2005 Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques

The 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St.-Jacques Vieilles Vignes offers a striking nose of smoked meat and rose petals, with a rich, creamy palate much-marked by a long time spent on the lees and full of rich black cherry fruit, sweet inner-mouth florality, and marrowy meatiness. This wine displays a remarkable amount of sheer stuffing, yet retains brightness and elegance right through its long finish. Its refinement of tannin and textural allure for a wine so young are nothing short of amazing. And while the seemingly more extracted Estournelles or Cazetiers may well be better built for the long haul as Laurent intends, my money would be on this St.-Jacques now and in the future. A Patrick Lesec Selection, Paris Fax 011 33 4 66 37 67 23; Martin Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY Tel. (516) 327 0808

(from 100-year-old vines) Bright red-ruby. Raspberry, rose petal, smoked meat and sexy oak on the nose. Lush and voluminous, with an almost confectionery sweetness; as creamy as this is, it manages to retain good energy. Best today on the complex, sappy finish, which throws off notes of red fruits, game, leather and flowers. This cuvee got a very short vinification, noted Laurent, adding that it will be at its best in about ten years, and does not possess the same structure for aging as the Estournelles.