The Prieur 2007 Beaune Champs Pimonts had been in bottle two months when I tasted it and quite possibly in part on that account was open and expressive. Pineapple and lemon oil make for a pungent, fresh aroma and palate impression, with the wine's generous, juicy citrus harmoniously complimented by alluring creaminess and subtle flavor inflections from lees and barrel. While not notably nuanced or complex, this is irresistibly exuberant, palpably dense, and both lively and mineral in stony, salty senses in its finish. I would plan to enjoy it over the next 3-5 years. The 2004 here, incidentally, is currently aromatically expressive, but has never shed a slight discord between its bright citric aspects and its creamy, lees-inflected aspects. Oenologist Nadine Gublin did not begin harvesting the Prieur Chardonnay until September 10, finishing a week later. The wines (with the exception of the Montrachet) all weighed-in between 13-13.5% alcohol and none were chaptalized. Malo-lactic fermentations were slow, the wines were inexpressive early, hence Gublin elected to bottle them 2-4 months later than usual (using a new bottling system). As a result, I have only tasted the best of them as assembled in tank. A comparison of the 2004s side-by-side was fascinating, and among other things bore out Gublin's assertion that -the big difference between 2004 and 2007 was the presence of over-ripeness and of enormous heterogeneity of ripeness- in the former. After the completion of renovations that were ongoing when I visited, the whites in a gravity-flow facility will be vinified entirely separately from the reds, and subject to sophisticated air purification and temperature controls of both tanks and cellar. New tractors and personnel will be on hand from 2010 to assist a transition to organic viticulture. In all these respects, the idealism and ambition exhibited at this estate are formidable.Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

So severe was the selection processes on Prieur's 2006 Beaune Champs Pimonts that only 22 hectoliters per hectare were netted. Sour cherry, blond tobacco, and brown spices in the nose, follow on a finely-textured though fundamentally firm, as well as buoyant palate. There are impressive nuances to the finish here that can only be characterized as mineral, of a sort that local lore at least would have us associate with the iron-rich chalk that underlies this site. I suspect this will be worth following from bottle for 4-6 years. Enologist Nadine Gublin reports that the Prieur team performed a severe triage of 2006 Pinot – especially from the Cote de Beaune – both in the vineyards and on tables. The fine results speak for themselves, boasting (with one exception) purity of fruit and complexity, as well as a range of distinctively 2006 virtues. Their Chambertin – which, like the wine from their other grand crus, had been assembled but not yet bottled when I last tasted them – presented a special challenge due to the degree to which the Prieur parcels were damaged by hail, and a decision was made to declassify even the small amount of fruit that was vinified. The Pinot crop was harvested at 12.5-13.5% potential alcohol; required no adjustment; and was all destemmed. The wines were (or will for the most part have been) lightly plaque-filtered.Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

From an unjustly little-known Beaune cru (this one – featuring iron-rich soil – located just across the Autoroute from the Clos de la Figuine) the Prieur 2005 Beaune Champs Pimont had not been racked or assembled yet when I tasted a sample compilation from barrel. This smells of resins, machine oil, cherries, and a bit much of new oak. In the mouth, an imposing brightness and sweetness of raspberry and cherry is enhanced by a good shaking to free the fruit from slight reduction. A note of extraneous oak again intervenes in the finish, which exhibits a bit of a rough spot in any event. This will need a little time to sort itself out. Nearly all bottlings from this negociant – on an upward path since the influx of Rodet capital in the early ‘90s – in fact originate in the Domaine Jacques Prieur. Martin Prieur and his team have striven to capture purity of fruit through gentle extraction, although for my taste I found some of their 2005s overly confectionary due to the influence of toasty new wood on already very sweetly ripe raw material. After malo – which was generally quite late here this year – the wines were sulfured but not yet racked.Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700.

Cherries and strawberries make up the nose of the 2002 Beaune Champs Pimonts. This spicy, peppery wine is medium-bodied, suave, and fruit-driven. Its detailed, pure personality is well-balanced, lively, and reveals a long, flavorful finish. Drink it over the next 8 years. Importers: William Deutsch and Sons, White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463; and Winesellers, Ltd., Skokie, IL; tel. (847) 679-0121

The floral, violet-infused scents of the medium-to-dark ruby-colored Beaune Champs Pimont were seductive. This well-crafted wine has a structured and medium-bodied core of blackberries, metals, stones, and minerals. Anticipated maturity: now-2002.Importers: William Deutsch and Sons, Ltd., Armonk, NY; tel (914) 273-1221; fax (914) 273-1291, and Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL; tel (847) 679-0121; fax (847) 679-2017.