This was a wine that I was quite curious to try because while I had the good fortune to have enjoyed it several times in the 1990s, it had not come my way since 2001. I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint with its ripe yet airy aromas of sous-bois, spice, earth, game and beautifully well-layered secondary fruit. There is fine richness as well as very good power to the delicious and attractively textured medium-bodied flavors that exhibit equally good layering on the impressively persistent finale. This is not a particularly elegant vintage for the Rousseau CSJ and there remains enough tannin to notice on the slightly warm finish but overall, I found this to have aged out extremely well.

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The outstanding Gevrey-Chambertin-Clos St.-Jacques possesses a saturated deep ruby color, and an explosive nose of black fruits, spicy new oak, flowers, and truffles. In the mouth, the wine is dense, seductive, and ripe, with low acidity, glycerin, and alcohol in the finish, making it a voluptuous, opulent mouthful of chewy Pinot Noir. Drink it over the next decade. At the top level, Rousseau consistently produces three profound wines - Gevrey-Chambertin-Clos St.-Jacques (as good as most producer's grands crus), Chambertin-Clos de Beze, and Chambertin. That being said, I remain perplexed as to why Rousseau's other wines are so surprisingly light and fluid. While good, sometimes very good, they are markedly inferior to his top three wines. Never one to jump on the bandwagon for forward, super-ripe vintages, (he still believes 1983 is the finest vintage of the eighties), Rousseau is unpersuaded by the acclaim bestowed on 1990.

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