2005 Pommard Les Frémiers 1er Cru

Yves Confuron, who did not start harvesting in 2006 until September 25 and then picked into October, told me that rot was an issue but not hail, with Domaine du Courcel eliminating the affected fruit in the vines and on their sorting table. Ultimately, the wines have substantial fine tannins, good aromatic richness and plenty of style, he told me. "They're like the '01s but with more elegance and material, in the direction of 2002," he said, "while the 2005s are like the '02s but with riper fruit. The 2006s are more classic than the '05s, but the wines from the Cote de Beaune are less floral than those from the Cote de Nuits; they're more about fruit. The Cote de Beaune 2006s really need until next spring to be presentable, but they have at least as much material as wines from the Cote de Nuits."

Yves Confuron described 2005 as "like 2002 in balance but with more maturity-almost Rhone-like, as in 2003." The wines are between 14% and 14.5% alcohol, and the malos were just about finished when I stopped by to taste. "The tannins and the alcohol will conserve the wines," said Confuron, who vinified 100% whole clusters and did a full 35 days of cuvaison. "With very little juice in the grapes, the fermentations went slowly," he reported. Confuron has bottled a couple of terrific 2004s, which he described as combining "the tight structure of 1988 and the aromatic richness of 1989." The key to the quality of 2004 was the low crop level and the multiple passes through the vines, he added. Still, he admitted, their tannins are less refined than those of the better wines from the Cote de Nuits in 2004. (Diageo Chateau Estate Wines, New York, NY) Also recommended: Pommard Fremiers (85?).