The 1999 Clos de la Roche Gran Cru represented my first encounter, this bottle poured blind. It has a life-affirming bouquet of vivacious red fruit and pressed iris petals, incense and light loamy aromas developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity and luxuriant, supple tannins. Pure and elegant, this feels rounded rather than plump, a Clos de la Roche with no edges and rising to a wonderful crescendo on the finish. Fabulous. Tasted at Arbor restaurant in Hong Kong.

The medium to dark ruby-colored 1999 Clos De La Roche has sweet black cherry, earth, and plum-like aromas. This powerful, intense, meaty wine is filled with plums, blackberries, gelatinous veal stock, and Asian spices. It is pure, muscular, dense, and profound. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2018. Importer: Martine's Wines, San Raphael, CA; tel. (415) 485-1800.

Deep, saturated ruby. Knockout nose of blackberry, black cherry, licorice, violet and mocha. Superb fruit offers penetrating sweetness yet comes across as quite cool and laid-back. Atypically, this comes across as less fat than the Gevrey Combottes today, as well as less sauvage than some recent vintages of this cuvee Very tightly wrapped, with firm acidity giving the finish superb grip. The licorice character carries through in the mouth.