2011 Domaine Armand Rousseau Pere et Fils Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru

(96 Points) This year, Eric Rousseau retained ten percent of the stems for the Clos de Bèze. This is a very exotic and stunning young wine, but it was starting to already shut down for a bit of winter hibernation at the time of my visit in early November and it will want a good dozen years in the cellar to really start to blossom and drink at or near its true potential. The superb nose is a blend of red plums, blood orange, grilled meats, raw cocoa, a beautifully complex base of soil, coffee bean and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with ripe tannins, bright acids and stunning length and grip on the very youthful finish. This is one of the more structured 2011s that I crossed paths with on this trip- albeit with all of the potential elegance and precise expression of terroir still very much in evidence as coming down the road with sufficient bottle age! A great wine- but a fair bit of patience will be necessary. Review Date: 11/2012, John Gilman