Wine Advisor
Armand Rousseau, Chambertin Grand Cru 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru took a while to open in the glass, as it is prone towards. It has a very elegant bouquet once again, the fruit an equal mixture of red and black, a touch of cold flint in the background accompanied by blood orange and satsuma that emerge with time. The palate is blessed with beguiling symmetry and power, counterpoised by the killer line of acidity, leading to a mineral-rich finish that goes on forever. This is another outstanding Chambertin from Rousseau that wine lovers will doubtlessly be fighting over for years to come. And you know what? I wouldn't blame them.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru is a monument in the making, offering up a profound bouquet of sweet red and black fruit, caramelized orange rind, smoke, grilled meat and rich spice, framed by cedary new oak. On the palate, the wine is very full-bodied, multidimensional and complete, with immense concentration, a bright line of acidity and an ample chassis of fine-grained tannins. While there's not much to choose between this and the Clos de Bèze, the Chambertin is marginally deeper, fuller-bodied and more harmonious, and it appears to have a slight edge. Cyrielle Rousseau exhorted me to score this wine with an "X"—to indicate that it should be forgotten in the cellar for two decades, and I encourage anyone lucky enough to acquire a few bottles to heed that sage advice, as the 2015's structural abundance makes it decidedly ill-fitted to near-term consumption.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Tasted blind, the 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru confirms its status as one of the wines of the vintage—and as the unequivocal highlight of Rousseau's 2015 portfolio. Aromas of sweet red-black fruits, candied peel and cedar mingle with nuances of grilled meats and raw cocoa in a complex bouquet, with a touch of oak vanillin emerging with aeration. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and immensely layered, with succulent acids, supple and fine-grained tannins and an exceptionally long finish. Despite its aromatic and textural drama, it remains controlled and quintessentially elegant.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru has a very sensual, pure bouquet that blooms with red cherries, red currant jus, crushed stone and a touch of sous-bois, all exquisitely defined and pixelated to the nth degree. The palate is extremely well balanced, offering fine, saturated tannin, a killer line of acidity and a precise, mineral-soaked, persistent finish that feels effortless. Stunning. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright medium red. Very pure but very reticent nose hints at blueberry, raspberry, licorice, game and woodsmoke. Delivers a compelling combination of fine-grained texture, deep sweetness and restrained power; still youthfully compressed but already boasts thrilling mouthfilling perfume of tart red fruits, spices and saline minerality. This spectacular Chambertin broadens out on the back half without giving any impression of weight. A wine of uncommon depth and class, with no sign of overripeness. With its salty, crushed-rock minerality, this wine saturates every square millimeter of the palate and stimulates the salivary glands on the sensationally long finish.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(12.8% natural alcohol chaptalized to 13.2%; Rousseau presented this wine before his Clos de Bèze because he finds the latter wine much more oaky in the early going): Dark, bright red with ruby highlights. Crushed black cherry, raspberry and spice aromas are lifted by a pungent floral topnote--very ripe for this wine, notes Rousseau. At once utterly young and almost exotic, conveying extraordinary intensity and layered texture to its slightly high-toned flavors of raspberry, cherry, pomegranate, licorice and spices. An element of menthol reserve contributes to the wine's impression of brooding energy. Finishes with noble, seamless tannins and slowly mounting, explosive palate-staining length. Almost painful and almost perfect.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright medium red. Very pure but very reticent nose hints at blueberry, raspberry, licorice, game and woodsmoke. Delivers a compelling combination of fine-grained texture, deep sweetness and restrained power; still youthfully compressed but already boasts thrilling mouthfilling perfume of tart red fruits, spices and saline minerality. This spectacular Chambertin broadens out on the back half without giving any impression of weight. A wine of uncommon depth and class, with no sign of overripeness. With its salty, crushed-rock minerality, this wine saturates every square millimeter of the palate and stimulates the salivary glands on the sensationally long finish.
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.
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