2001 Vosne Romanee Les Brulees

(from a vintage Meo describes as "fresh"): Medium red. Complex aromas of strawberry, mocha, cedar and violet, plus a hint of herbs and a decadent whiff of hot rocks. Juicy and nicely concentrated but light on its feet. Finishes weightless, complex and persistent, with hints of berries, pepper and rose. This suave charmer seems close to its peak but should offer considerable pleasure for at least another five to eight years.

This continues to improve with its wonderfully spicy, elegant, generous, full and richly fruited nose of surpassing transparency that leads to pure and seductive flavors that display excellent precision and a decided linear quality. By contrast, the finish is sweet and sappy with marvelous depth and outstanding length and the underlying sense of tension is almost palpable. In particular, the harmony of the various elements is really impressive and there is gorgeous mid-palate punch. I very much like this and it has terrific development potential, indeed in time this may very well fully rival the '99 though I don't believe that it will ever catch the simply fantastic '05.

Bright, deep ruby-red. Highly perfumed aromas of black raspberry, cocoa powder, coffee, minerals and game. Wonderfully sweet and aromatic in the mouth, with impressive precision of berry and mineral flavors and terrific cut. This offers excellent texture for a 2001 and finishes with explosive fruit. Still, the Clos Vougeot is more seductive today. As with the Boudots, I underrated this a year ago.