Wine Advisor
Armand Rousseau, Chambertin Grand Cru 2011
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Chambertin Grand Cru clearly subsumes the new oak better than the Clos de Beze in 2011, allowing the terroir to come through and demonstrating better delineation and poise. With aeration, delicate floral notes begin to emerge. The palate is well-balanced with lovely poise – a more approachable Chambertin from Rousseau with fine tannins and an elegant, refined finish. Very fine. Drink 2014-2023. The man, the legend himself, was sitting in the entrance office. Charles Rousseau, now in his ninth decade, looked gaunter than when we last met two or three years ago, but what a privilege just to see him enjoying the summer rays. I tasted through the 2011 with vineyard manager Frederic Robert, whose candid answers I always appreciate when tasting through their portfolio, especially since it is easy to succumb to reputation at this address. The 2011 is the first vintage with a redesigned bottle now embossed with the domaine name to prevent fraud. He also spoke about their new 1.3-hectares of vine from Chateau de Gevrey that is tentatively called “Clos du Chateau” or something similar. However, he admitted that there is much work to do in the vineyard since around 25% to 30% of the vines are missing and were replanting last October. “We started to pick early on the last day in August as spring had been so hot,” he informed me as we broached the subject of the 2011s. “It was a ripe vintage with more acidity if you compare it to 2007 but the wines are more balanced. It is more a vintage for restaurants than for aging.” Given that this is one of my favorite producers in the Cote d’Or, I have to admit that the Village and Premier Crus were lacking a little stuffing and precision compared to their own impeccable standards. In a way, I do not mind that since Rousseau always expresses the strengths and weaknesses of a vintage, which is something to be admired. Plus, on one or two occasions, I wonder whether they should have dialed down the new oak, in particular with the Clos-de-Beze that seems unable to handle the wood nearly as well as the Chambertin. Still, there are some beautiful wines here in 2011 and a quick barrel tasting of 2012s revealed joy to come. Importer: Frederick Wildman Selections; New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Rousseau's 2011 Chambertin is quite a bit deeper and more powerful than the Bèze in this vintage. Here the flavors are dark, intense and boldly sketched. Black cherry, plum, spices, new leather and pine flesh out in a striking, succulent Chambertin that is surprisingly unevolved. The 2011 has enough verticality and overall structure to drink well for several decades, but readers will have to be patient.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Chambertin Grand Cru is consistent with the previous bottle that I tasted blind in 2014, although I find no reduction now. I maintain that it is a little more feral than other recent vintages with black plum, leather and sous-bois, displaying more amplitude than before. The palate is well balanced but backward, very well structured for a 2011 with tertiary notes mixed with tobacco surfacing towards the finish, that gently keeps rollin' and rollin' across the senses. Marvellous, but give it another couple of years. Tasted at Bistro de l'Hôtel in Beaune.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright, deep red, darker than the 2012 today. Wild, soil-driven aromas of blueberry, violet, black pepper, leather and game. Lush, velvety and compellingly sweet, with a magically fine-grained texture and outstanding concentration to the dark berry, violet and earth flavors. This is fat with fruit, and the noble tannins allow the back end to open and expand. Compared to the 2012 version, this may show a bit less inner-mouth tension but it's richer and more complex at this stage.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good bright, dark red. Rather cool, youthfully medicinal aromas of black cherry, dark berries, mint and game. Sweet and silky in the style of the vintage's best examples but extremely backward today. Great density of material here but less open-knit and complex than the Clos Saint-Jacques and Clos de Beze. This rectilinear young Chambertin shows outstanding nobility of texture and tannins and stains the palate on the mounting aftertaste.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune, you have to get past a little reduction on the nose of Rousseau’s Chambertin 2011 that is animally and feral, developing a strong estuarine influence - mudflats, kelp and sea salt. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, slightly chalky tannins and fine precision. Grippy in the mouth and more masculine with a precise, mineral finish. This is very fine but it needs 3-4 years to show its true nature.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Rousseau's 2011 Chambertin is quite a bit deeper and more powerful than the Bèze in this vintage. Here the flavors are dark, intense and boldly sketched. Black cherry, plum, spices, new leather and pine flesh out in a striking, succulent Chambertin that is surprisingly unevolved. The 2011 has enough verticality and overall structure to drink well for several decades, but readers will have to be patient.
About the Producer
Domaine Armand Rousseau Pere et Fils was founded in the early 20th century by Armand Rousseau when he was only 18 years old and inherited the vineyard from his father. Armand Rousseau was born into a family of small landowners, and his family members were mostly engaged in wine-related occupations, such as grape farmers, coopers and wine merchants. After Armand married in 1909, he acquired additional vineyards and estate. The property is set around a church built in the 13th century, and the property includes a house, storeroom and wine cellar. When he first entered the wine business, Armand sold wine in bulk to local distributors. After that, Armand successively purchased a batch of new vineyards, such as the plot in Charmes-Chambertin in 1919 and the Clos de la Roche in 1920. The plot, that is, since then, on the advice of Raymond Baudoin (founder of the magazine Revue des Vins de France), Oman decided to bottle and sell its own fine wines, especially for restaurants and wine lovers . Armand Rousseau's wine business is booming, and at the same time he is also expanding the scale of the winery, especially he has also successively purchased many famous vineyards, such as the purchase of Mazy-Chambertin in 1937. Garden, purchased in 1940 Mazoyeres-Chambertin garden (Mazoyeres-Chambertin). At present, the winery has a total vineyard area of 14.1 hectares, of which 2.21 hectares are village-level vineyards, 3.48 hectares are first-class vineyards, and 8.41 hectares are AOC-classified vineyards. The average age of the vines is 40 to 45 years old, the grape variety is 100% Pinot Noir, and the planting density is 11,000 vines per hectare. In 1945, Armand Rousseau's son, Charles Rousseau, joined his father in wine studies after studying wine studies. In 1959, Armand Rousseau tragically passed away in a car accident, and Charlie Rousseau took the responsibilities alone and supported the development of the entire winery. Armand Rousseau has a very amazing language talent, he can communicate with others fluently in English and German, therefore, he decided to vigorously expand the wine export business, the business scope expanded rapidly from the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland to the whole of Europe, followed by Countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. In 1982, Eric Rousseau, the son of Charles Rousseau, injected new vitality into the development of the winery. In terms of vineyard management, Eric has introduced new technologies, such as controlling grape yield and improving fruit quality through green harvesting (Green Harvest) and leaf pruning, and using almost no pesticides or chemicals in the vineyard Substances are used to protect the soil and guide the winery to develop in an organic direction. At the same time, he also respects traditional winemaking techniques and tries his best to reduce manual intervention in the winemaking process. In 2014, Cyrielle Rousseau, Eric's daughter, joined the winery to jointly manage the winery. Seriller learned foreign winemaking techniques and accumulated rich experience in cooperation with wine merchants. With the joint efforts of four generations of the Rousseau family, the quality of the wines produced by Aman Rousseau has been very stable and widely recognized by consumers. The winery produces many grand cru wines, such as Domaine Armand Rousseau Pere et Fils Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France. Made from the finest Pinot Noir grapes, with fruity aromas of raspberries and cherries, with hints of leather, cinnamon and dark chocolate, the palate reveals ripe red fruit flavours, with a firm and supple mouthfeel with an impressive structure, with a persistent and wonderful finish. It has won over 95 points from well-known wine critics such as Robert Parker Team and Wine Spectator for many years.
1959(1)1976(1)1979(1)1980(1)1988(1)1989(1)1990(3)1991(1)1992(1)1995(2)1996(3)1997(1)1998(1)1999(3)2000(4)2001(2)2002(4)2003(3)2004(4)2005(3)2006(6)2007(4)2008(5)2009(4)2010(1)
Package Size
1 x 1.5L1 x 75cl
