Inky-black, with lots of petrol, grilled meat and blackberries. Medium-bodied, this showy red delivers plenty of tannins, game and delightful fruit. Just lacks a bit of smooth, silky and fat tannins to balance it out. Best after 2007. 200 cases made.??–PM??Region: France / Burgundy / Pommard Select to Add

Rich and ripe, full-bodied, slightly earthy and beefy but loaded with fruit, acidity, wet earth and sweet tannins, this outstanding red Burg cascades with complexity, powering its way with intensity. Balanced and harmonious on the finish. Drink now through 2010. 731 cases made.??–PM??Region: France / Burgundy / Pommard Select to Add

Exhibiting a dark ruby color and huge quantities of ripe black fruits on the nose, the Pommard Clos Des Lambots Vieilles Vignes is a thick-textured, full-bodied, juicy, elegant, and rich wine packed with sweet cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and traces of fresh herbs. This succulent wine should be drunk between 1999 and 2004. The score, on a range and in parentheses, indicates that the wine was tasted from barrel. Vincent Girardin's 1996s are generally fresher and more supple than his 1995s, but are not as concentrated or structured. Since he personally prefers softer styled wines, Girardin prefers the 1996 vintage. My feeling is that many of his 1995s will develop better over time than these delicious mid-term drinking wine. Importer: as well as for the Maranges Clos Roussot and Pommard Vignots (I tasted neither),European Cellars (Eric Solomon, tel 212-924-4949), under the Baron de la Charriere label.

Exhibiting a dark ruby color and huge quantities of ripe black fruits on the nose, the Pommard Clos Des Lambots Vieilles Vignes is a thick-textured, full-bodied, juicy, elegant, and rich wine packed with sweet cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and traces of fresh herbs. This succulent wine should be drunk between 1999 and 2004. The score, on a range and in parentheses, indicates that the wine was tasted from barrel.Vincent Girardin's 1996s are generally fresher and more supple than his 1995s, but are not as concentrated or structured. Since he personally prefers softer styled wines, Girardin prefers the 1996 vintage. My feeling is that many of his 1995s will develop better over time than these delicious mid-term drinking wine.Importer: as well as for the Maranges Clos Roussot and Pommard Vignots (I tasted neither),European Cellars (Eric Solomon, tel 212-924-4949), under the Baron de la Charriere label.

Produced from over 60 year old vines, the medium-to-dark ruby-colored Pommard Clos De Lambots Vieilles Vignes reveals enticing aromas of blueberries, black currants and traces of freshly dug earth. This is a thick, medium-to-full-bodied, powerful, highly-structured and intense wine with an exemplary depth of cassis and blackberry fruit. Rich, super-ripe, admirably well-balanced, exceptionally long, this smooth-textured gem will be at its peak between 1999-2005. I was absolutely blown away by the quality of Vincent Girardin's red Cote de Beaunes at my April tasting in Washington. Whereas there is always an element of doubt concerning the end product when tasting out of barrel, what I saw from Girardin was already bottled and in retail stores throughout the US (all of them were tasted with the American importer and many were later re-tasted blind with other 95 Burgundies). These are superlative red burgundies with a superb rapport in quality and price. This estate's wines exhibit superb ripeness, outstanding balance, beautiful purity of fruit, extraordinarily well-integrated oak and tannin. In the top cuvees there is unsurpassed length. I know of no other producer/negociant in Burgundy that can deliver as broad a range of outstanding wines at such reasonable prices. Furthermore, Girardin, like Bernard Dugat in Gevrey-Chambertin, has worked hard to improve the quality of his wines. To top it all off, we can look forward to many more years of sublime wines from this estate/negociant as Girardin and his wife, Veronique, are quite young. If you love Burgundian reds, run, don't walk, to your wine merchant and purchase these dazzling wines. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel (205) 980-8802.