The Pommard Les Trois Follots offers an earth and toasty oak-infused nose followed by a masculine, four-square, broad-shouldered, and muscular character. This offering is medium-to-full-bodied, structured, and boasts blackberries, blueberries, and grilled oak flavors. It should be at its best between 2001 and 2007. "There is never any bleeding in my cellars," said Mme. Bize-Leroy just before I gouged myself with my corkscrew, proving her wrong. Of course, she was referring to the winemaking technique of increasing concentration by "bleeding off" the watery juice of a light pressing prior to fermentation, not the results of my battles with her recently bottled wines. As wine lovers have come to expect with every new vintage from this domaine, the 1996 Leroys are extraordinary, benchmark setting wines. This is the only estate I visited whose 1996s were as concentrated as the 1995s, obviously due to the fact that Mme. Bize-Leroy kept her yields exceedingly low (below 25 hectoliters/hectare). These wines will reach their respective peaks sooner than their 1995 counterparts, however, due to their softer tannins and brighter, more forward fruit. Importers: Martine's Wines, Inc., San Rafael, CA; tel (415) 485-1800, and Paterno Imports, Chicago, IL; tel (847) 604-8900.

NOTE: Prices quoted are for single bottles, not cases!The only hard tannin to be found in a Leroy 1993 is in the Pommard Trois Vollots. Despite a sweet entry, medium to full body, and excellent concentration, this wine reveals a degree of austerity and rusticity in its tough finish. Nevertheless, it is impressive. Give it 8-10 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 20. When I traveled through Burgundy, it appeared Lalou Bize-Leroy may have as many critics as I do. Some producers accuse her of adding "Alicante" to her wines because she obtains such a deep color. Others claim she is hiding hundreds of cases of grand crus in another cellar since her yields cannot "possibly be so low." Of course all of this is nonsense, not to mention appallingly jealous behavior from producers who are scared to death that other growers might decide to follow in Lalou's footsteps. For now, Bize-Leroy stands at the top of the Burgundy pyramid, alone both literally and figuratively in her pursuit of the finest Burgundy can produce. I will keep my tasting notes brief, recognizing that in this situation it is almost criminal to try and describe wines that may be the greatest red Burgundies I will taste in my life. As even the immodest Lalou Bize-Leroy says, these wines are "an accident of nature." Tasting them, with their extraordinary ripeness, unctuosity, and opulence, with no hard tannin to be found, makes one think that 1993 was a completely different vintage for Domaine Leroy than it was for other Burgundians. Yes, Mama, low yields do translate into physiologically ripe fruit, concentrated wines, and exquisite quality. It goes without saying that everything in this cellar was aged in 100% new French oak (you cannot detect any oak in the wines because of their concentration), and bottled without fining or filtration - as usual.No, Cindy Crawford wasn't sitting on my lap as I was tasting through Leroy's 1993s, nor was I under the influence of either the effusive and persuasive Lalou Bize-Leroy or any chemical substance. My notes are mostly of academic interest since the quantities of wine produced at Domaine Leroy in 1993 are so preposterously low that only cases of certain wines are available. Bize-Leroy's biodynamic farming methods, which do not permit any type of spraying, resulted in yields ranging from as low as 5-6 hectoliters per hectare (about 1/3 ton per acre) to a whopping 1/2 ton per acre. Not one of her vineyards produced as much as one ton of fruit per acre (30 hectoliters per hectare). The microscopic quantities produced of some wines have not only ensured prices that only billionaires can afford, but have also made it virtually impossible to find the wines. For example, consider the total production - for the world - of the following wines: Chambertin (75 cases), Musigny (75 cases), Latricieres (25 cases), Clos de la Roche (50 cases), Gevrey-Chambertin Les Combottes (50 cases), Richebourg (100 cases), Romanee St.-Vivant (75 cases).Importer: Martine's Wines, San Raphael, CA; tel. (415) 485-1800

No tasting note.I have said it so many times that it may seem redundant, but if you missed it in my 1990 tome, Burgundy, Lalou Bize-Leroy stands virtually alone at the top of Burgundy's quality hierarchy. Because she is a perfectionist, and because she has had the courage to produce wines from low yields and bottle them naturally, without fining or filtration, she has been scorned by many Burgundy negociants, and even by the proprietors of other top domaines. Not only are they jealous, they are frightened of Bize-Leroy because they fear increasing pressure for lower yields and bio-dynamic farming. Anyone who loves great Burgundy, must realize that her wines embarrass much of what is produced in Burgundy. For the fifth consecutive vintage since she launched her wines from the Domaine Leroy (formerly the Noellat estate), Lalou Bize-Leroy has made the highest percentage of Burgundy's greatest wines. Although not as phenomenally concentrated and extracted as her 1991s and 1990s, the 1992s are more closely aligned to her sumptuous 1989s. All of Domaine Leroy's 1992 Burgundies are shipped in temperature-controlled reefer containers and are distributed carefully by the American importer, Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 485-1800.

The Pommard-Les Trois Follots is not a premier cru vineyard, even though it is located next to the famed Rugiens vineyard. The tasty 1990 is a good wine, with deep color, and a spicy, earthy nose, but it does not possess the dimension, flavor, or length of Leroy's finest 1990s. I suppose there is a natural tendency to overlook Madame Leroy's wines from the Cote de Beaune. She, along with Faiveley and Jadot, makes one of the more flavorful generic red burgundies. Importer: Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA.