1999 Arlaud Clos de la Roche. Cuvee unique

[winoweenie]

ALMOST a revelation.... BUT when this lovely hit the back of the palate it vanished. Imported by North Berkeley Imports it was touted as a great Burgandy and for the money and I guess maybe it was. Nice brite ruby with a touch of orange. Nose redolent of flowers, asian spices, earth, some smokey components and some jammy red fruits. All came over on the palate. Smooth entry, moderate center and a dissapointing 3 lapper finish. Solid drinking but IMHO prefer one of the lovely aged RRV pinots. 88/88. 40 by the box. 13.5% alc. WW

[wondersofwine]

WW, I've had great luck with Arlaud wines from the Morey-St-Denis region--especially "Les Ruchots" and "Les Millandes" and 1999 "Les Ruchots" was especially nice. However, I prefered the M-S-D wines over Arlaud's Gevrey-Chambertin and the '99 vintage over most of the 2000's etc. So even with a producer that I like, it's not all home runs. I have a "Millandes" (possibly 2000 or 2001) that I may open before the winter's over.