2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1.Cru Clos St-Jacques Dom. Fourrier

20% new oak. Vines planted 1900 and 1901. Notably deep crimson. Less obviously expressive than the Combe aux Moines. Very dense and mossy with many layers and rather a dry finish. Very sleek. Great sweetness on the front palate. Lots of introvert matter. Finish dry but great promise. So long. Drink 2026-2045.

The 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques has real pedigree on the nose, with great tension with superbly defined red and black cherry fruit interwoven with both minerals and palpable tension. The palate is poised with crisp acidity: a pleasant saline touch and real intensity on the finish that fans out like a pianist hammering a final chord of a bravura performance. This might actually outperform Rousseau's Clos Saint Jacques in the long-term! Let's see...

(from a .26 ha parcel planted in 1928). A slightly more deeply pitched nose displays wonderfully spicy aromas of exotic tea, dark currant, warm earth, humus, underbrush and sandalwood. There is imposing size, weight and punch to the medium weight plus flavors yet the palate impression remains quite fine before terminating in a superbly persistent and powerful finale. This isn't necessarily more complex than the Clos St. Jacques but it has even better persistence. This stunner of a Griotte is among the more structured examples in 2013 and patience will definitely be required.