2012 Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru
By Domaine Armand Rousseau
2012 Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Armand Rousseau, Burgundy
The 2012 Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Armand Rousseau stands as a testament to the resilience and talent of Burgundian viticulture in a challenging vintage. A year marked by haphazard climatic conditions, yet the skill at Rousseau transmuted potential adversity into a vintage with a profound narrative to tell.
A Year of Triumph Over Trials
The growing season of 2012 was fraught with difficulty, including hailstorms and a wet spring that reduced yields across the region. However, these smaller yields provided for an unexpected benefit: intensely concentrated grapes that led to deeply expressive wines. The low yield, combined with vigilant husbandry and an Indian summer, culminated in a harvest that defied initial expectations.
Refined Elegance Bespeaks 2012
On the palate, the 2012 Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru reveals a sophisticated tapestry of dark cherries and ripe red berries, underlain by an unmistakable earthiness characteristic of its storied terroir. What strikes the taster is the equilibrium between this wine's structured tannins and the vibrant acidity, presenting an articulate expression ripe for investment contemplation.
The bouquet is a vault of complex aromatics; layers of violet, forest floor and a hint of spice bespeak its noble heritage and Mazis-Chambertin typicity. On decanting, it unfurls gracefully, ensuring that every sip is more telling than the last.
Investment Potential Unearthed
With the graceful ageing trajectory expected of the regal Pinot Noir from Grand Cru vineyards, this particular vintage from Domaine Armand Rousseau possesses considerable allure for fine wine investors. It encapsulates both rarity and exceptional quality—a fulcrum for this wine's investment potential.
In summation, the 2012 Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Armand Rousseau is an exemplary offering. It eloquently chronicles the narrative of its birth year—a vintage yielded against all odds—delivering a Burgundian masterpiece worthy of both discerning collectors and investors who seek to add depth and distinction to their portfolios.
Market price (USD)
$8,460.00
12x75cl
Highest score
96
POP score
433.13
Scores and tasting notes
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.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 29 October 2015
The 2012 Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru offers up a deep bouquet of wild berries, red plums, smoked game bird, peonies, orange rind, raw cocoa and underbrush. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with powdery tannins, fine depth at the core and a lively spine of acidity, concluding with a pungently savory finish. This is an elegantly carnal Mazis that's deceptively structurally accessible today, though it will really need another six or seven years in the cellar to arrive at the beginnings of real maturity.
William Kelley - The Wine Advocate, 16 July 2020