2005 Pommard Les Pezerolles

The Lafarge 2005 Pommard Pezerolles leads with charred meat and bitter herbal concentration, though tart red fruit – a common thread running through all of this year’s collection – is also very much in evidence. Meaty, saline, and brightly-fruited in the mouth, it nevertheless possesses such a wet stone mineral character and wears its abundant tannins so inside-out as to appear quite austere today. Time will tell whether this can integrate its tannins and its tartness – but I don’t think it will be any time soon. Arguably this formidably dense wine is marked by drought. The entire Lafarge collection was predictably still in barrel when I visited in February, with even the generic cuvees due for assembly only in March. Speaking of generic bottlings, I don’t know of another domaine that has three of them, and I certainly doubt that there is one with three routinely worthy of attention even by those with the disposable income to afford premier crus. A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

Deep red. Pure aromas of black cherry and licorice. Juicy, tight and sharply delineated, if in a more muscular style than the estate's top Volnays. This has strong fruit and plenty of energy but comes across as a bit youthfully tough, even peppery, today. The tannins are substantial but rather fine for Pommard. This, too, shows terrific potential.