Gevrey Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques, Domaine Esmonin 2023

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru includes 60% whole bunch and the same level of new oak. I love the aromatics here, which are perhaps more refined and elegant than those of the 2022 last year, with more red fruit and a little more terroir expression coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, slightly powdery in texture with a patina of oak that will assimilate in time. Yes, this is still more precocious in style than, say, Armand Rousseau or Bruno Clair, yet it remains a quite delicious proposition. (Drink between 2028-2046)

60% new wood and whole bunches. Black centre with purple rim. This has real quality, a classic Sylvie Clos St-Jacques, with a lively fruit not picked too late, while the stems add a complexifying factor, but there so also a suave quality to the fruit which extends very agreeably through to a long finish. There is enough red fruit in the mix to lighten the black fruit concentration. Enough juiciness through the middle. Drink from 2030-2038.

This is also pungently reduced. The sleeker and more powerful flavors flash even more evident minerality that carries over to the dusty, compact and moderately austere finale that exhibits excellent length. Like the old vines Gevrey, my projected range assumes that this will clean up once it's racked and prepared for the bottling. Note: from a large 1.6 ha holding of 45+ year old vines