The 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques 1er Cru matures in 75% new oak and 100% de-stemmed. It has a crisp and well-defined bouquet with black cherries, raspberry and rose petals that unfurls beautifully with time. The palate is medium-bodied with precise tannins, extremely detailed, not long in the mouth with surfeit freshness and tension, and a touch of white pepper on the finish. Sophisticated and classy.

The 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques is also performing very well from bottle, unwinding to reveal aromas of wild berries, orange rind, warm spices, raw cocoa, rich soil tones and peonies. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and enveloping, with a fleshy core of fruit that entirely conceals the wine's powdery tannins, ripe acids and a perfumed finish. This is a supremely charming Lavaux Saint-Jacques that will offer a broad drinking window.

More ripe and spicy on the nose than the Fixin and the Cinq Terroirs but not overripe, just less floral and almost a touch raisiny. Quite ripe on the palate too. Agreed with Goedhuis that the sample is not the freshest, hence no score or drink date. (JH)