The 2019 Volnay 1er Cru Frémiets Clos de la Rougeotte mingles aromas of cassis and plums with hints of dark chocolate, sweet soil tones and coniferous forest in a complex bouquet. Medium to full-bodied, layered and precise, it's long and mineral, with real elegance and precision.

Bouchard's ruby/purple-colored 1997 Volnay Fremiets Clos de la Rougeotte boasts flowers, perfume, talcum powder, and sweet cherries in its aromatics. This is a fat, dense, powerful, and feminine wine that possesses admirable grip. Sugar-coated blackberries are found throughout its flavor profile and extensive finish. Drink it over the next 7+ years. Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel (212) 888-7575.

The Volnay Fremiets Clos de la Rougeotte exhibits a medium-to-dark ruby color, an attractive nose of sweet red cherries, and a medium-bodied, and juicy character with raspberry, red cherry, mineral, stone, and currant-like flavors. This refined, feminine wine should be drunk over the next 4 years. Bouchard's qualitative resurgence continues. It is extremely gratifying to see the efforts put forth by Joseph Henriot, this negociant's new owner and the talented duo of Misters Hervet and Prost, respectively the firm's director and wine-maker. Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel (212) 888-7575.

Tasted, but no tasting notes given. As always, ratings with a score in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel (212) 888-7575, and in Massachusetts: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.

Bouchard's recommended 1993s do not totally avoid the hard tannin of the vintage. The wines generally exhibit solid colors, firm, medium-bodied, albeit austere personalities, and sound ripeness. Such unrecommended wines as Chambertin, La Romanee, and Vosne-Romanee-Aux Reignots tasted excessively tannic. They are unlikely to ever come into balance. Importer: Palace Brands Co., Hartford, CT; tel. (800) 729-3372