Good bright, dark red. Rather cool, youthfully medicinal aromas of black cherry, dark berries, mint and game. Sweet and silky in the style of the vintage's best examples but extremely backward today. Great density of material here but less open-knit and complex than the Clos Saint-Jacques and Clos de Beze. This rectilinear young Chambertin shows outstanding nobility of texture and tannins and stains the palate on the mounting aftertaste.

Rousseau's 2011 Chambertin is quite a bit deeper and more powerful than the Bèze in this vintage. Here the flavors are dark, intense and boldly sketched. Black cherry, plum, spices, new leather and pine flesh out in a striking, succulent Chambertin that is surprisingly unevolved. The 2011 has enough verticality and overall structure to drink well for several decades, but readers will have to be patient.

Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune, you have to get past a little reduction on the nose of Rousseau’s Chambertin 2011 that is animally and feral, developing a strong estuarine influence - mudflats, kelp and sea salt. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, slightly chalky tannins and fine precision. Grippy in the mouth and more masculine with a precise, mineral finish. This is very fine but it needs 3-4 years to show its true nature.