2010 Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques Cuvee Centenaire

(two barrels only, from vines in the upper two-thirds of Fourrier's slice of Clos St. Jacques, planted in 1900 and 1901; the rest of the vines were planted in 1910 and 1919): Good, full red. Nose dominated by deep smoky minerality. Fat, sweet and thick but very young and unevolved. Much less expressive today than the "regular" Clos Saint-Jacques, but with extraordinary richness and palate-saturating length. Distinctly chewy and saline on the back. The tiny berries here were the result of millerandage , not hydric stress, noted Fourrier.

Made from berries of four to six millimetres. Some of them intracellular fermented. A one-off of just two casks. Vines planted 1900/01. Berries ‘so beautiful in 2010’. His mother always said it was planted in 1910 but in fact the first vintage was 1901 – he had transposed the numerals. Very bright dark cherry red. Very dense and slightly animal nose. Fabulous silky density and raciness. Just so alive and fresh and quintessentially Burgundian. Race and charm. Hasn’t yet shown it to merchants but they usually sell the Clos St-Jacques regular at €60 – no decision on what the price will be for this! (JR)

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques Cuvee Centenaire is a special wine made to celebrate the 100th birthday of this historic vineyard. This breathtaking, transparent wine shows off marvelous elegance and finesse. It is slightly richer and riper than the regular Clos St. Jacques. The aromas and flavors build effortlessly to a gracious finish laced with dark red cherries, plums, mint and sweet exotic spices. This is a fabulous showing. The Cuvee Centenaire was made from parcels in the upper two-thirds of the vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030. The biggest news at Domaine Fourrier is Jean-Marie Fourrier’s decision to launch a small negociant operation to augment his estate wines. Readers can look forward to new bottlings from the 1er Cru Aux Exchanges in Chambolle-Musigny and two new Grand Cru wines from Clos de Vougeot and Echezeaux, all of which will debut with the 2011 vintage. As for 2010, Fourrier told me he is down 40% across the board in terms of yields. The cold weather during the flowering produced 100% millerandage (shot berries), which Fourrier described as pea-sized grapes. While that is not good for quantity, it has certainly turned out great for quality. Readers who want to learn more about Fourrier’s thoughts on the vintage and approach to vinification might want to check out my video interview on www.erobertparker.com. As a quick note, none of the 2010s had been racked at the time of my visit in early December 2011. I have kept scores a bit wider than normal in the few cases where the wines were a touch reduced. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990