The 2020 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques 1er Cru is another reductive wine on the nose, showing brambly red fruit, briar and light loamy scents. It unfolds nicely with aeration, but it's still keeping something back. It gains delineation after a rigorous glass-to-glass decant. The palate is medium-bodied with gritty tannins. More austere and structured than its peers, some whole bunches lend a conspicuous pepperiness. It's maybe a little Morey-like towards the finish and a little brutish overall, but time will shave its edges. This is a decent Rousseau, but not in their top tier this vintage. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.

Mingling aromas of sweet berry fruit and cherries with hints of forest floor, black truffle, burning embers and warm spices, Rousseau's 2020 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques is medium to full-bodied, lively and concentrated, with an especially intense, tightly wound profile for a cuvée that's often rather delicate. Concluding with a long, penetrating finish, it shows considerable potential.

Cask sample. Greater weight again compared with the village Gevrey. Some real richness and savoury character to the fruit. (MH)