Domaine Armand ROUSSEAU Père & Fils (Gevrey-Chambertin) -- 2023 Tasted from Barrel
Cyrielle Rousseau said that over the summer, there was a green harvesting of half the crop. The harvest itself began on 7 September. Alcohols are 13-14º. Malolactic fermentations finished before Christmas.
Yet once again, Rousseau has produced wines that justify the estate’s exalted reputation. In particular, they show very well the attributes of their respective climats.
Cyrielle has put lines from Rudyard Kipling’s If translated into French on various barrels; she feels they lines are appropriate to describe the vintage.
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos du Château
The Clos du Château shows very pure dark fruits, especially cassis, and the wine is sensual and pure. (90-92)
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin
The regular Gevrey-Chambertin is a bit more structured with fruit that is perhaps a little tighter. There is a velvet texture. Overall, this wine is more closed today than the Clos du Château. (90-92)
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux-Saint-Jacques
The Lavaux-Saint-Jacques shows more tension than the village wines but in the moderate acidity context of the vintage. The wine has blood orange flavors and minerality. (92-94)
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cazetiers
Rousseau’s Cazetiers has the animal nose I find typical of Cazetiers. In the mouth, the fruit is flamboyant and there is the smooth texture of Cazetiers. (92-95)
2023 Charmes-Chambertin
The Charmes-Chambertin is still rather closed but shows dark fruits with a bit of the rusticity of its Mazoyères origin. (91-94)
2023 Mazy-Chambertin
A bit of spice in the nose, followed by a creamy body and red and dark fruits that explode in the mouth, as is typical of Mazy-Chambertin. (92-95)
2023 Clos de la Roche
The Clos de la Roche is not terribly open in the nose but is tightly-wound and stony, as is typical. The mouth is tighter than that of the Mazy with plenty of energy and coiled dark fruits. (93-96)
2023 Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes
Rousseau’s Ruchottes-Chambertin has powerful minerality in the nose. The mouth is mineral with nervosity and energetic dark fruits with outstanding purity. (94-96)
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques
The Clos Saint-Jacques shows its typical gaminess in the nose. The mouth is mineral and complex. It is very Clos Saint-Jacques with purity, red fruits, and length, but also reflects the opulence of the vintage. (95-98)
2023 Chambertin
Relatively closed in both the nose and the mouth, but regal in texture. Not as opulent as some of the foregoing, but great complexity and completeness. This will make a spectacular bottle (big surprise!) for those lucky enough to be able to drink it. (97-99)
2023 Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze
As in other recent vintages, the Chambertin and Clos-de-Bèze have reversed order in the tasting. Stony, mineral nose with some game — very typical of Rousseau’s Clos-de-Bèze. More red fruits here than in the Chambertin, more nervosity, lighter on the palate, a touch of licorice. This pair makes a good example for the difference between the Clos-de-Bèze and the Chambertin. (97-99)