The 1999 St.-Joseph Les Pierres Reserve Clos de Cuminaille is one of the best buys in this portfolio. It boasts a deep ruby/purple color along with sweet blackberry fruit intermixed with graphite, new oak, and spice. It is long, rich, and supple-textured. This beauty will drink well for a decade. Note: The Gaillard wines I tasted were all cuvees selected by David Hinkle of North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 848-8910. In contrast to Gaillard's other cuvees, the North Berkeley cuvees are aged for a shorter period in new oak (12 versus 18 months). In tasting the other cuvees available throughout the world, there was a substantial difference, with drier, harder tannin because of the longer aging in wood. They are surely very good wines, but readers who do not have access to the North Berkeley cuvees should proceed with caution. Hopefully, Gaillard will realize that there is more fruit and character in the earlier bottled North Berkeley cuvees. Certainly he is doing some serious work. For readers unable to find the North Berkeley cuvees, my ratings on the same Cote Roties and St.-Joseph Clos de Cuminaille bottled after 18 months in wood averaged 2-4 points lower. Importer: David Hinkle, North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 848-8910

The deep ruby-colored 1998 St.-Joseph Les Pierres Reserve Clos de Cuminaille exhibits a big, blackberry and cassis-scented nose with hints of cherry jam in the background. Ripe and long, with moderate tannin, it should drink well for 7-8 years. The Gaillard wines I tasted were all cuvees selected by David Hinkle of North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 848-8910. However, these wines are also imported by David Shiverick of Langdon-Shiverick, Cleveland, OH; tel. (216) 861-6800. While they are not the same barrels North Berkeley has chosen, I have been told that the Langdon-Shiverick wines were essentially identical, as well as bottled without any clarification.