This dark ruby-colored wine reluctantly displays roses, black fruits, and plums on the nose and a foursquare, structured (a Nuits-St.-Georges of Beaujolais?), stone, mineral, and black cherry-flavored core. Will its fruit out-distance its tannic backbone?Georges Duboeuf loves the 1997 vintage in Beaujolais ("the wine is fat, round, and filled with tender fruit and elegance"). An extremely hot August was followed by a September of warm days and cool nights ("it was the finest September of my career") fashioning a fruit driven wine that has relatively low acidity levels - particularly when compared to the 1996s. Duboeuf believes, and I agree, that the 1997 is a wine that will be at its best early.In the past, the wine press has written that Duboeuf's use of an artificial yeast (71B) accounted for his signature style. In a conversation with him this year, I learned that he abandoned that strain of yeast after the 1990 vintage. Presently, a variety of yeasts, both indigenous and artificial, are used for fermentation. To Duboeuf, the key factor in the vinification of Beaujolais is temperature control, not yeasts.The high temperatures and the grapes' low acidity levels at harvest in 1997 demanded, in Duboeuf's opinion, extremely close attention. Rot, mildew and oidium were not problems (he says none existed), but warm, low acid environments encourage the unwarranted proliferation of bacteria, so Duboeuf had the grapes and musts cooled as soon as possible. To prevent the potential onset of ethyl acetate, he had eight filtration teams going from estate to estate with the necessary equipment to filter the wines as soon as malos were completed (the wines were later fined and filtered again prior to bottling).Duboeuf informed me that the world-wide rise in wine prices did not go unnoticed by vignerons in Beaujolais. Consumers should brace themselves for a 25-30% increase with the 1998 vintage.Importers William Deutsch and Sons, Ltd., Armonk, NY; tel (914) 273-1221; fax (914) 273-1291, and Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL; tel (847) 679-0121; fax (847) 679-2017. (Reviewed by P. A. Rovani)

The Saint-Amour Domaine Pirolette is cut from the same mold as the Flower Label - austere, acidic, lean, and angular. Georges Duboeuf's wines are represented on the East Coast by W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd., Armonk, NY; tel. (914) 273-1221, fax (914) 273-1291, and on the West Coast by Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL,; tel (708) 679-0121, fax (708) 679-2017.

The 1994 Saint-Amour Domaine Pirolette is more structured and closed than the Saint-Amour Flower Label, but it offers the same level of sweet jammy fruit, plenty of extraction, and wonderful purity and intensity. Give it another 6 months of cellaring and expect it to last for 3-4 years. This excellent Saint-Amour should not be missed. The wines of Saint-Amour merit more attention. No matter how good they are, they do not sell as well as Beaujolais from the villages of Morgon, Fleurie, and Moulin a Vent.

A relatively obscure bottling of Beaujolais, the Saint-Amour Domaine de la Pirolette, produced a top notch wine. Often overlooked in the rush to buy more renowned Beaujolais wines such as Julienas, Fleurie, Brouilly, Regnie, Morgon, and Moulin a Vent, the 1993 Saint-Amour Domaine de la Pirolette reveals a moderately intense, elegant bouquet of ripe cassis fruit, excellent definition, medium body, and a long, spicy, heady finish. Drink it over the next 2-3 years. As in 1991, the Beaujolais region was able to harvest nearly two-thirds of its crop under splendid weather conditions, escaping most of the damage caused by the deluges that swept across France. The "King of Beaujolais," Georges Duboeuf, has recently released many of his flower label bottlings and separate domaine bottlings of 1993 Beaujolais. They are once again excellent wines that represent terrific values. Recent medical news that moderate red wine consumption can have positive health benefits should help increase the sale and consumption of Beaujolais! After years of ignoring my advice, even my teetotalling mother now consumes a few glasses of Beaujolais each day. High quality, low prices, and numerous possibilities for pleasure is all there can be said about Duboeuf's first releases from the 1993 vintage!Importers: William Deutsch & Sons, Armonk, NY and Winesellers, Ltd., Skokie, IL.

A big, sweet, candy and red fruit-scented nose is followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with good acidity, a lovely vivacious quality, and a long, spicy, ripe finish. Drink it over the next 2-3 years.Importers: William Deutsch & Sons, Chappaqua, NY and Wine Sellers, Skokie, IL.