2013 Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru

There are plenty of highlights in this range from Eric Rousseau, and not just at the top end. The 2013s are intensely aromatic and pliant, with plenty of the vintage's signature verve. Production is down, as it is everywhere in Burgundy, but not as dramatically as in 2012. The lower levels of ripeness give many of the wines in the range more early appeal than is typical, so I expect many of these wines will drink well with minimal cellaring. Rousseau fans will not want to miss the En St. Jacques bottling in 2013, which is magnificent.

Ripeness was "just at the limit" of 11.5% in 2013, said Eric Rousseau, who chaptalized his wines to 12.8% to 13%. After eliminating botrytis-affected fruit, Rousseau made an average of 31 hectoliters per hectare, or a bit more than in 2012. Although the 2012s may be riper, I very much enjoyed the sappiness and precision of the 2013s. "The color was easy to extract in 2013 as there was good phenolic material," said Rousseau, adding that the wines have fine-grained tannins and good balance. The pHs were in the range of 3.5 in both 2013 and 2012. Incidentally, Rousseau showed me four different cuvées of his Clos Saint-Jacques, as well as an approximation of the final blend. He will probably bottle a bit of each so that he can follow them, but current plans are to release just the blend.