The history of Domaine Emmanuel Rouget is forever tied to the famous vigneron Henri Jayer, Emmanuel’s uncle. By the early 1980s, Henri had already become one of the most legendary winemakers in Burgundy, influencing a generation of young vignerons in Burgundy and around the world. Henri began to think about the future of his domaine and though he had two daughters, neither of them were interested in making wine. In 1985 he took on his nephew Emmanuel Rouget as his protégé and began leasing some of his vines to him. Over the years, Jayer gave up more and more vines to his nephew.
In 2001, following his retirement, all of his vines went under the control of Emmanuel Rouget, including the Georges Jayer vines, which have been vinified in the cellar of Rouget since 2002. Since 2011, the control of the domaine has passed to Emmanuel’s two sons Nicolas and Guillaume. Nicolas keeps watch over the vineyards while Guillaume is principally in the winery.
93 Points Allen Meadows
I hadn’t tried this in some years and time has been reasonably good to it. This most recent bottle did flash a hint of volatile acidity on the spicy nose where the mostly red berry fruit has now turned toward the secondary. There is better than average richness in the context of what is typical for the vintage to the well-delineated middle weight flavors that exhibit excellent minerality on the balanced, linear and focused finale. To my taste this is now basically ready though it should hold at this plateau for years.
94 Points Wine Spectator
Absolutely stunning. Deep, pure aromas of cassis, violets and vanilla are followed by rich flavors and silky texture. Everything is woven together by juicy acidity,with a cascade of berries on the finish.