Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 98
Tasted from bottle, the 2016 Chambertin Grand Cru claims the place of king of the Rousseau cellar this year, soaring from the glass with a complex bouquet of ripe red berries, cherries and plums, complemented by nuances of blood orange, peonies, raw cocoa, grilled meats and spices. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, lively acids and a muscular chassis of ripe tannins that’s largely concealed by a prodigious core of fruit. Long, sapid and penetrating, like the Clos de Beze, this will make for fascinating comparisons with its 2015 counterpart in two decades’ time.
Anticipated maturity: 2030-2070
Vinous 98
The 2016 Chambertin Grand Cru has a beguiling bouquet with copious red berry fruit, crushed minerals, delicate wilted rose petal and light tobacco scents. It has a crystalline beauty. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin, wonderful focus and immense poise. This is a class act with bewildering tension and incredible poise towards the finish. God made wine so it could taste like this. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2055
Burghound 96-99
As is often the case, this is more restrained than the Bèze and more deeply pitched as well with its cooler array of strikingly spicy red and dark currant aromas that are more heavily cut with freshly turned earth scents along with plenty of floral and sauvage influences, all of which is again trimmed in just enough oak influence to point out. The exceptionally rich, dense and highly energetic full-bodied flavors brim with both dry extract and a pungent minerality on the brilliantly complex and explosively long finish. This is a classic example of power without weight because despite the imposing size of the ’16 Chambertin, the overall impression is one of harmony and grace. Among the ‘big 4’ of the Rousseau line-up, this is the one wine that might just surpass its 2015 equivalent.