Jadot’s 2005 Corton Pougets displays luscious plum and black cherry in conjunction with grilled, singed lamb and chalky, alkaline, stony underlying character. Allspice, black pepper and pungent herbal shadings become evident on the palate. This impressively dense, meaty, mineral-laden wine displays polished tannins and persistently clear, ripe bitter-sweet black fruit, leading to a long, firmly gripping finish. Don’t be in any hurry to revisit it, and expect at least a dozen years of interesting development. (A Corton Greves on which I withhold any judgment was awkwardly tart and tannic, having as yet for some reason, said Lardiere, failed to recover from its post-malo racking.) Jacques Lardiere has once again presided over a collection for the most part not intended to flatter in its youth, but rather to achieve an eventual balance of fruit acidity with (in this instance frequently quite prominent) tannin. Prolonged post-fermentative extraction promoted a formidably-structured group of wines, which Lardiere expressed no hurry about bottling. Certain of these – particularly from the Cote de Beaune – displayed a slightly drying finishing astringency or simply an austere lack of charm to match their concentration, traits Lardiere suggested might be traceable to drought stress in those sites. A brief July rain that reached the Cote de Nuits but not the Cote de Beaune was critical, he asserts, and all of Jadot’s vines in the northern Cote were picked before the harvest in the south commenced. (Wines from the Domaine Louis Jadot, Domaine Heritiers Louis Jadot, or Domaine Gagey, have been identified with a letter “D” in their listings.) Also recommended: 2005 Cote de Nuits-Villages Le Vaucrain ($25.00;86+?), 2005 Santenay Clos de Malte ($27.00; 85-87), 2005 Savigny-les-Beaune Aux Guettes (84-86+?), 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges ($37.00; 85-87+?), 2005 Chambolle-Musigny ($50.00; 85-87+?). Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490 9300

A supremely integrated wine, its richness and beautiful fruit just part of a story that starts with intense aromas and segues on the palate into a balance of tannins, dark red fruits, enveloping acidity and a beautifully orchestrated finale of berries, spice and aching freshness.——R.V.(8/1/2008)—— 97