A Gevrey-Chambertin en Bourgogne : domaine Armand Rousseau

La Revue du Vin de France

Juin 2003

Millésime 2002

Clos Saint Jacques 2002
(cité dans la rubrique " réussites exceptionnelles ") : chef-d'œuvre de noblesse aromatique et de monumentalité de constitution, boisé excellent. [il] semble avoir quelque chose de plus que les autres [premiers crus]!

Chambertin 2002 ****
Vin très classique droit, saveur racée, tanin très précis, encore très réservé comme il se doit sur le plan aromatique. Longue garde garantie.

Chambertin Clos de Bèze 2002 *****
Association merveilleusement " chambertin " du bon merrain et de la réglisse, texture aristocratique, longueur impressionnante. Superbe situation des vignes dans la partie la plus noble du cru, savoir-faire en matière de vinification qu'il faut citer en exemple.

Clos de La Roche 2002 ****/*****
Le plus accompli et le plus racé des Clos de la Roche : finesse aromatique, complexité dans les tanins, absolument remarquable. Le domaine n'avait pas produit depuis longtemps un vin d'un tel style !

Ruchottes Chambertin "Clos des Ruchottes" 2002 ****
Vin de belle race, longiligne, minéral, associant les épices, le cuir et la réglisse, terminant sur des tanins harmonieux, magistralement extraits. Grande garde prévisible.

Clive Coates' The Vine No. 228 / January 2004 2002 Vintage
Eric Rousseau has invested in a new destemmer, which leaves the berries intact, a new trading down machine and a new pneumatic press. Quality is very, very high here. The Chambertin is quite brilliant.

Gevrey Chambertin 2002
Medium to medium-full weight. Soft and stylish. Full of fruit. Balanced and elegant. Long and subtle. Lovely finish. Very good indeed for what it is. From 2007.

Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux-Saint-Jacques 2002
Soft but intense and very classy. Lovely balance. Very fresh. Succulent and seductive. Very long. This is again very good indeed. From 2007/2008.

Gevrey Chambertin 1er Les Cazetiers 2002
A bit more colour. A bit more weight. Very good grip and depth. Very lovely, succulent fruit again. Laid-back. Vigorous. Fresh and very complex. Fine quality. From 2004.

Charmes Chambertin 2002
This has a little less depth and grip. Charming and very stylish but a touch slight. Merely very good. From 2007.

Mazis-Chambertin 2002
Rather more virile. Altogether more depth and concentration. Lovely fruit. Very good grip. This is fullish bodied, long and complex and very lovely. Fine plus. From 2009.

Clos de la Roche 2002
Good colour. Lovely opulent, rich gently oaky nose. This has splendid depth, class, harmony and vigour. Long and very promising. Very fine. From 2010.

Ruchottes Chambertin 2002
Even more impressive on the nose. Profound, rich, full, concentrated and elegant. Very pure and very virile. Fullish body on the palate. Excellent balance. Gently oaky. Very long. A very lovely wine. Very fine plus. From 2011.

Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint Jacques 2002
Rather more closed-in on the nose. But the palate is very concentrated. Some tannin. Lots and lots of depth. Very good grip. This is a lot less advanced but it is very fine indeed. The wine goes on or ever in the mouth.
Great class. From 2012.

Chambertin Clos de Bèze 2002
Full, rich and oaky on the nose. This is really very special. Full bodied, rich and opulent. Excellent grip. Very, very classy fruit. Quite magnificent.? Very, very long and very, very impressive. Grand vin ! From 2015.

Chambertin 2002
This is even more impressive than the Clos de Bèze. Brilliant on the nose. Totally complete. Full bodied, rich, backward and quite splendid on the palate. Excellent grip as well, and, if possible, even more depth and superior fruit. A really brilliant wine. From 2015.

Allen Meadows'
Issue 13, 2004
The 2001 and 2002 Côte de Nuits Red

Corinne Rousseau calls 2002 a "perfect vintage" for Burgundy. "There's ripe fruit, balance, perfect ripeness of the tannins and good concentration. It combines the richness of 1999 with the acidity and elegance of 1996 ; it is a complete vintage. We didn't have to chaptalize any of our wines not even at the Villages level. At the moment, the 2002s are less forward and expressive than the '99s were at the same time, but there's an underlying tenderness to the wines and I suspect they will open quickly once they're in bottle. The fruit characteristics are interesting as well and here at the domaine, the 2002s have almost exclusively black fruit aromas. The wines are perhaps less gifted at the level of terroir than the '01s but are certainly superior to the '99s in this respect. By contrast, the '02s are definitely richer than their '01s counterparts and every bit as pure. In short, 2002 is a vintage I like a lot". For readers who may not be aware, the oak regimen chez Rousseau varies considerably, with the Gevrey up through the Mazis being aged in 2 years old wood, the Clos de la Roche and Ruchottes in 15% new wood and the "big three" in 100% new wood. The present plan is to bottle as usual in July though some of the lower level wines might be bottled in May, depending on how the fruit matures

2002 Gevrey-Chambertin
Wonderfully elegant and nicely complex dark pinot fruit aromas blend with sweet, round, very pure middle weight flavors that offer good intensity and fine persistence. Pretty. (86-88). 2006-10.

2002 Gevrey-Chambertin "Lavaut St. Jacques"
Decidedly more elegant with an attractive note of minerality but otherwise, this is quite similar to the weight, precision and intensity of the straight Gevrey. (86-89). 2006-10.

2002 Gevrey-Chambertin "Les Cazetiers"
As it usually is, this is bigger, richer, earthier and more powerful if perhaps not quite as elegant with lovely purity and sweetness to the middle weight, rather forward flavors that display a certain gaminess on the long finish. This is really quite an attractive wine that could surprise to the upside if it develops more complexity in bottle. (87-90). 2006-10.

2002 Charmes-Chambertin
This too is very forward and pretty but there's more depth and structure than usual. The medium weight flavors are very supple, ripe and nicely elegant with mouth coating sap and relatively pliant tannins. There is better finishing intensity than usual and this is the best vintage of this wine than I've seen in a while. (88-91). 2006-12.

2002 Mazis-Chambertin
The nose is more reserved with a completely different character to it, displaying an earthy sauvage character and rich, punchy, intense and spicy flavors with a bit more concentration if ever-so-slight less elegance. At the moment this is rather understated and backward but as Rousseau suggests, there is a tenderness that suggests it will open relatively quickly in bottle. (89-91). 2007-14.

2002 Clos de la Roche
Like night and day between this and the Mazis as here there is much more weight, size, earth and power with a much firmer tannic spine plus an edgier, more complex finish. This is still a bit awkward but it should benefit from another 6 months in cask. This too could be the best Rousseau Clos de la Roche in several vintages. (89-92). 2008-17.

2002 Ruchottes-Chambertin "Clos des Ruchottes"
Wonderfully spicy fruit mixes with a seductive earth and truffle character plus a note of sandalwood. The edgy, beautifully complex, moderately tannic flavors offer stunning precision and exceptional persistence. This is not as big or powerful as the Clos de la Roche but it's more complete, at least today anyway. I like the style plus there is real elegance to the acid/fruit balance. In short, this is classy juice. (90-92). 2008-17.

2002 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru "Clos St.-Jacques"
A background note of new oak frames superbly complex aromatics of ripe and elegant red and black fruit aromas followed by round, dense, mineral-laden flavors that display excellent intensity from the mid-palate all the way to the lengthy backend. This is very sappy and completely coats and stains the palate with dusty tannins and a finish that lasts and lasts. Very impressive. (90-93). 2009-20.

2002 Chambertin Clos de Bèze
Classic pinot ruby. Oak spice and reserved, brooding and backward earthy pinot fruit notes cut with very ripe black cherry aromas lead to more expressive flavors that are exuberant, but rich, round and intensely sappy. The finish explodes in the mouth and is superbly complex with first rate vibrancy. Exciting juice with exceptional purity and balance. (91-94). 2012-25.

2002 Chambertin
this too is incredibly complex but the essential character of the wine is quite different as the Bèze is built more along the lines of elegance and finesse in 2002 whereas the Chambertin is classic in style with its robust power and obvious muscularity all wrapped in prominent but fine tannins. I particularly like the inner mouth perfume here and while this is certainly a forceful, intense wine, it's not a bruiser as there is excellent precision and purity of expression here as well plus it enjoys exceptional balance as well. A great effort. (92-95). 2012-25.

Number 100, 2004

2002 ON THE COTE DE NUITS: MANY OUTSTANDING WINES but not the blockbuster vintage that many have been expecting.

There is great pride in the 2002s at this, one of the greatest estates in Burgundy. Charles Rousseau was ill the day I visited, but his daughter Corinne explained that they consider the vintage to be a combination of 1990 and 1996 - in other words, one of the best vintages. As you will see, I consider it a good vintage, but not one that is at the peak of the Rousseau hierarchy for the top wines. Malos were not late here, where they normally finish in January. Yields were 15-20% less than normal.

The Gevrey 2002 is typical of the vintage's favoring village wines. Finesse to the red fruit aromas, followed by 'kirsch' flavors that are long and elegant. Not complex, but great harmony here. 87-90.

The Gevrey-Lavaux St-Jacques 2002 has mineral red fruit aromas, followed by red currant flavours that are ripe and a minerality on the palate with wiry power underlying the ripeness. Potentially the best Lavaux I've had from this estate. 89-92.

The Gevrey-Cazetiers 2002 has fresh fruit aromas, followed by spiced raspberry flavours, lots of freshness and a long finish. This, too, is potentially the best I've had from this vineyard here. 89-92.

The Charmes-Chambertin 2002 has red currant aromas with perfume. In the mouth, the wine is all finesse with lacy, pure red currant fruit. 91-94.

The Mazy-Chambertin 2002 is less powerful with its red fruit nose. In the mouth, it shows red plums with more weight, but there is still a laciness to the wine. 90-93.

Rousseau's Clos de la Roche 2002 has juicy red fruits with some minerality and citric characteristics, a presence in the mouth that the French refer to as "sève", and finesse. A success. 91-95.

The Ruchottes-Chambertin 2002 has great minerality and stoniness in the nose with tremendous depth. On the palate, there is an extra dimension of depth, purity and nervosity with spiced plum fruit and red fruit overtones combining for incredible complexity and the most depth of any Clos des Ruchottes I've had. Fabulous !
94-97.

Up to this point it really is as fine a vintage as I've known at Rousseau, but the remaining three wines are those by which the estate will be judged, and excellent as I found them, they did not seem to match up to the very top vintages I know at this estate.

The Gevrey-Clos St-Jacques 2002 is more elegant than any I've had here, with lovely red fruit and less new wood showing that usual. Length, too, but not quite the depth and complexity of the very top vintages. 92-95.

The Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze 2002 has animal, wild red fruit aromas with a hint of dark fruits. In the mouth, the wine shows great depth with dark fruits, mostly plums, length, finesse, and even delicacy. Very long on the finish with a suggestion of figs. 93-96.

Finally, the Chambertin 2002 has spicy red fruit aromas with some animality. The mouth displays animal red fruits with more power and depth than the Clos de Bèze, spice, and great depth. 94-97.