1996 Pommard Les Vignots

The medium-to-dark ruby-colored Pommard Les Vignots possesses feminine and refined aromas of violets intertwined with sweet red cherries. This seductive, silky-textured, powerful, and opulent wine enthralls with its dried and fresh red fruit flavors as well as its long, luscious, supple tannin-filled finish. Projected maturity: 2000-2009.||"There is never any bleeding in my cellars," said Mme. Bize-Leroy just before I gouged myself with my corkscrew, proving her wrong. Of course, she was referring to the winemaking technique of increasing concentration by "bleeding off" the watery juice of a light pressing prior to fermentation, not the results of my battles with her recently bottled wines.||As wine lovers have come to expect with every new vintage from this domaine, the 1996 Leroys are extraordinary, benchmark setting wines. This is the only estate I visited whose 1996s were as concentrated as the 1995s, obviously due to the fact that Mme. Bize-Leroy kept her yields exceedingly low (below 25 hectoliters/hectare). These wines will reach their respective peaks sooner than their 1995 counterparts, however, due to their softer tannins and brighter, more forward fruit. Wine Advocate.April, 1998

Pierre Rovani    Score: 92/100