Colin wanted to take a closer look at Clos St. Jacques and decided that this would be his theme for last night’s Monday Table. The brackets were thoughtfully planned out.
Champagne Bracket
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée: Disgorged in 2012. This had a bit of mushroom from the cork but also plenty of toast and lemon. It is piercing in the mouth with loads of mineral and a direct and long finish.
2002 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut: Engaging nose of aniseed, apple, pear and peach. It is fine and full in the mouth. There’s rich creamy fruits and plenty of patisserie action. The finish is fresh and it has real persistence.
1996 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut: Rich and powerful but with great elegance. It is starting to take on some grilled nuts and toasty development. There’s intense citrus fruit and great mineral line. It is rich and linear, with tangy freshness and fabulous complexity. Length is fantastic. A great, great Champagne.
1996 Dom Pérignon: Rich and complex with layers of flavour. It has creamy orchard fruits some vanilla and other spice. Balance is exquisite and it is all class. Drinking fabulously well right now.
Three different producers from the Noughties
2002 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: Complex aromatics of gingerbread, smoked meats, sweet cherry and floral spice. The palate is sweet, round and opulent, with a nice interplay between fresh fruit flavours and savoury, earthy nuance. It has great balance and proportion and is drinking at the top of its game.
2005 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne: This is quite a deep wine that still shows some menthol from the wood. It has notes of blood plum, black cherry and spice. It is full and textured with a concentrated heart. It drinks well today but has plenty in reserve for decades of future development.
2009 Sylvie Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: This had some menthol and sarsaparilla as well as ripe cherry fruit. There’s good texture and it is voluminous with excellent underlying minerality.
Three Rousseau from the Noughties
2002 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: This wine is just starting to take on some autumnal leaf development character. It is full and sweet with notes of cherry and sarsaparilla. It builds through the palate and finishes with tart cherry snap and has plenty of cherry pit stoniness.
2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: Tight and dense but emits a delicate perfume of black cherry and rose petals. It is deep with a dense, sweet, black cherry heart. It has great volume and the earth infused finish drives on hard and long.
2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: Highly perfumed nose of smoked meats, cherry, freshly grated ginger and earth. It is very pretty wine, but also intense and deep. There’s plenty of brown spice and whilst acidity feels low the wine is energetic.
Three older Rousseau
1989 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: Deliciously complete. Engaging nose of smoke, rose petals, freshly grated ginger and berries. It is sweet and vinous on the palate, with nice interplay between flora, fruit and earth. There are no hard edges but it finishes with such clarity and is extremely long.
1993 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: This is a deep, savoury, rich and powerful bottle of wine but there is far too much equine action that takes away the enjoyment.
1998 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: The nose had some sandalwood, rose petals and tart cherry fruit. There’s a touch of volatility and the palate is mid-weight and crunchy.
Three ‘99’s
1999 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: Aromas of cherry, smoked meats and dried flowers. The fruit has a jube-like quality in the mouth. It is still quite primary and balance and proportion are excellent. The finish is carried by sweet tannins and it is a lovely drink with plenty of upside still.
1999 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne: A lively nose of tart cherries and berries, compost and mineral. In the mouth it is full, round and layered. There’s excellent depth and plenty of energy. It really fans out on the finish.
1999 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques: Corked.
One Stonkingly good Port
1948 Taylor Vintage Port: A wonderful, clean and pure spirit punches a myriad of enticing smells up into the nostrils. The fruit is fresh and red and there are notes of smoke, raisins, plum and spice. It is full and luscious on the palate, with the rich nectar invading every crevice of the mouth. Length is superb and it is one of the very best Vintage Ports that I’ve had the pleasure of drinking.
