The Bouchard 2006 Beaune Teurons features tart, fruit-skin dominated flavors of plum and red currant tinged with brown spices and sea salt. Savory, refined, and transparent to considerable nuance of mineral, spice, herbal, and meaty elements, this may disappoint some tasters for its near-delicacy, but it finishes with convincing, complex persistence. I would expect it to reward 4-6 years of attention. Director Philippe Prost emphasized the importance of flexible and surgical picking (with a crew numbering upwards of 300) and getting his crop to Bouchard's battery of presses within two hours via a fleet of mini-vans. He insists that relatively little triage was necessary on the domaine vineyards (as opposed to those under contract) and the estate wines are certainly predictably stronger as a group. (I have generally mentioned in the notes that follow which wines are from Bouchard's domaine and which from contract fruit, but have explicitly noted this as part of a wine's description, only if there are two versions of the same appellation within the present portfolio.) The fruit was crushed very gently and the wines racked only once – at 10-14 months, than usual – explains Prost, in order to guard against exposed or drying tannins, a policy which my tastings suggest was generally successful. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767

A big, jammy wine with full ripe strawberries and sweet, juicy blackberries. The tannins are soft, and the acidity plays a balancing supporting role. Not for aging, but delicious to drink in the next few years.——R.V.(12/31/2008)—— 91