Attractive ruby-red. Endearing nose with fruit as its calling card (jammy red berry fruits) and subtle oak. The attack is supple, fat and melted leading into a firmer, slightly austere middle palate. Harmonious and persistent across the palate. Boasts good potential.

With flavors leaning towards chocolate, stones and minerals, the Gevrey-Chambertin En Champs should be drunk between 2003-2012+. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided.Philippe Leclerc's wines are not for the faint hearted! Readers must been forewarned ... these are dense, black, super-concentrated, TANNIC, backward, rugged, wines that demand to be cellared. Generally they tend to be preferred by lovers of big Cabernets than by those wanting elegant, supple Pinot Noirs. Along with his brother Rene and Christian Serafin, Philippe Leclerc is the latest picker in Gevrey. Always aged in 100% new oak, sometimes for upwards of three years, Leclerc's wines are never fined or filtered. Expect these wines to be long lived and to throw a substantial sediment.An Alain Corcia Selection (French Fax # 011-33-3-80-22-71-46), importers include Southern Wines & Spirits in California.

I tasted Philippe Leclerc's 1993s on two separate occasions. To put it mildly, they were the most disappointing wines I have tasted from Leclerc in the past fifteen years. In what is obviously a high acid, high tannin vintage, Leclerc made low acid wines (a good sign in most vintages) that are preposterously oaky, diffuse, and totally unfocused. There is sweet fruit in most cuvees, some possess frightful levels of volatile acidity (i.e., Chambolle-Musigny-Les Babillaires), and others are sweet, excessively woody, pruny wines that are living dangerously. It is hard to know what could have gone wrong, but these are funky wines - too much tannin and wood, and an overripe quality that is not found in other 1993 red burgundies. Importer: William Grant & Sons, Edison, NJ; tel. (908) 225-9000

The 1991 Gevrey-Chambertin-Les Champs possesses a chocolatey, jammy, black fruit character, remarkable density, and an unctuous quality. In spite of the high levels of wood, it appears to have the requisite concentration to soak up the vanillin and toast. The 1991 offerings are immense, even massive red burgundies, which, because of the abnormally low yields, are loaded with flavor. However, they also reveal aggressive wood levels. There is plenty of fruit, but there is a sawdust-like flavor to the wine, and the oak is annoyingly high. Importers: Ideal Wines & Spirits, Medford, MA and William Grant and Sons, Edison, NJ.