This Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St Jacques 1er Cru from Domaine Esmonin went through its malolactic fermentation late, so is very restrained compared to most. It has a magical intensity to the bouquet and there is a massive block of red and black fruit on the palate, together with a powerful finish. This will benefit from a few more months aging in barrel.

This has a heady, yet classy nose with real depth and no sign of the oak until the wine is in the mouth. On the palate, barrel and stem tannins that reflect the 80% whole bunch fermentation and the use of 100% new wood, come to the fore with dark chocolate, deep red fruit and blackberry all in attendance. This wine always shows exotic notes in youth, which in time in bottle blend into the class of the St Jacques terroir. Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Sylvie began picking on 3rd September, the earliest ever at this domaine, and she notes that the wines have kept an attractive freshness, which you might not expect in an early vintage. The stems were also ripe enough for her to slightly increase the proportion of whole bunch fermentation, and there were hardly any unhealthy grapes to be deselected, so yields are slightly better than for 2010.

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Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.

Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.
Inside Burgundy: The Côte de Beaune is the first volume is available for £14.99 on the Apple iBookStore. It is accompanied by the first edition of an innovative new Annual Report on Burgundy by Jasper Morris. Inside Burgundy The Annual Report 2012/13 is downloadable for free.

A heavenly, heady bouquet enthrals the nose whilst supple, vigorous black fruit flavours dance across the palate. This may have a firm, tannic finish but there is so much fruit here that this will develop beautifully over a decade or more.