Harvesting began on 23 September. A little triage was necessary and all the wines were chaptalized a slight bit, allowing an extension of fermentation.
The freeze caused at 60% loss for the Chambertin and 30% loss for the Clos Saint-Jacques, but otherwise the vineyards weren’t hit. Malolactic fermentations finished in spring and the wines were racked in June and early July.
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin
Rousseau’s village Gevrey is crystalline and pure with precise, fresh red currant fruit. (90-93)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques
There’s good tension in the Lavaux Saint-Jacques and the fruit is still primarily red, although there is a streak of darkness. There’s more structure here than in the village wine and overall this wine is precise, pure, and fresh. (91-94)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers
The Cazetiers is more mineral and broader with less tension than the Lavaux St-Jacques, as is typical. The fruit is dark and there’s plenty of substance to this wine, as well as a tannic structure. (91-95)
2016 Charmes-Chambertin
The fruit here is dark, dense, and energetic, and the wine is light on the palate. This is very good Charmes-Chambertin. Essentially no new oak on this wine. (92-95)
2016 Mazy-Chambertin
The Mazy-Chambertin shows exotic dark fruit aromas. The moth has dark plums and is very wild, mineral, and energetic, but still light on the palate. It is a good expression of the terroir, much better than one found here 15-20 years ago. 15% new oak. (92-95)
2016 Clos de la Roche
This wine is fine and light on the palate with steely red currant and strawberry fruit and good length, energy, and firmness. 20% new oak. (91-95)
2016 Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes
The Ruchottes, which used to be an insider’s wine but has now become highly sought-after, has typical mineral strawberry fruit. There’s more weight here than for the Clos de la Roche, and good tension. 30% new oak. (93-96)
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques
The dark, gamy fruit here is characteristic of Clos Saint-Jacques. The wine is long, pure, precise, and energetic. 70% new oak. There was no separation by location in the vineyard as in 2015. (93-97)
2016 Chambertin
I previously mentioned that Roumier’s Musigny was the first of four unforgettable wines that I tasted from 2016; Rousseau’s Chambertin was the second. Like Roumier’s Musigny, production was severely limited by frost damage; for the first time ever, the estate produced less Chambertin than Clos-de-Bèze (which didn’t suffer from the frost). The nose is superb with great complexity and precision. The mouth shows red currants and cherries with purity, precision, and regal finesse. 100% new oak. (97-99)
2016 Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze
For the second year in a row, the Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze was presented after the Chambertin — not based on quality but based on power and style. This is a great wine in its own right. The wine shows fruit that is darker than that of the Chambertin and that displays minerality. There's more power here than in the Chambertin but still, finesse, precision, and freshness. (95-99)