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Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux Saint Jacques, Domaine Armand Rousseau 2005

Tasting Notes

Rousseau’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St.-Jacques (from vines in their forties, like so many in this estate) exhibits aromas and flavors of red currant and cherry pits, minty, high-toned herbal notes, and a lovely dynamic of fresh fruit and creaminess of texture. Invigorating juiciness, savory meatiness and salty, chalky mineral character mark a finish of clarity, depth and polish. (The spicy, stony, meaty 2004 rendition, incidentally, is scarcely less successful in its own distinctive way.) With Eric Rousseau taking over increasingly from his father Charles, bottling may end up being slightly earlier than in the past, but such routine features as triage exclusively in the vineyards (not the press house), the inclusion of whole clusters and stems, precocious malolactic fermentation (although in 2005 and 2006, at least, Rousseau says he didn’t force this), reliance on older barrels, and an eventual light plaque filtration for all wines remain as before. Given the long-running success of these Pinots in subtly yet insistently conveying the distinct personalities of their sites and standing the test of time, some might well ask “why change the recipe?” while others will wonder whether the wines could be made even better. In any event, nature conspired to hand the new generation a vintage of historic dimensions.

91/93
David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.