A high-acid, intense red, with a crisp finish but also a supple tannin structure. A beam of focused red berries cuts through this medium-fleshy northern Rhone. Don't expect a fat blockbuster. Should age gracefully. Drink now through 2010. 19,580 cases made.

Jaboulet Aine has the best-known estate in Crozes-Hermitage, on the flat land to the south of the hill of Hermitage. The 1999, a top year for Crozes, is deep, dark, almost black in color. It is a generous, rounded wine, smooth, rich, with a cocktail of spices, new wood flavors and black fruits. The tannins are there, but are soft, ripe and already accessible. ——R.V.(6/1/2002)—— 89