It has always been my policy to open leakers, so when I found a bottle Domaine Rousseau Clos de la Roche 2000 with that problem, it just had to be consumed. An impromptu tasting was organised, which sort of snowballed, with the Clos de la Roche being joined by two more Rousseaus: a Gevery-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques 2000 and Chames-Chambertin 2001. All of a sudden, we had a Rousseau-fest…

The best thing around having three Rousseaus opened at the same time is that you can compare the wines easily, look for subtle differences, contrasting expressions of terroir, and the suchlike. The worst thing is that invariably an otherwise excellent wine will be made to look inferior. In this case, it was poor old Clos de la Roche.

The 2000 Clos St.-Jacques got a two hour decant and it certainly benefited from it. An awesome nose: smoky, animalisque, jubey fruits, sweet pork, creamy, almost custardy, terrific acid, earthy notes. The palate is seemless, red fruits, some spice, expressive with power, balanced, tremendous length – I can still taste it now. Looking excellent at the moment. 94 points. Drink 2008-2015

The 2000 Clos de la Roche was allowed to come up in the glass, and initially showed lighter florals, seemed a more delicate wine. The palate differed substantially, and it evolved to more deeper earthy notes, robust tannins (for Rousseau that is, not that big really), spice, black jubes and pastilles, quite a romantic wine. Three hours later this wine was really singing. 91 points. Drink 2008-2012+

The 2001 Charmes-Chambertin had a gorgeous nose straight off the bat, maybe the best of the three, with musky red fruits, spice and some animaly hair adding another dimension. Not as much weight as the Clos de la Roche, but still quite a pretty wine, with a purity of fruit and a charming precision. Alas it was only a 375ml bottle and it over before it all started. 92 points. Drink 2009-2015.