A. Rousseau Clos Saint-Jacques 2006

Rousseau’s 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques – which received 75% new barrels this year, rather than 100% as in 2005 – is strikingly pungent and bracing even in the nose, mingling fresh sour cherry, cherry pit, bitter-sweet herbal concentrate, iodine, peat, and hints of game. This attacks the palate as its aromas anticipated, and hints of black pepper and chalk add to the invigorating sense of grip. Even (as this was when I tasted it) prior bottling – which at Rousseau involves pumping and bottling – the overall impression here is relatively spare and delicate. But this offers a fine example of how this need not preclude sheer flavor intensity or energy, present in spades here. The finish is impressively pungent and piquant, and one can safely assume at least a decade of fascination is in store for the owners of bottle