1995 Domaine Jean Grivot, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Aux Boudots

Excellent red-ruby. Aromatic, more sauvage nose features cassis, nuts, leather, game and earth. Slightly jammy raspberry flavor complicated by a hint of menthol. Dense, supple, broad and concentrated, but a bit musclebound today, with the backbone of the wine hiding its flesh. But the firm tannins are in harmony with the wine. "My wines at their best combine power and elegance," says Grivot; this one is a prime example.

Potentially outstanding, the ruby-colored and well-delineated Nuits-St.-Georges Les Boudots offers a mineral and blueberry-filled nose as well as a highly-structured, masculine, medium-to-full-bodied, and oily-textured palate packed with concentrated sweet cherries. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2009. The Domaine Jean Grivot is brilliantly run by Jean's son Etienne Grivot. As I mentioned in the introduction to my Cote de Nuits report (Issue #110), he is one of the young vignerons responsible for the higher quality of Burgundy's wines. His 1995s were among the best wines I tasted in the Cote d'Or, bringing together superb balance with thick, concentrated, elegant fruit. Importer: Chateaux and Estates Wine Co., New York, NY; Tel; (212) 572-7725.