The Comte Armand 2006 Volnay is one of those wines of this vintage that combines fresh, tart fruit (here red raspberry and currant) with a slight milkiness, the two of which are surprisingly companionable in the finish. (In effect, the tartness of fruit full of malic acidity is captured, but at the same time one inherits the legacy of a profound malo-lactic transformation.) There is a lot of subtlety here and impressive sheer length, with deep suggestions of beef bouillon and invigorating salinity. There is a faint finishing perturbation of tannin here (the wine was not filtered, incidentally) and while I expect it will prove delightfully versatile over the next 4-5 years, it bears monitoring for future harmony. Benjamin Leroux did not finish harvesting until the end of September, and noted that – particularly in Volnay – his crop was rot-free enough to permit this, and under-ripe enough earlier in the month to demand it! He credits his greening of the rows with having managed the excess August precipitation. As usual, Leroux favored fermentation with berries and stems intact. When I last tasted his 2006 collection, only two of the wines had been bottled, in deference to the estate's usual long elevage, especially in view of very late malos. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers); fax 011-333-80-24-29-70