Being assembled the day I visited, the Gouges’ 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Pruliers offered smoke-tinged, lightly-cooked black raspberry and dried cherry fruit, sweet underlying nuttiness, and a juicier, more invigorating personality than any of the already bottled wines in this year’s collection. A really imposing spread of berry, floral, roasted meat and saline mineral elements coat the palate. Abundant but fine tannin never interferes with this wine’s generosity. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

Being assembled the day I visited, the Gouges’ 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Pruliers offered smoke-tinged, lightly-cooked black raspberry and dried cherry fruit, sweet underlying nuttiness, and a juicier, more invigorating personality than any of the already bottled wines in this year’s collection. A really imposing spread of berry, floral, roasted meat and saline mineral elements coat the palate. Abundant but fine tannin never interferes with this wine’s generosity. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802