Component #1, from 50-year-old vines on rocky soil at the top of the slope: Discreet mineral and medicinal nose offers a subtly perfumed character. Suave and sweet but with a distinct coolness. Finishes with serious mineral spine, fine-grained tannins and lovely aromatic persistence. Leroux says he's now dividing up this holding by geology, not by age of vines. Component #2, from vines averaging 30 years of age in the lower part of the vineyard. Medium red. Deeper, riper, spicier nose also shows good lift. Less sweetness and cut but more volume and breadth ("this component will provide the wine's shoulders," says Leroux). Finishes with substantial but ripe tannins and a suggestion of chocolate. From an approximate blend of the final wine (there is also a young-vines component from the Clos, but this juice will go into a Pommard 1er Cru bottling): Good medium red. Aromas of redcurrant, menthol, licorice and minerals. Subtly sweet and intense, with a dominant flavor of cherry. In a cooler style but with excellent intensity and thrust thanks to firm underlying minerality. The tannins are supple and suave, and the finish is aromatic and bright. The two components aged in 50% new oak for the first year.

Firm light crimson. Not much nose – slightly sweaty. And pretty tough tannins but by no means the most astringent. Seems to be biding its time. Very uncompromising for the moment. (JR)