From two parcels abutting Les Suchots, the Rouget 2005 Echezeaux displays scents of dried cranberry, strawberry jam, sweet spices, mint candy, and vanilla and caramel hints of its all new barrels. Richly fruited, with a jellied, toasted and roasted personality and an overtly creamy, fatty feel on the palate, it finishes with a sweet, jellied fruit character, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, caramel and resin. I much prefer the more oak-resistant, brighter, and more carnal character of the Beaumonts today, but you certainly can’t fault this flattering Echezeaux on its ripeness, richness, or generosity. (I preferred the brash, bright 2004, from a vintage incidentally which Rouget decided could handle no new oak.) Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400