97

Stephen Tanzer

Vinous

Very good deep red. Closer to the CSJ than to the CDB on the nose, offering terrific pungent lift to the aromas of black raspberry, rose petal and blood orange. Wonderfully sappy and pure, without any impression of weightiness to its saline flavors of raspberry, spices and white pepper. Utterly fine-grained, silky wine with great finesse. One of the longest, most palate-saturating wines of this vintage, finishing with noble tannins and taste bud-titilllating perfume. Perfectly balanced also but built for a glorious evolution in bottle. It would be a shame to open this bottle too soon.

94/96

Neal Martin

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

Matured in 100% new oak, the 2013 Chambertin Grand Cru has wonderful transparency on the nose, beautifully defined with Morello, crushed strawberry, limestone and orange sorbet. The palate is supremely well balanced with lithe tannins, beautiful acidity and real elegance on the finish. This is a sublime Chambertin, but I might hedge my bets with the Clos de Bèze this year. There he is again. As I fumbled trying to open the wrought iron gate chez Rousseau, the legend that is Charles Rousseau, innings of 91 not out, exited the small cabin where he spends his day in quiet repose to help me inside. Sure, he looks a little gaunt, his gait slower and fragile, the caducity of life evident to see and yet remains the history of Burgundy made flesh, blood and charisma. Winemaker Frédéric Robert was on hand as usual to guide me through the barrels, always one of the most candid vignerons in Burgundy. Before embarking upon the tasting he mentioned that the fate of the village cru vines from Château de Gevrey has not been decided, choosing to wait until quality reaches a level where it will merit joining their portfolio (no pressure for the vines there then.) However, one parcel owned by the economically-titled ‘Ng’ family has now augmented their plot of Lavaux Saint Jacques. Like many winemakers, Frédéric was somewhat surprised and relieved to find how well their 2013s had turned out, although he cautioned that the barrels can change from day to day (and with this in mind I often tasted from two or three to aim for a representative sample blend.) Here they commenced the harvest on October 1 - as is customary a little earlier than other growers, some of whom unsheathed their secateurs around four days later. But he told me that the fruit seemed to have reached its full ripeness level and with the impending gloomy forecast felt there was little point in waiting. And like others, he found the malolactic fermentation stubbornly slow, though most had finished by the end of May. Unsurprisingly, this was an impressive lineup from Rousseau. As always, it is not a case of every single cru demanding superlatives: some are more successful than others. That's the way the cookie crumbles in a difficult vintage. Terroir's guiding hand plays its role. While both the Chambertin and the Clos-de-Bèze were knockout wines for the vintage, my preference just toward the latter, it was actually the Mazis-Chambertin that really surpassed my expectations in this growing season, just like it had done a couple of hours earlier at Dugat-Py. Indeed, I often find Mazis-Chambertin copes better than say, Latricières or Chapelle-Chambertin in seasons such as 2013: there is a robustness within its DNA, a sense of fortitude and stoicism, a vineyard that prevails come what may. It comes highly recommended. Both the Charmes-Chambertin and Clos de la Roche 2013s possess great potential, though some of the premier crus and village cru appear a little skinnier than I expected and will probably merit more short to midterm aging.