From a new parcel, the de Montille 2005 Corton Clos du Roi smells of nutmeg-dusted red cherries and strawberries as well as flowers and game. Notes of resin and tobacco join in on the well-concentrated, dense palate, leading to a finish with persistent sweetness of fruit, but rather brooding gamey, darkly herbal notes, chalky mineral suggestions, and a touch of heat. It would be best to revisit this in two or three years to get a better idea of the direction it might be headed. (I was not able to taste the de Montille 2005 Corton Pougets.) Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040. Also, a Thomas Calder Selection, Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29

(a blend of 80-, 40- and 25-year-old vines) Good deep red. Reticent aromas of strawberry, herbs and earth. Very smooth in texture and densely packed but stubbornly closed. Comes across as rather uncompromisingly dry today but there's richness lurking. Complicating notes of earth and smoke. Serious wine with substantial dusty tannins. This could hardly be more different from the Pougets.

Very, very fruity, almost jammy. Still some gas. Very youthful and slightly lolly (candified) at this stage. (JR)