The nose is creamy with a little cedar (à la 2004), not bad. The palate is fresh and complex and medium weight but very long. Blind, this would be hard to place as a 97. This is very good.
Rousseau Armand
2001 Rousseau Armand Chambertin
Medium, medium-plus ruby-red. Quite an intense minerally nose that becomes higher toned and I thought just a little lactic but this a short phase before a nice creamier presentation. On the palate there’s a dark aspect to the fruit, good acidity and a nicely expanding and intense presentation in the mid-palate. This is very long with a good creamy fruit flavour. Very nice and accomplished wine – second-best so-far.
1985 Rousseau Armand Chambertin
Medium colour. Feral, yet understated nose at the start. Wide and interesting – it’s not about fruit, though eventually a soft red note comes through, licorice aspects too. On the palate there is a significant additional dimension vs all the previous wines. Interestingly the wildly complex palate is quite narrow until you reach the finish – then it expands exponentially. The texture and complexity on the palate reminds me of a number of 2005’s from Chambertin & Bèze – I suppose there are now 20 years to wait! A tour-de-force of a wine.
2002 Rousseau Armand Chambertin
Medium-plus cherry-red. Creme brulee and red fruit presented in a very linear way. Takes a few minutes in the glass to open out, but really starts to shout ‘look at me!’ – mainly barrel influenced notes, coffee in the background too. The palate has an extra ‘fatness’ to the palate vs the Bèze, fireworks here too, they build a little more slowly but to equal effect. It’s hard to make a preference here – it can only be based on stylistic leanings – but today, with fewer barrel artifacts and its more ‘athletic’ pose, I’d take the Bèze.
2002 Rousseau Armand Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Medium-plus cherry-red. A wild mix of brambly black fruit and subtle oak toast on the nose, gradually becoming higher toned with a hazelnut-coffee edge. The entry is smooth, then the wine explodes on your palate before slowly shrinking into the very long finish. Lithe and slender in complexion despite the evident concentration. Plenty of fireworks here – a very, very impressive wine.
2002 Rousseau Armand Mazy-Chambertin
Medium cherry-red. A quite forward nose of creme brulee tinged red fruit. The palate is just a little more panoramic than the Ruchottes, more explosive too. Actually this wine is heading in too many directions at one time, much less controlled and elegant that the Ruchottes – which I prefer. Again very fine tannins. A very different personality even though the vines are separated by only 50-60 metres. I wouldn’t say no, but given the choice I would go for the Ruchottes.