Armand Rousseau : Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru "Clos Saint-Jacques" 2022

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for the Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Clos Saint-Jacques" 2022 from Armand Rousseau

Tasting

Color

The wine displays a ruby to medium ruby robe with an even, crimson hue, reflecting homogeneous ripeness and a well-controlled extraction typical of relatively old pinot noir vines.

Serving and cellaring

The Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Clos Saint-Jacques" 2022 is built for extended cellaring, typically requiring ten to twenty years to fully reveal itself. Like the domaine's Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, it is known to integrate its oak beautifully after about a decade in the cellar.

Other characteristics

This vintage shows a moderate alcohol level, with most of the domaine's 2022 wines reaching around 13.5%, a reflection of the balanced ripeness achieved despite the season's climatic challenges.

A Premier Cru from Gevrey-Chambertin with the Depth of a Grand Cru

The Estate

Founded in 1902, when Armand Rousseau inherited his first vine plots in Gevrey-Chambertin, the Domaine Armand Rousseau has grown over four generations into one of Burgundy's most respected names. Today it is led by Éric Rousseau together with his daughter Cyrielle, who represents the fourth generation at the helm. The estate farms close to 15 hectares planted exclusively with pinot noir, spread across village, premier cru and grand cru appellations in Gevrey-Chambertin and Morey-Saint-Denis, including such celebrated climats as Chambertin and Clos de la Roche.

The Vineyard

The Clos Saint-Jacques climat sits on the upper part of the Gevrey-Chambertin slope, at an altitude of roughly 290 to 340 meters, facing east to southeast for favorable morning sun exposure and natural drainage. Its soils rest on Bathonian limestone interspersed with marl, a geological profile associated with some of the finest premier cru sites in the Côte de Nuits. Entirely enclosed by a wall, this 6.70-hectare clos is shared among only five growers, with Armand Rousseau owning around 2.20 hectares, about one third of the total surface, acquired in 1954. The domaine tends its vines with low yields, mechanical and manual soil work, and a reasoned approach bordering on biodynamic farming.

The Vintage

The 2022 growing season in Gevrey-Chambertin was marked by a violent storm at the end of June, which flooded the estate's lower cellar and caused a dramatic landslide on the Clos Saint-Jacques slope, requiring the soil to be manually restored on the hillside. Hail also affected several plots, including Clos Saint-Jacques, reducing yields without compromising the health of the grapes. The rest of the summer remained dry and warm, allowing for even ripening, and harvest began on August 31, continuing over eight to ten days.

Winemaking and aging

Grapes for the Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Clos Saint-Jacques" 2022 were hand-harvested and carefully sorted, with a portion of whole clusters included alongside destemmed fruit. A brief cold maceration preceded fermentation in open vats over 18 to 20 days, with regular punching down and pumping over to gently extract color and tannin. The wine was then pressed using a pneumatic press before being transferred to oak barrels, between 70% and 80% new, where it completed malolactic fermentation and aged for about 18 to 20 months with two rackings. Bottling took place by gravity in April, following a light plate filtration.

Grape Varieties

This wine is produced from 100% pinot noir.