2012 Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques
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Tasting notes
Here the expressive if cool nose is quite spicy with plenty of earth and sauvage characters present on the mostly dark currant and plum aromas. As with many of the wines in the range the mid-palate is generous to the point of being aptly described as lush though the innate minerality of a typical LSJ is markedly present and helps to add lift to the robust, muscular and slightly rustic finish that coats the mouth on the serious finish. This will require a few years of cellaring but should be approachable on the younger side if desired. (Drink starting 2022)
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Delicate fruit and glossy oak. Succulent, smooth, soft. Gentle for Gevrey, but very charming nonetheless. (RH)
Good bright, dark red. Very pure, mineral-tinged aromas of blackberry, licorice and violet. Juicy and tight in the mouth, even a bit bound-up, with a firm spine of acidity and spicy tannins currently cutting off the wine's fruit. In a youthfully tough style and in need of patience.
The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St.-Jacques comes from a single 0.25-hectare of 45-year old vines. It has a taut, laconic nose at first that demands encouragement in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with attractive blackcurrant and raspberry fruit on the entry. This is very pure and well made, a self-effacing Lavaux St. Jacques that displays lovely balance and grace. This is just beautiful. I made a brief visit to Domaine Frederic Esmonin in Gevrey-Chambertin where I met Frederic and father Andre Esmonin, who had kindly organized a tasting in their office, where a heater allowed me to thaw out temporarily until 20 minutes later when I was back down the cellars of Frederic’s cousin Sylvie. Until 1988 the wines were sold in bulk to no less than Leroy and Louis Jadot, but over the last two decades they have quietly gone about their way producing high quality Gevrey-focused wines from their 3.60-hectare of holdings. It’s the same old story: 50% overall reduction due to poor flowering. Here, all bunches are de-stemmed and matured in oak sourced from three cooperages: CaVin, Seguin-Moreau and Radoux. The domaine has a reputation for bottling relatively early and these 2012 had been bottled end-October. My experience of mature bottles suggests that it does not compromise these wines that have an unerring ability to age and what is more, can often be found at reasonable prices. These are beautifully crafted 2012s that are composed, poised and cautiously intense. Importer: Atherton Wine Imports (www.awiwine.com) in California and Howard Ripley (UK)