2001 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru

Vintage 2002 was a perfect year, like 1999 and 1996, said Corinne Rousseau: The wines are ripe, fine and balanced, with excellent acidity and length."Only the Lavaux Saint-Jacques was chaptalized.Yields in thegrand crus were around 32 hectoliters per hectare, or slightly lower than in 2001 and 2000.The estate carried out a green harvest in all its younger vines in 2002, as it has done each year since 1999.According to Rousseau, the 2002s are a bit less marked by terroir and more by sheer ripeness than the 2001s.I was knocked out by the young 2002s but underwhelmed by the finished 2001s, which had shown very well a year earlier.Once again, I couldn't help wondering how many Rousseau wines would be better served by less handling and earlier bottling.The young 2002s had been racked in January and February following the typically early malolactic fermentations, then again in late July or August.The estate's habit is to bottle late:the 2001s were bottled at the end of July 2003, which Rousseau described as "one month earlier than usual."

Charles Rousseau told me that 2001 is "less good than 2000," as the newer vintage has a bit less structure. But it's a bit early to judge the real quality of 2000." Today, Rousseau likes 1999 and 2002 best among recent vintages. He was excited about 2002 in November. Grape sugars went as high as 13.7% in the Clos de Beze," he told me. August was not wet but it wasn't hot either, with the result that the 2002 fruit retained good acidity." Rousseau, incidentally, was one of several Burgundy growers who told me in November that he clearly prefers his 1991s to his 1990s today.