Arlaud's outstanding Clos St.-Denis displays an open-knit, precocious, up-front style, and gobs of sweet, jammy fruit infused with plenty of toasty new oak. Medium to full-bodied, with copious quantities of glycerin, fruit, and alcohol, this sumptuous red Burgundy can be drunk over the next 5-6 years.
I have had relatively sweet, sugary, fat wines from Arlaud that tasted monolithic, highly commercial, but enjoyable even if they lacked typicity and complexity. Arlaud's wines are meant to be drunk within the first five years after release. That being said, the 1993s I tasted from Arlaud Pere et Fils were superb. But readers should remember that these are special cuvees selected by the California importer, North Berkeley Wine Co., which are bottled for them without fining or filtration. Thus, the European cuvees and wines that come through the gray market are likely to be the standard Arlaud cuvees that have been fined and filtered, which, I am sure, taste significantly less rich and complex.
A Peter Vezan Selection, imported only by North Berkeley Wine Co., Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 848-8910