The rich and dense 2000 Cote de Brouilly La Feuillee is foursquare at this youthful stage, yet reveals loads of sweet red berries and raspberries in its flavor profile. It is medium-bodied, satin-textured, and has a tight, firm character. It will benefit from a year of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2005.Bravo! to Georges Duboeuf for this impressive line-up of wines, and for the fact that he has remained true to his goal of delivering high quality at consumer friendly prices. Importers: William Deutsch and Sons, White Plains, NY; tel (914) 251-9463, and Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL; tel (847) 679-0121.

The 1998 Cote de Brouilly la Feuillee possesses lots of layers of dark fruit. It is refined, masculine, broad shouldered, and firm. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2003.Importers are William Deutsche and Sons Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel (914) 251-9463, and Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL; tel. (847) 679-0121; fax (847) 679-2017.

According to Duboeuf, this wine is entitled to premier cru status, but the estate's owner chooses not to indicate it on the label. This wine is medium-to-dark ruby/purple-colored and displays sweet grapey cherries on the nose. It is medium-bodied, velvety, well-structured, and filled with copious quantities of strawberries, raspberries, currants, and traces of passion fruit. Drink it between 1999 and 2001.Georges Duboeuf loves the 1997 vintage in Beaujolais ("the wine is fat, round, and filled with tender fruit and elegance"). An extremely hot August was followed by a September of warm days and cool nights ("it was the finest September of my career") fashioning a fruit driven wine that has relatively low acidity levels - particularly when compared to the 1996s. Duboeuf believes, and I agree, that the 1997 is a wine that will be at its best early.In the past, the wine press has written that Duboeuf's use of an artificial yeast (71B) accounted for his signature style. In a conversation with him this year, I learned that he abandoned that strain of yeast after the 1990 vintage. Presently, a variety of yeasts, both indigenous and artificial, are used for fermentation. To Duboeuf, the key factor in the vinification of Beaujolais is temperature control, not yeasts.The high temperatures and the grapes' low acidity levels at harvest in 1997 demanded, in Duboeuf's opinion, extremely close attention. Rot, mildew and oidium were not problems (he says none existed), but warm, low acid environments encourage the unwarranted proliferation of bacteria, so Duboeuf had the grapes and musts cooled as soon as possible. To prevent the potential onset of ethyl acetate, he had eight filtration teams going from estate to estate with the necessary equipment to filter the wines as soon as malos were completed (the wines were later fined and filtered again prior to bottling).Duboeuf informed me that the world-wide rise in wine prices did not go unnoticed by vignerons in Beaujolais. Consumers should brace themselves for a 25-30% increase with the 1998 vintage.Importers William Deutsch and Sons, Ltd., Armonk, NY; tel (914) 273-1221; fax (914) 273-1291, and Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL; tel (847) 679-0121; fax (847) 679-2017. (Reviewed by P. A. Rovani)

The Domaine de la Feuillee Cote de Brouilly is a lively, vivid, rich, cherry and floral-scented wine with moderately high acidity, as well as enough fruit to back up the tart acid. It should drink well for 3-4 years. Georges Duboeuf's wines are represented on the East Coast by W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd., Armonk, NY; tel. (914) 273-1221, fax (914) 273-1291, and on the West Coast by Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL,; tel (708) 679-0121, fax (708) 679-2017.

This estate, located next to the renowned Chateau Thivin, has produced a formidably rich, fleshy, big-styled Beaujolais with deep color, excellent ripeness, relatively high acidity for such amazing richness and intensity, and a long, exotically rich finish. There is a Cote Rotie ripeness and roasted quality to this example of Beaujolais. A beauty!Importers: William Deutsch & Sons, Chappaqua, NY and Wine Sellers, Skokie, IL.