Florals with violets; dark cherries and plum. Rich meaty character but quite balanced and focused. Rich and focused palate with reveals perfectly ripe tannins and high acids. Long finish. Very fruit dominant and quite extracted. I prefer wine 7 over this because I rate the sappiness of that higher than the power of this wine.

Group ranking 3rd My ranking: 5th

Wine 9: 2010 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieilles Vignes
Very pretty wine. Both lovely floral lift and quite open red fruit. Cassis and cherry. Fresh, high-toned fruit salad with spices and cinnamon. Rich entry and weighty mid palate with powerful tannic structure. This is rich and structured and very long. Fresh acidity, Lovely and charming wine. Tonight, the best wine.

Group ranking 1st My ranking: 1st

Wine 10: 2010 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Even cooler and darker than the previous 3 wines. Quite a different fruit spectrum: pomegranate. Savory notes of truffles. Quite delicacy and power. The oak is obvious but this is magnificent handling. Very textured mouthful that is deceptively approachable. This is quite extracted but the balance is magnificent. The structure and power are there. It does not give as much as wine 9 but this is a more powerful wine that is brooding and will emerge in quite a while. This is one for the cellar and to open in 15 years.

Group ranking 2nd My ranking: 2nd

I’m sure some of the other participants (Mikey D and Number 7 must be around I’m sure).

I’ll post some other general comments about vintage and producers. We drank some other wines too and maybe someone else got some notes. Among the wines we had later was a stunning 2001 Charmes Chambertin Bachelet (edited).

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Great tasting and report - thanks
I assume you meant Charmes-Chambertin from Bachelet?

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Interesting and not what I would have expected. I’d have assumed that the '09s would drink better right now, get more ‘points’, and the '10s would be better for the long haul but not as tasty today.
Also really surprised about '09 Fourrier CSJ. I’ll pull a bottle and see if I get the same things, the brett. Never noticed that when tasting Fourrier…

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From what I’ve read and tasted of Fourrier I would have said he prepares his wines the opposite to the oxydative style you seem to pick up. There is plenty of dissolved CO2 contained within to suppress this. Bad bottle?

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Certainly sounds like it, David.

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I think the notes are fair and reflect the wines - because they were blind. I have no problem understanding an ‘oxidative bottle’ in isolation, as you suggets Tom.

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I’ve only ever had one oxidised/oxidative bottle(I’m not entirely sure of the difference unless it is of degree) of Fourrier, out of very many, and that was clearly caused by cork failure.

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Thierry’s view on the Fourrier 2009 was certainly the consensus one, particularly among the winemakers, but was not mine. My TN is:

2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne
Mine was a minority view in the tasting in favour of this Fourrier. Colour red cherry. One of the best bouquets of the night. Pungent and musky, expressive aromas of red berries, spice and florals, with some earthiness. On palate, sweet entry, with ripe and pure flavours. Hedonistic. Layers of flavour, with red fruits, spice and earth elements prominent, and some animale and savoury elements. Not more than medium weight, but with real concentration, power and intensity. Big oak but well integrated, with polished, very fine grained tannins. Edged out the Rousseau as my favourite 2009 on the night. 94.

Peter, I’d be interested in your view if you do try one. And I agreed with just about everyone there that the '10s were superior as a group to the '09s, even this early.

Bill, yes the Bachelet was a Charmes 2001. I didn’t take notes but from memory a classy wine, quite primary, with big structure. Blind, I guessed much younger and did not pick it as a Gevrey.

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It was generally a very even line up, all good other than the 09 Fourrier which was a little four square and short due to the brett. No comparison to the great 2010.
I really liked the S Esmonin’s which did show oak but it was very refined, and the tannins were as silky as any of the line up. The Rousseaus showed real personality and power. The B Clair and Jadots sat between them.
Most of the 09’s were more obviously fruited than the 2010s, with nougat and confection characters that just need time to evolve. The 2010 were more structured wines, less obvious fruit, and more complex at present. Both I think are very long lived vintages.

Cheers Mike

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2009 Fourier: I also would not read too much into notes on one bottle. Once I realised this was Fourier, the oxidative winemaking theory clearly did not stand. Bottle variation… and specifically when compared to the 2010 where there was no hint of brett or an oxidative style. My understanding is that the suspected level of brett that some perceived in the 2009 would be very difficult to correct from one year to the next. Again, on one bottle, I would not rush to any kind of definitive conclusion. Cellartracker notes do not reflect any of the things I raised in my notes.So, yes, let’s hear of other bottles.

I mentioned the composition of the group of tasters at the beginning as one of the lessons of the night (for me) was the ways in which we taste; I know this might be self-evident but knowledge can come from simple things. This is what made the tasting so valuable. Some of the winemakers had more of a technical approach to tasting. Others had vast experience of drinking Burgundy and can draw from that.

Picking vintage was pretty easy for sure. The only wine where I would have struggled to pick vintage was 6. (See my comments there on how the winemaking seems to overtake typicity) I am happy to have both vintages in my cellar as they will serve different purposes.

(I have corrected the mention to the Bachelet wine in my first post as, of course, this was a Charmes.)

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The 2001 Bachelet Charmes Chambertin was great. One of the best 2001’s I have had. Very primary and drunk way to soon.

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I drank the Bachelet at the beginning of the year. It was really quite closed in compared to previous bottles.

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Thx for the notes Thierry - I love any wine from Clos St Jacques with certain preferences bases on house styles, etc. A really nicely set vineyard also if you have a chance to ever visit. CHEERS

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A really fun tasting Thierry and a great line up. I have a nice vertical of Jadot that I hope to line up one day.
I am not familiar with Esmonin, bet Fourrier, Jadot & Clair are all quite different producers stylistically. Did you get a feel for what the vineyard signature is?
Cheers,
Kent

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Thanks Jonathan.

A year ago some of us had a bottle of Rousseau CSJ 1993. That puts tasting younger wines into context: the elegance and power were just astounding and we all now how the house rates its own CSJ. I am very much a fan of Fourrier and when we went there two years ago tasting the 2010 line up out of bottles (including the CSJ) remains one of the best wine experiences I’ve had. Even more reasons to not rush to conclusions on the basis of one (2009) bottle. I’m very on the Clair wines; they may not reach the majesty of Rousseau or the beauty of Fourrier but I am always struck on the quality of the material and that great sappy concentration across the board.

I do have an extensive collection of pics I have taken of my wine geek friend(s) standing at every corner of CSJ (and many other places on the Cote). It’s always hard to explain those to civilians. However, walking along the Combes, looking at the different clos, the soil, the exposure, the direction of wind, for some of us that is one fo those pilgrimages; considering the historical significance of the site, it makes sense. We are going back again this year in June and preparing our visit to estates we have not visited before now and returning to others. Our experience is that while very small quantities of wine make it into New Zealand, the (few) importers here have a great reputation with the producers and we have always been well received.

I’d like to hear more from people who have had older bottles of Esmonin. We all realise that drinking wines at that age should be taken with a degree of caution. Any notes on older Esmonin?

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Kent, the vineyard signature was much more evident in the 2010s than the 2009s. It stood out in the 2010 Esmonin as it was the first 2010 in the line up. We had a discussion about this at the end and the inevitable discussion of the premier cru versus grand cru debate. We associate CSJ, and especially the 2010s, with a combination of tannic structure but with perfectly ripe and velvety grip, fresh acidity and cooler fruit spectrum, and savoury and earthy notes. All the 2010s were showing this quite clearly in different ways. But at the end of the day, the producer style is the most important component as far as I am concerned, within the confines of a set palette.

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To add to the record, my CT TNs (including the Jadot ‘sighter’):

2010 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers Bright red. Expressive ripe, Gevrey nose of red and black cherries, some earth and spice. On palate, sweet entry, very (but not over) ripe and racy with lovely bright acidity. Quite primary. Lesser weight than the Clos St Jacques but still good mid palate weight and depth. Sweet, fine grained tannins. Good structure and length. Attractive red berry flavours with some minerality, a little underbrush and animale. Quite long and finishes savoury. The acid structure suggests this a good medium term cellar wine (say 5-8+ years). 92 (edit, was 91).

2009 Sylvie Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
The darkest colour of all of the wines. Nose also individual and atypical. Bouquet more dark than red berry spectrum with aromas of forest floor and a hunk of damp earth. A gamey, feral quality to the nose, seemingly brett, with suggestions of tar and smoke (the Good Doctor said Barolo-like). A smooth entry to the palate, very dense and powerful, with great intensity. The oak very visible and a little rustic. Too low in acid, to my palate. Flavours in the savoury spectrum tending vegetal and mushroom (again suggesting brett), bitter cherries with some dark chocolate. My least preferred of the wines, but would be interesting to cellar, to see what emerges. 91.

2009 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Colour ruby. Bouquet classic Gevrey. Fragrant in the red berry spectrum, raspberries, red currants and red cherries with lifted spice. On palate, the acids much more prominent than the Esmonin, but nicely in proportion and balance. A bright, harmonious, finessed and pretty CSJ. It is juicy and quite ripe, with red berry flavours, but, at this early stage, perhaps a little confected. Sweet, silky tannins and good mid palate depth. Very primary and will of course integrate and improve, 93.

2009 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Similar colour to the Clair. Less expressive than the Clair on bouquet but with nice florals, some spice, tobacco, again in the red fruit spectrum. On palate, this seemed the most disjointed. Very primary, the acids a bit angular, the tannins a bit rustic, yet to settle down. Rich, sweet red berry flavours, tending a little confected. However, real concentration and power, impressive mid palate weight and structure. My sense was that the elements are all here to come together with time. 92.

2009 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne
Mine was a minority view in the tasting in favour of this Fourrier. Colour red cherry. One of the best bouquets of the night. Pungent and musky, expressive aromas of red berries, spice and florals, with some earthiness. On palate, sweet entry, with ripe and pure flavours. Hedonistic. Layers of flavour, with red fruits, spice and earth elements prominent, and some animale and savoury elements. Not more than medium weight, but with real concentration, power and intensity. Big oak but well integrated, with polished, very fine grained tannins. Edged out the Rousseau as my favourite 2009 on the night. 94.

2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Colour again ruby. Not a stereotypical 2009. A subdued but attractive nose with spicy oak present but not dominating. Pure and ripe red and black cherry aromas, with raspberry and roses. On palate, after a sweet entry, great volume, concentration, structure and length. Well integrated, suave tannins. Lovely texture with great power. Largely a red berry flavour profile but attractive minerality. The elevage is very visible but there is the fruit weight here to carry it. The acids were also prominent but part of the overall package, still to integrate, to become something really special. 94.

2010 Sylvie Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Darker than the surrounding wines, not as dark as the 2009. Heavy toasty oak on the nose, the heaviest in the lineup, a bit overpowering. Underneath it I detected aromas of tobacco, undergrowth and red fruits. On palate, much better, very smooth entry with real depth and power. The big oak was clearly there, but I concluded there was the dry extract to handle it. Excellent texture to this wine. Very primary, with serious structure and length, good acidity and impressive tannins. A wine to cellar for 20+ years. 94.

2010 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Bright ruby. Nose a little more muted than the Fourrier or Rousseau but attractive aromas of spice, musk, red cherries, redcurrants and raspberry, with a top note of violets. On palate, very primary and a little shut down. Fresh with nice attractive acids, well balanced, with real back palate intensity and good length. Very polished, fine tannins with flavours in the red berry spectrum. Hard to score at this stage, and needs long term cellaring but, largely on potential, 93.

2010 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Again, bright ruby. An attractive bouquet of raspberry, cranberry and spice with lifted, perfumed, floral notes. On palate, sweet entry, very clean and pure with real precision and intensity. Obviously very primary and higher acids that many of the others, which I liked. Flavours of sweet red fruit, the palate very fruit driven. Both the tannins and the oak very well integrated, with good structure. A complex and interesting wine. 93.

2010 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne
My and most of the group’s WOTN. Good deep ruby. Like the 2009 but not as expressive, a luxuriant bouquet of ripe fruit with lovely exotic spice, high toned red berry, earth and lifted floral aromas. On palate, absolutely classical, classy CSJ. Perfect ripeness, no more than medium weight but with great depth, volume and power. Real intensity and very long. Rich but with laser like precision and focus. Perhaps, on the night, a little too linear, but with this power, there is no issue for this young wine. Similarly, the suave, fine grained tannins come across as a little austere today, but this is understandable. All of the elements in place for a great wine. 95.

2010 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques
Medium ruby. As with the 2009, a subdued bouquet. The nose is dominated by spice, red berry, bramble, underbrush and some nice savoury aromas. There is also oak here, but it is not overdone. On palate, this wine is all about exquisite balance. There is real power, structure and intensity here, but all kept in proportion and seemingly achieved without great weight. It is understated, similarly to but even more so than the 2009, but with all of the structure and drive sitting in the background. The acids are visible but in beautiful balance and proportion. The tannins are silky with lovely minerality a key flavour profile. Everything you could look for in a Burgundy for long term cellaring. 95.

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Great notes Howard.

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This seems to bear out my impression that in recent years the differences between producers in this vineyard are stylistic rather than qualitative.
Interestingly, for what it’s worth, which in the way of these tastings is remarkably little, a blind comparison of CSJ and Cazetiers of the 99 vintage earlier this year was by no means an unmitigated triumph for the grander vineyard.

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Re Kent’s question about vineyard signatures the two that stood out for me were Esmonin and Fourrier, that seemed to obviously be pairs, looking blind at the 10 wines.

I don’t know Esmonin wines but guessed their identity by elimination and what I had read about the winemaker style. Both wines seemed more worked by the winemaker than the other 8, with quite a bit of new oak, matched by very dense fruit. In hindsight my notes also tied in with her using high percentages of whole bunches. I’m not saying any of this is bad, it just seemed to me a clear winemaker signature.

On bouquet alone I had the Fourriers as a pair, but had guessed they were Rousseaus. Their signature is much more bright, expressive fruit, perhaps tending almost New World, reflecting a winemaker philosophy of non-intervention.

With hindsight the Rousseau style was just what you’d expect: classic, perfectly balanced Burgundy, without the aromatic fireworks of the Fourriers.

And blind I could not have distinguished the Jadots from the Clairs, even though I drunk, and greatly enjoyed, a 2009 Clair CSJ last year.

(Edit: Tom just saw your post. Your first sentence makes my point my eloquently than I did).