2005 Clos de la Roche

The parcel that informs a 2005 Clos de la Roche touches Leroy’s Combottes. This wine smells of resin, tobacco, incense, roasted meats, wood smoke, wet stones, alongside stewed cherries and rhubarb. Roasted and stewy richness characterize the intimate meld of meat and fruit on the palate as well. For sheer density this is incredibly impressive, but it’s not at all lacking in the kinetic department, either. What is lacking is the perfume or pure clarity of fruit that the best of this collection display. Almost frighteningly gripping in the back (or on the way down, should you dare to swallow!) with an implosive display of meatiness and stony minerality, this will surely need years to reveal its full potential. Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

Deep ruby-red. Explosive aromas of black cherry, meat, smoke, underbrush and minerals; conveys a strong impression of terroir Fat, sweet and stuffed with fruit and soil tones; hugely ripe without being overripe. A wine with extraordinary concentration and volume, not to mention a tactile sense of solidity. Perhaps most impressive today on the back end, which features thoroughly buffered tannins, great mounting, tactile flavor and wonderfully subtle aromatic persistence. "But it's not better than the '99," says Madame Bize.