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  • Country ranking ?

    862
  • Producer ranking ?

    56
  • Decanting time

    1h30min
  • When to drink

    now to 2040
  • Food Pairing

    Roast Duck Breast with Dried Cherry Sauc

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The Story

Chambertin – Domaine Armand Rousseau

Chambertin gained a reputation from the patronage of Napoleon I, who is rumoured not to have drunk anything else and watered down his Chambertin with plenty of water. He favoured it at five to six years old and never drank more than half a bottle with a meal. When the ex-Emperor was exiled on St. Helena, he was forced to drink claret, since that was easier to ship to the isolated island.

The Rousseau Domaine was started at the beginning of the 20th century by Armand Rousseau who, at his majority, inherited several plots of vineyards in Gevrey Chambertin. The Domaine premises with the living house, the storing places, the cellars and the winery, are situated in the oldest part of the village, near the 13th century church.

From 1959, after Armand Rousseau's death, Charles Rousseau was at the head of a Domaine of 6 ha which he continued developing rapidly thanks to his great knowledge in oenology, and his experience, by acquiring new vineyards, especially in "Grands Crus" areas. He decided to turn principally towards export, and, after the USA where his father had already starting to sell his wines right after prohibition at the end of the 30's, he developed the exchanges first with Great-Britain, Germany, Switzerland, soon afterwards to all European countries, then to Canada, Australia, New-Zealand, Brazil, etc. and lastly Asia in the 1970’s.

His son Eric joined him at the beginning of the 1980's to take care more especially of the vineyards and the vinification. In 1993, Corinne, Charles's elder daughter, after many years of professional experience in export abroad and in France, came back to the Domaine and in her turn took in charge the commercial relationship with customers.

 

Domaine Armand Rousseau is the largest landowner of the Chambertin vineyard with a total of 5.3 acres. The 32 acres of Chambertin Grand Cru represent some of the finest and most storied Pinot Noir acreage on the planet and with all producers included typically produces less than 60,000 bottles. Chambertin is the beating heart of the red Grand Crus of the Côte d’Or sitting high on the hillside and bordered by Latricières-Chambertin to the south and Clos-de-Bèze to the north.

Vinification: Grapes are meticulously sorted as they arrive in the winery. Following a cool maceration the must travels by gravity into barrel where it will stay for the entire vinification process lasting typically 18-24 months. Each Armand Rousseau wine is blended unfiltered.

Burgundy writer Clive Coates refers to this Grand Cru as perhaps the finest red wine in the world. Always a tour de force, this wine has uncanny balance. It is very structured, dense, and powerful, it has firm, ripe tannins, yet it is not heavy. It has uncommonly long length on the palate.

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Wine Information

Chambertin – Domaine Armand Rousseau

Chambertin gained a reputation from the patronage of Napoleon I, who is rumoured not to have drunk anything else and watered down his Chambertin with plenty of water. He favoured it at five to six years old and never drank more than half a bottle with a meal. When the ex-Emperor was exiled on St. Helena, he was forced to drink claret, since that was easier to ship to the isolated island.
The Rousseau Domaine was started at the beginning of the 20th century by Armand Rousseau who, at his majority, inherited several plots of vineyards in Gevrey Chambertin. The Domaine premises with the living house, the storing places, the cellars and the winery, are situated in the oldest part of the village, near the 13th century church.
From 1959, after Armand Rousseau's death, Charles Rousseau was at the head of a Domaine of 6 ha which he continued developing rapidly thanks to his great knowledge in oenology, and his experience, by acquiring new vineyards, especially in "Grands Crus" areas. He decided to turn principally towards export, and, after the USA where his father had already starting to sell his wines right after prohibition at the end of the 30's, he developed the exchanges first with Great-Britain, Germany, Switzerland, soon afterwards to all European countries, then to Canada, Australia, New-Zealand, Brazil, etc. and lastly Asia in the 1970’s.
His son Eric joined him at the beginning of the 1980's to take care more especially of the vineyards and the vinification. In 1993, Corinne, Charles's elder daughter, after many years of professional experience in export abroad and in France, came back to the Domaine and in her turn took in charge the commercial relationship with customers.


Soil: lime-clay
Production area: 8 ha
Grape varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
Average vineyard age: 40-45 years
Harvest method: hand picked, sorting in the vineyards
Winemaking: in open stainless steel vats, with 75% partial destemming, a 14-15 days fermentation and strict control of temperatures with a maximum of 30-31°C. No yeast is added. "Remontage" - pumping over - and "pigeage" - pressing down - are done on a regular basis. Malolactic fermentation, which follows alcoholic fermentation, is performed in oak barrels in the cellar.
Ageing: in 100 % new oak barrels. Aging lasts 20 to 22 months in very cold and naturally humid cellars.



Domaine Armand Rousseau
1 Rue de l’Aumonerie
21220 Gevrey Chambertin
France
Tel. +33 3 8034 3055

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Vintage 2002

2002 VINTAGE in Burgundy

A Great Year 

The trade is unanimous: the harvest was exceptional and 2002 is destined to be a great vintage for Burgundy. A dry summer, a sunny September, splendid grapes with highly concentrated sugars - everything came together to produce structured and complex wines with outstanding aromatic potential.
As early as the beginning of September, the sugar content in the grapes was often at exceptionally high levels and they had attained a degree of maturity indicative of a good balance between sugar and acidity in both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir, as well as in the Gamay and Aligoté. 

Well-matured grapes have produced - on the evidence of early tastings - deeply-coloured red wines with a garnet tint, and with really well-structured tannins. Depending on degree of maturity, the wines evoke sustained aromas of red and black fruits. Thanks to yield control and careful harvesting, they present a wide diversity of expression. 

The white wines are intense and heady, richly fragrant in their blend of fruit and mineral components. They are rounded, long in the mouth, balanced and harmonious. 

Both reds and whites of the 2002 vintage fully express their respective terroirs and promise fine ageing potential. 

As Hubert Camus, President of the Interprofession and himself a wine-grower at Gevrey-Chambertin, puts it: "In 2002, Burgundy's growers and négociants have every prospect of obtaining remarkable wines." 

Growing conditions during the year were characterised by low rainfall. Maturation took place in warm and sunny weather punctuated by occasional rainstorms. These weather conditions aided concentration in the grapes and kept them healthy. The harvest period enjoyed an ideal combination of sunshine and cool temperatures.

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Tasting note

color

Youthful, Ruby red and Bright

ending

Long, Pure and Flavorful

flavors

Raspberry, Pepper, Coffee, Cedar, Mushrooms and Earthy

nose

Youthful, Complex, Ripe and Tempting

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Warming, Balanced, Well-structured, Full-bodied, Powerful, Focused and Elegant

Verdict

Excellent and Intelligent

Written Notes

It was time to say goodbye to the two glorious whites and say hello to a 2002 Rousseau Chambertin.  I must have been enjoying myself as I already can’t read everything I wrote oops.  Wine number four is a bit early for that!  The Rousseau had a great nose full of lots of earthy and tannin expression, showing off that t ‘n a and that va va voom.  Its terroir was crackling in its nose, along with a full spice cabinet extraordinaire.  Amazing red cherry tied the whole wine together, and leather snapped on its lengthy finish.  There was strength and true grit here.  The was the first official orbit of the Gastronaut, who was also enjoying the red, creamy, berry goodness of the Rousseau.  Three in a row that hit (98)!

  • 98p

Bright ruby without that much evolution. Bitter cherries on the nose – less majesty than the 2005. Relatively light nose for a Chambertin from a great vintage. Much richer and more exciting on the palate – quite firm. Quite racy and then very dry. Doesn't seem to have the fruit concentration of the 2005. Quite dry actually. Perhaps in a sullen stage? Rather grainy. I'd keep this quite a while. Dry finish – distinctly surly in June 2010.

  • 92p

"This is very clearly still on the way up as the cool and ultra-pure nose remains relatively primary with only a touch of secondary development in evidence on the earthy, spicy and elegant dark berry fruit aromas. There is outstanding density to the big-bodied flavors that possess robust power and obvious muscularity all wrapped in firm, focused and moderately austere finish that goes on and on. I particularly like the inner mouth perfume and while this is certainly a forceful, intense wine, it's not a bruiser as there is lovely balance. In sum, this is a great effort that will, for my taste in any event, need another 5 to perhaps 10 years of cellar time to arrive at its apogee."

  • 95p

Full, immature colour. Still a bit closed on the nose, even after the Bèze. Full, rich and concentrated. Still quite a bit of tannin. Today it is the Bèze which sings. But this is also potentially excellent.

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Information

Origin

Beaune, Burgundy

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

None

Other wines from this producer

Chambertin Clos de Bèze

Charmes-Chambertin

Clos de la Roche

Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St Jacques

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques

Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er cru

Mazy Chambertin

Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes

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