Readers who appreciate backward, tannic Burgundies will enjoy Girardin's 2000 Pommard Les Rugiens even more than I did, and will have no qualms about this wine's future. Slightly darker-colored than the Grands Epenots, it is a brooding, firm Pommard with majestic quantities of fruit. Dense, highly concentrated, and intense, this powerfully constructed offering displays copious dark cherries, black raspberries, and brambleberries. Even so, I have my doubts as to whether its tannic structure will ultimately win out and dominate its personality. Projected maturity: 2006-2012+? Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802 Note: Vincent Girardin also bottles some of these same wines under the Baron de la Charriere label, imported by Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565.