In the Coteaux d’Aix, Chapoutier continues to work with the Domaine des Beates. The 2003 Les Beatines rose is a tasty, medium-bodied effort displaying notes of framboise. It should be drunk before summer, 2005. As I have said so many times over the last 15 years, the top Chapoutier wines are meant for very long term drinking, and are not designed for immediate gratification. Everything Chapoutier is doing, from his bio-dynamically farmed vineyard to tiny yields, extended fermentations, indigenous yeasts, and no fining or filtration, is done to produce the essence of a vineyard and a vintage. His track record since 1989 and 1990 admirably proves that these are indeed remarkable wines made by a young genius who refuses to compromise. Michel Chapoutier has been misunderstood by some of his peers, and there is a lot of jealousy when someone this young is so incredibly talented, but it is an irrefutable fact that these are wines of singular greatness as well as longevity.Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

Readers should consume this wine before the end of 2001, but if they find any bottles of this brilliant wine, it is well-worth checking out as it is a delicious dry rose with considerable flavor authority. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900