2000 Chambertin

The 2000 Chambertin Grand Cru is youthful in appearance with just very slight bricking. The bouquet is well-defined with quite precocious red fruit laced with orange blossom and crushed stone, yet it does not possess the complexity of the preceding vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, perfectly judged acidity, velvety, so much so that this is the one vintage that is quite Vosne-like in style. Coheres beautifully on the finish. No, not a top-ranking Chambertin from Rousseau, but so delicious. Tasted at the Rousseau Chambertin vertical at La Vienne.

The colour shows an amber rim to a still vivid red middle. Beautifully elegant in a ripe strawberry style with a savoury edge. Then the red fruit starts to sing. The 2000 offers an impression of readiness without any sign of tiring. A sweeter edge to the fruit at the start, good acidity. Impressive persistence. This example demonstrates how the 2000 vintage, originally viewed as a year to drink up early, refuses to go to sleep. I suspect this would have developed further interest had we been able to return to it later.

The 2000 Chambertin Grand Cru was poured from magnum and shows how Eric Rousseau can conjure a fantastic wine from a challenging growing season. It has a fabulous bouquet of shimmering red fruit tinged with orange pith and, with aeration, hints of meat juices. It is just so disarmingly harmonious. The palate is medium-bodied with filigreed tannins that frame the pure red fruit, and hints of white pepper and a touch of iron filings on the persuasive finish. Superb.