Gevrey-Chambertin 2005 : En 2005 le domaine a produit toute une série de cuvées racées et droites au fruit d'une gourmandise magnifique. Dès l'entrée de gamme je suis séduit par la souplesse de la trame vineuse de ce vin d'assemblage de lieu-dit. Robe rubis de belle intensité. Nez fin sur les groseilles et la mûre et bouche svelte et fluide aux tanins parfaitement fondus, le tout sur une longueur appréciable pour un village. Un délice. 86-87

Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux saint Jacques 2005 : Comme à l'accoutumée le cru se montre un peu plus austère et retenu. Les terres froides lui confèrent un grain plus anguleux et une texture plus rêche mais sns aller jusqu'à la raideur. On sent en revanche une très belle matière première sous jacente qui s'exprime arômatiquement sur de notes de sureau, de grain de cassis et de pivoine. La finale est longue et le boisé très discret. Un beau vin naturel à attendre. 89-90

Gevrey-Chambertin Cazetiers 2005 : Le boisé un peu "coco" ne masque pas une très belle matière première crémeuse, mûre et parfaitement équilibrée sur une acidité interne idéale. Un vin légèrement sauvage qui exhale des notes de cuir et de caroube. La bouche est suave et possède une grande souplesse qui est magnifiée par une finale interminable. Excellent ! 92-93

Charmes Chambertin 2005 : Parfois en retrait car il est le plus "fluet" des grands crus du domaine il se montre en 2005 sous un jour plus que favorable. Robe sombre, nez intense centré sur le réglisse et le cacao, texture souple aux tanins rès fins mais abondants. Un vin concentré qui possède de la chair et de l'allonge et qui semble parti pour être le plus beau Charmes du domaine depuis le glorieux 99 .91-94

Mazis Chambertin 2005 : En 2005 le Mazi se montre également à son avantage. Couleur profonde, nez pur sur des accents de prune et de réglisse, déjà avenant. La bouche possède une belle rectitude et une tension interne digne des très jolies cuvées de l'année. Un vin charpenté, fin et dense au naturel exemplaire. Excellent. 91-93

Clos de la Roche 2005 : Plus retenu et plus tannique il semble un peu anguleux à ce stade. Couleur un peu moins soutenue sur une maturité un peu plus froide. Nez intense qui décline de beaux arômes de fruits rouges avec en toile de fond cette petite touche "spicy" qui signes les beaux terroirs du coin. Ce Clos de la Roche de partie basse est un vin d'attente qui se livrera sans parfaitement sur le très long terme. 89-92

Ruchottes Chambertin 2005 : Plus luxueusement boisé à l'élevage il se montre finement torréfié sur une enveloppe tannique veloutée, très gracieuse. Un vin fin, souple et séduisant aux beaux arômes de pruneaux, de caroube et de myrtille qui tapisse le palais avec douceur et finit très longuement sur la griotte amère. Un régal. 92-94

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques 2005 : Il a incontestablement l'étoffe des meilleurs crus du domaine et se positionne très haut dans la gamme cette année...comme dans tous les millésimes me direz-vous ! J'ai aimé sa densité merveilleusement exprimée par une domination du bois impériale et par une tension interne unique. Plus sauvage que les Chambertin, plus fougueux et svelte, il embaume le cassis et la mûre mais ausi les baies sauvages et le sureau. La trame est serrée, tannique mais parfaitement soyeuse, et puis quelle longueur finale ! Hors classe. 93-96

Chambertin Clos de Bèze 2005 : La puissance et la finesse se conjuguent de manière presque parfaite cette année dans ce cru dense et délicat. Bien entendu le boisé est en retrait et le cru s'exprime sur ses notes originelles de réglisse mais plus encore sur le poivre noir et la fève de cacao. Un vin net, précis qui illumine la finale de bouche en une véritable symphonie de saveur. Les anciens auraient évoqués la fameuse "queue de Paon". Excellent. 92-95

Chambertin 2005 : Encore plus noir, plus dense, plus "tout" que les deux précédents. Un vin équilibré idéalement entre son potentiel "matière" sa puissance alcoolique et son coeur "acide". Les notes fumées se superposent à des effluves qui évoquent les essences de bois précieux, la pivoine et la rose ancienne. "Chambertissime "comme il se doit en cette année bénie qui a vu les cuvées de ce climat à des niveaux inconnus depuis le glorieux 59. hors ligne. 97-100

Dom Armand Rousseau 2005 Gevrey Chambertin
15.5 Drink 2011-18
East, sweet nose without much structure in evidence. Already quite open and casual. Fresh, crunchy fruit but very low key

Dom Armand Rousseau, Lavaux St Jacques Premier Cru 2005 Gevrey Chambertin
16.5+ Drink 2014-22
Very bright fruit. Some bitter cherry aromas with definitely autumnal forest floor hints. Racy, sinewy, introvert. Fine tannins with some raciness. Impressively long.

Dom Armand Rousseau, Cazetiers Premier Cru 2005 Gevrey Chambertin
17 Drink 2012-25
Opulent, rather fetching nose with vivacious ripness (though no very obvious structure). Transparent, juicym rcay. All fruit – frank and lively. Good freshness, though not desperately ambitious. This was maturing in third fill barrels.

Dom Armand Rousseau Grand Cru 2005 Charmes Chambertin
18 Drink 2014-28
(Two thirds of this wine comes from Mazoyères.) This wine was the first in this lie-up to be treated to second fill barrels. Great fruit and one does wonder what it would be like with a slightly tighter corset, however delicate the fruit. Rich and jewelly with great freshness too. Real tingle and thrill but relatively light. This positively dances on the palate it’s so bright-fruited. Lots of sweet, gentle fruit – certainly a charmer. Very pretty indeed without being a show-off. Long with the tingle factor.

Dom Armand Rousseau Grand Cru 2005 Mazis Chambertin
17+? Drink 2015-30
Rather suppressed on the nose. Strict. Relatively light and readable – not very concentrated. Marked acidity. Frank, fresh, correct – the opposite of flashy but quite tight. Not obviously Grand Cru quality at this stage, which is why I’m suggesting conservatively that you keep it quite a while. Am I missing something? Maybe this will take on flesh. Pure certainly but still a bit skinny. Good persistence though, which is why it might well be worth waiting.

Dom Armand Rousseau Grand Cru 2005 Clos de la Roche
18+ Drink 2015-32
Extremely rich and seductive on both the eye and nose. Wonderfully satisfying and balanced in terms of perfume already. Great freshness and clarity of fruit. Really quite racy and punchy. So pure! The opposite of galumphing – like a thoroughbred racehorse. Fresh, sappy fruit. Terribly impressive.

Dom Armand Rousseau Grand Cru 2005 Ruchottes Chambertin
17.5 Drink 2018-33
Relatively pale. Broad, accomplished and sophisticated on the nose – racy and fine-boned – even very slightly pinched at this point. Still quite closed/ Delicate. Like a taffeta Victorian bustle, say my notes (?!) – tight and crackly. Rather pursed lips for the moment. Wait for this low key wine to emerge from its shell.

Dom Armand Rousseau, Clos St Jacques Premier Cru 2005 Gevrey Chambertin
18+ Drink 2015-30
This is the first wine in this line-up to have been raised exclusively in new oak. Deep and apparently glowing with health. Extremely rich and absorbing on the nose. Excitign, cherry-like fruit. Very transparent and energetic – what a vineyard! Racy, morello cherry fruit that invites you to see what glows through it. The oak is perceptible only at the very end of the palate. Long, flirtatious health juice.

Dom Armand Rousseau Grand Cru 2005 Chambertin Clos de Bèze
18.5 Drink 2016-35
Real mass and density here. Absolutely classic, solid, dry, sappy, savoury burgundy in one of its longest-living registers. Solid Gevrey charge of chewable fruit – nothing sweet and beguiling about this! It’s almost self-consciously ponderous, in fact. This wine pronounces rather than tries to charm – surprisingly expressive already. Big!

Dom Armand Rousseau Grand Cru 2005 Chambertin
18.5+ Drink 2017-35
Not especially deep but healthy crimson. Wonderful broad spread of fully ripe aromas. Introvert but there is clearly SO much going on here! Forest floor aromas and exciting richness. The wine may for the moment be slightly less evolved and expressive than the Chambertin Clos de Bèze at this stage but it is far from reserved. Dry finish. Definitely worth waiting fro as it is terrifically convincing in its majesty already. Great ripeness. Great race. Positively charged with greatness.

Eric Rousseau describes 2005 as "a great vin de garde; it's rare to get a vintage as perfect as 2005." He went on: "It was an exceptional year for Burgundy in terms of the lack of problems. It wasn't too hot, and although there was not much water, the vines did not suffer. And of course the harvest was very clean, and there were virtually no rotten or green grapes to eliminate." The estate carried out a severe green harvest during the second half of July, but production was still in the 40 to 48 hl/ha range, which Rousseau described as "high for us." Rousseau has stopped heating the cellar to bring about a rapid malolactic fermentation, but the malos nonetheless started in November and finished in March.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux Saint Jacques 86-88
Good full red. Cherry and minerals on the nose, with hints of licorice and pepper. Offers a restrained sweetness and modest flesh. Has a chewiness but also a slight medicinal quality and some dusty tannins. This "colder" terroir retained good acidity in 2005, noted Eric Rousseau, who added that his 2005s showed harder tannins before the racking but are silkier today.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers 88-91
Good medium red. Aromas of sweet cherry, game and flowers. Fatter and silkier than the Lavaux, with a liqueur-like cherry flavor; very good material here. This is quite open today but also has solid underlying structure.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Charmes Chambertin 87-90
Medium red. Musky, rather exotic aromas of red fruits and faded rose. Sweet but a bit medicinal and withdrawn, showing more grip but less sex appeal than the Cazetiers. This is cooler on the back end, even a tad dry. This cuvee comprises two-thirds Mazoyeres and one-third Charmes. Interestingly, Rousseau considers Mazoyeres to be more feminine in style, but points out that three-quarters of the estate's vines in Mazoyeres are relatively young.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Mazy Chambertin 89-92
Bright medium red. Darker aromas of black cherry and menthol. A step up in concentration from the foregoing samples, with riper but sappy dark fruit and licorice flavors. Offers lovely intensity and class, and finishes with very good lift and energy. Good stuff. As the vines get older (they now average about 40 years of age), we're getting better ripeness here, notes Eric Rousseau.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche 90-93
Good full, bright red. Reticent but pure aromas of kirsch, licorice and minerals. Bright, firm black cherry flavor shows less early sweetness than the Mazy. A bit dominated today by its rather powerful structure; very much a wine for extended cellaring.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 90-93
(like the Charmes, Mazy and Clos de la Roche, this wine is aged in once-used barrels) Good deep red. Enticing, ripe aromas of black cherry, game and oak spice. Supple and sweet, offering a nice combination of density and energy. Fuller than the Clos de la Roche. The wine's oak component complements and lifts the fruit. Finishes with lovely purity and lingering mineral perfume. Like the Clos de la Roche, this will need a good seven or eight years of cellaring.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques 92-95
Deep, bright red. Very sexy aromas of red cherry, violet, rose petal and licorice. Suave, juicy and sweet, with lovely precision of flavor and inner-mouth perfume. Really saturates the palate yet comes across as virtually weightless. Finishes wonderfully long and scented, with ineffable complexity. This superb premier cru is divided into five strips running from the bottom to the top of the slope:

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze 92-95
Good deep red. More deeply pitched and wilder on the nose than the Clos-Saint-Jacques, with a medicinal dark cherry character dominating; currently less floral and more oaky. Then wonderfully sweet and fat in the mouth but less racy and subtle today than the Clos Saint-Jacques. This is at once expressive and unevolved in the middle palate; one senses that this topnotch grand cru has complexity and perfume to burn. In a tricky stage today but offers superb breadth and finishes with very fine tannins and explosive length. And I would never bet against this sexy wine.

2005 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin 94-97
Good deep red. Multidimensional nose offers black cherry, dark raspberry, smoke, game, minerals, licorice and flowers; conveys an almost medicinal austerity. The biggest, richest and longest of these 2005s, with explosive sappy sweetness and superb depth. This has a texture of liquid velvet and obviously strong extract but is very young, tight and tannic today and will require many years to express its inherent complexity. Eric Rousseau told me he prefers this to the Clos de Beze due to the effect of the added ripeness of the vintage in this colder site. He notes that over the past five or six years he has harvested in Chambertin before Clos de Beze because he feels that this fruit needs more ripening on the vine. "Two additional days really made a difference," he said.

Chambertin 2005 ***** : Magnifique expression du Chambertin, il combine la puissance du cru et une élégance tannique complexe.

Chambertin Clos de Bèze 2005 ***** : Très fermé, dense en bouche et profond. Tout est réuni pour faire une bouteille de légende.