Aromas of bright red raspberry and red currant and herbal distillates inform the nose of the Potel 2005 Bonnes Mares. Remarkably smooth and polished on the palate, offering a scintillating display of smoked, peppered meats, tart berries, pungent tobacco and bitter-sweet licorice, this finishes with unusual elegance, refinement and buoyancy for a Bonnes Mares, not to mention for a wine of such sheer intensity. As with so many of the best of Potel’s 2005s, there are certainly ample tannins, but these are exceedingly refined and unobtrusive. I suspect that this is hiding significant incipient complexity and would plan on giving it a decade or more to evolve. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700.