Rousseau master class 2009

Daylesford 2015 PNWS
Tasted Saturday, November 28, 2015 by AJ72 with 407 views

Introduction

What an exciting prospect this tasting was. One of the best tastings I've been fortunate enough to be involved in. How would the highly touted 09 vintage be six years on? We'll see. All wines were served blind.

Flight 1 - All the 09 Rousseau's in the one flight (10 Notes)

Here we Go!

  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

    Was pretty good in the context of this tasting given that it was amongst Giants. Not showing too badly at all but definitely ready to drink and not the class of the others. This and the Lavaux were a step behind the other premier cru's as expected. Showing slightly rustic character but not at all unpleasant.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    On about the same level as the Village wine maybe a touch better. Shows some fairly pleasant character again slightly rustic and moderate length.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    This was a step up from the previous two but slightly marked down due to the presence of Brett which did detract from the wine. It had a lovely fruit quality but a slightly grubby feral character lurks in the background a bit too much preventing this from being better. Showing as all these 09 Rousseau's do that they may not be wines to keep forever. I think this is drinking pretty well now.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Mazy-Chambertin 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru

    Quite light in colour with a slightly better length and texture than the Cazetieres but not by much. Very elegant also and a quality wine.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    Fairly elegant, gentle a step up from the Cazetiers. A touch more ethereal and light on its feet. Very pleasant.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru

    Really liked this. Shows lovely length, fine grained tannins and soft red fruits. Good level of complexity here and should still improve a bit. Excellent.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Clos de la Roche 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

    This was another step up from the Charmes and the Mazis. Apparently had some hail damage and subsequently was 100% de stemmed and no new oak (only CSJ, CHA and CHA Clos De Beze got any new oak in 09, 100% at that). Showed a lovely spice element that none of the other wines did and a trademark red fruit profile.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

    Really in an awkward phase at the moment. Sitting next to the Beze both with 100% new oak it was pretty self evident which one was which. The Clos de Beze is always picked later (like almost 1-2 Be) and the Chambertin is subsequently slightly less showy when young sometimes a touch lean, taking a decade or more in the bottle to reveal it's true brilliance. This is not there yet and whilst it may be yet to reveal what makes Chambertin so great I'm not sure whether the planets will align as ageability may not be it's strong suit in 09. Interesting to see what happens but this is still a complex magic wine with some upside although it doesn't appear as tightly wound as I would like. I love this vineyard and maybe I'll be proven wrong but this doesn't seem like it's going to be a classic as I don't see it as a wine to keep for too long. Maybe ten to fifteen years will be the sweet spot and would warrant a higher score but today I preferred the Clos St Jacques to the legendary Chambertin. The Clos de Beze is another story......

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

    This was an incredible wine. Really showing why it's regarded as the next best wine behind the big two in 09. Shows a huge amount of fruit on the nose and palate. This is the first of the wines that looked beautiful today and really on song but could be even better down the track. All the components are absolutely harmonious and singing the Rousseau CSJ chorus. Surprisingly I couldn't mark the Chambertin higher.

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  • 2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 97 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    Incredibly complex nose showing the trademark cornucopia of magical aroma and flavour. This is a step up from all the other wines in the stable today by a significant amount with the Clos st Jacques being the next best. A brilliant wine that is utterly pointless in trying to describe. If you ever have a wine as brilliant as this you'll know what I mean.

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Closing

I loved these wines but don't think they will be wines that will keep forever. The exception may be Clos de Beze, maybe Chambertin if it pulls itself together. I still can't see them being long lived classics like 2010's for example as they don't look fresh enough today. Rousseau's classic qualities on show though with the exception of Le Chambertin which was really awkward at this stage. A brilliant line up and a privilege to try.

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