Deep colour, more garnet than ruby. The nose is quite meaty and fresh. The tannins, whilst not bad in texture, still require a couple or three years. Decent fruit concentration, and the 1996 acidity carries this wine much more interestingly than the previous ’95 Vosne. Today at least, this is a more appealing package for the acid-lovers amongst us.

Medium plus colour. Deep black fruit surrounded by a dry, spicy oak note – nice. The palate is concentrated, showing black fruit – almost a black olive note – very good acidity and decent length. The tannins have a little grain and a little bitterness too. This is certainly in the Grivot vernacular, extracted and needing a little time. With aeration the black fruit starts to take on a plum aspect, indeed if the the tannins were a bit thicker and more velvetty you could probably convince someone that this is a merlot! I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt, and I’ll also give my other two bottles several years.

Medium plus colour without obvious aging. The nose still betrays a little oak, otherwise high-toned black fruit, some sweetness too. Lots and lots of fruit on the palate and a reasonable balance between the succulence of the fruit and acidity vs the more drying and slightly bitter tannins. Starts a little disjointed but puts on a better show after half an hour or so if a little moth puckering.

Drunk after the Potel villages NSG. Darker ruby colour. The nose shows a blacker complexion to the fruit and a fleeting trace of oak. The palate shows an equally black face, good acidity and dry, furry tannin. Opens up nicely with aeration and the tannin seems to show more and more subtlety. I’d say this has a little more potential than the average villages – perhaps like the ’96 that I’ve got in the cellar.