2002 - Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques, Sylvie Esmonin

Good dark red. Wild, evolving nose combines black olive, game, spices, truffle, earth and a whiff of balsamic plum and sandalwood. Spicy, gamey and complex on the palate, showing a sexy candied quality to the flavors of black raspberry pastille and smoke. Fat with fruit but the wine's serious acidity and smooth tannins should hold it effortlessly for another decade. A captivating note of violet emerged with aeration. Incidentally, this was the first vintage in which Sylvie Esmonin vinified with a portion of the stems. She actually began with two cuvées of this juice, and she included 50% whole clusters in the batch that she vinified without SO2. Lovely energy here.