2016 Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru has a slightly more accessible bouquet compared to Rousseau's, but one that is just as entrancing. Overtly red fruit here mixed with woodland, brown spices and hints of dried blood. You could nose this all day becoming more tertiary with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins. This is silky and smooth in texture with a fine veneer of new oak, just a touch of orange rind and marmalade towards the finish with impressive persistence. Not quite as good as Rousseau's Clos Saint-Jacques, but still impressive. A puzzle. A fascinating puzzle. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
(25 hectoliters per hectare produced): Bright medium red. Complex, alluring aromas of black raspberry, plum, smoke and soil. Considerably deeper and silkier than the Cazetiers, conveying an impression of tangy sweetness to its rich flavors of black cherry and chocolate. Lovely texture and depth here, and a subtly long finish featuring very refined tannins. This wine is actually a bit subdued today. Cellarmaster Philippe Brun noted that the estate's Clos Saint-Jacques always goes through closed periods--"the 2005 is impossible now"--while the Cazetiers is always good.
The 2016 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques comes from vines of the same age, clone, rootstock and massale selection as the Cazetiers. It has a more introverted bouquet than the Cazetiers, with dark fruit, broody but compelling. This seriously needs time in bottle. The palate is very well balanced with a confit-like entry, a silver bead of acidity, subtle notes of fig infusing the red berry fruit on the finish, later quince and graphite coming through with time. The persistence is astonishing here, still lingering in the mouth by the time Bruno is pouring the next sample.