An unusually high-toned nose also displays a touch of wood that sets off subtle lower register notes of earth and humus that carry over to the textured and relatively supple medium weight plus flavors that possess excellent dry extract levels that completely buffer the firm and dense tannins on the deep, long and sappy finish. Terrific quality here but again, for the patient.

Courcel's 2008 Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots unites an almost bitter concentration of fresh blackberry with a red-chalk typical sense of iron filings somehow so vivid that you could imagine fining this Pinot with a magnet. Plumbing the delicious depths of this wine is like tucking into a meld of blood pudding and black fruit compote. Peat, damp earth, and cherry pit accents add further fascination and complexity in a long finish. This is the most overtly, firmly tannic of the present collection, but its concomitant complexity and overall concentration lead me to anticipate that a dozen or more years of cellaring will prove rewarding. In 2007 and 2008, Yves Confuron steadfastly retained his allegiance to late harvest and long fermentation with whole clusters and stems, and was willing to sort and discard fruit ruthlessly to achieve fine results in both vintages. Confuron - voicing an opinion rare among red Burgundy growers - prefers his 2007s for what he considers their nearly ideal balance, and it's hard to fault that description, even if (like me) you're drawn more to the style of 2008s. He also thinks his 2007s will hold that balance for extended bottle aging, though I am skeptical on that count. it's certainly possible that the 2008s will seize up after bottling, but at the time when I tasted them, their refinement of texture gave the lie to the many critics of vendange entier - particularly in a marginally ripe and rot-challenged vintage - who insist that the inclusion of stems in the fermentor can only add undesirable tannin and bitterness. Malolactic conversion in Confuron's young 2008 vintage wines was spread all the way from April to November, but that didn't bother him, since elevage here typically lasts the better part of two full years, and he was planning to spread the bottling between June or early July and September. (The 2007s were not bottled until August and September, 2009.) Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400

Like other wines from de Courcel in this vintage, there is a conservatism and dryness on the nose. Compact and rather…obdurate. The palate is better with sinewy tannins on the entry, firm and grippy with a touch of tobacco and walnut towards the foursquare, rather raw finish. Tasted January 2010. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400