Rousseau's 2012 Chambertin towers out of the glass. Sophisticated, finessed yet also powerful to the core, the 2012 Chambertin captures a compelling range of expressions. Crushed flowers, sweet red berries, mint, leather and cedar meld into a huge core of fruit in a dramatic, powerful Chambertin that will require considerable bottle age to show the full breadth of its potential.

Healthy medium red. Reticent aromas of redcurrant, black cherry, raspberry and smoky minerality. Hugely concentrated and sweet, but in a distinctly cooler and less expressive style than the Clos de Bèze. Sappy, saline wine with an incredible whiplash of a finish that leaves the palate saturated. Showing more red fruits than black in the early going, this is still an infant.

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chambertin Grand Cru has a touch of mint on the nose, complementing the mixture of red and black fruit, a pastille-like purity developing with time. This is very charming and the oak is neatly folded into the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, the acidity perfectly judged and lending the tension and poise one expects from a Chambertin. It does lose a little intensity in the glass but it's from such a high point it is neither here nor there. This is a wonderful Chambertin.