1996 Auxey Duresses

When I am tasting wines my senses become extremely sensitive to any odor or taste they encounter. I am constantly concentrating on signals from my nose and palate. On a cool, brisk day in Pommard, Pascal Marchand, the Canadian manager of this estate, opened the door to the cellar to let me in. Instead I jumped backwards faster than a cursory glance at my physique would lead one to believe possible. A horribly pungent chemical odor swept up out of the cellar and assaulted my senses. Apparently, the village's sewers were backing up and one of Marchand's employees had addressed the problem with a heavy-handed dose of chemicals. After assuring me that it would have no effect whatsoever on the wines, Marchand took a deep breath and disappeared down the cellar stairs, only to reappear seconds later with pipette (or thief) full of wine. I was to taste in the street (to the amusement of the neighbors). Produced from thirty year old vines located in a vineyard with a southern exposure, the Auxey-Duresses is medium-to-dark ruby-colored and offers mouth-watering aromas of sweet red berries and raspberries. This medium-bodied, supple, well-crafted, and admirably balanced wine is filled with delicious layers of ripe red cherries, strawberries, and traces of blackberries. Anticipated maturity: now-2001. The score, on a range and in parentheses, indicates that the wine was tasted from barrel. A Becky Wasserman Selection, French Fax # 011-33-3-80-24-29-70, various American importers, including Esquin Imports, San Francisco, CA; tel (415) 398-1200, Martin-Scott, Lake Success, NY; tel (516) 327-0808. And in Massachusetts: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.