Gevrey Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques, Domaine Armand Rousseau 2015

**Note: from a 2.2 ha parcel raised in 70% new wood** There is just enough wood present to mention but not so much as to materially detract from the attractively fresh, cool, pretty and airy red berry, earth, humus, anise and rose petal-scented aromas. The refined yet quite powerful middle weight are almost painfully intense and there is so much minerality the mouthfeel is akin to rolling small stones around in your mouth particularly so on the sappy, palate coating and hugely long finish. This too is seriously impressive and very classy.

Tasted blind, the 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques was showing very well indeed, unwinding in the glass with a lavish bouquet of red-black fruit, petroleum jelly, candied peel and a framing of cedary new wood. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and velvety, with considerable concentration at the core and a firmer, more structured profile than it showed in February, suggesting that it is shutting down. The finish is long and succulent, displaying excellent ripe acids. 2025 - 2050

There is just enough wood present to mention but not so much as to materially detract from the cool, pretty and airy red berry, earth, humus, anise and rose petal-scented aromas. The refined yet quite powerful middle weight are almost painfully intense and there is so much minerality the mouth feel is akin to rolling small stones around in your mouth and this is particularly so on the sappy, palate coating and hugely long finish. This too is seriously impressive and very classy.

The 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques is more aromatically reserved and structurally massive than the Ruchottes-Chambertin, opening in the glass with notes of smoky red and black fruit, cedar, raw cocoa, orange rind and rich soil. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with an ample and assertive chassis of fine-grained but firm tannins and a long, taut finish. This is a superb wine which will need a good decade in the cellar to blossom, but while it's cut from similar cloth, I don't think it will ever attain the same lofty heights as the 2005 rendition.