Dark cherry and tart rhubarb ally themselves with smoky, saline, resinous, sap-like intensity of herbal, mineral, and animal matter in Dugat's 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St.-Jacques. While formidably tannic, it displays a fineness of grain fitted to underlying density that gives one confidence of the wine's aging potential. And the finish here – while not yet terribly complex – is energetic, focused, and almost stunningly persistent. Interestingly, the alcohol is lower than in his other 2006s, explains Dugat, because the site is so drought-prone and the vines were therefore subjected to repeated metabolic shutdown during the hot July. More importantly, though, there seems to be no question that this fruit achieved full phenolic maturity, and there is of course no danger of berry dehydration so early in the ripening season. "I like the 2006s a lot for their very Pinot character, their elegance, and the expression of their respective terroirs," says Claude Dugat, echoing the sentiment expressed by a great many growers about this vintage, and adding that his crop's potential alcohol levels were significantly lower than in 2005. That said, richness and robustness nearly always seem to be in the cards at this address, and in fact the 2006 collection displays formidable density and tanninity, the latter at times reinforced by the effects of new wood. Dugat admits – again, echoing the observation of numerous growers – that his 2006s put on weight and structure in the course of elevage. (The suggested pricing I received for these wines seemed implausibly high, incidentally, and I tempered it in response to spot-checking. But it should be noted that market prices for these wines are both especially high and highly variable.) Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083