Strawberry and red raspberry in the nose and on the palate of Lafon's 2006 Monthelie Les Duresses retain a refreshingly juicy, tart edge and are accompanied by a metaphorically cool and in no way inharmonious herbal component. There is a Riesling- or Chenin-like sense of purity and precision as well as fine concentration allied with lift and delicacy about this Monthelie that render it eminently and immediately appealing, and even though it is not really complex, in the finish there are subtle suggestions of things mineral. I would plan to enjoy this over the next 2-3 years. Dominique Lafon picked his 2006 Pinots only in the last days of September and then – like most of his colleagues – took pains to extract and to handle the young wines very gently so as to emphasize fruit. "I don't like to carry grey rot in the picking boxes," says Lafon, "so the first selection of botrytis was done by the pickers in the vineyard, and then we finished on the sorting table." He estimates that there was at most 10-15% tainted fruit, with some parcels largely rot-free. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers), fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040