2002 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

(bottled in March) Good deep red. Explosive, sharply delineated aromas of raspberry, minerals, mocha, tar and cola; at once supersweet and sappy. Silky on entry, then hugely concentrated and dense with extract. The flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, cherry, spices and minerals are brilliantly defined and vibrant. Like an essence of Bonnes-Mares, with the wine's firm tannins perfectly buffered by a wave of finishing fruit. Millet emphasizes that the estate's holding is in the southeastern, "more elegant" section of this grand cru, where there is reddish topsoil over decomposed limestone, not the white marl found in the northwest corner of the cru.

The intense scents of the 2002 Bonnes Mares burst from the glass, exhibiting dark jammy fruits, spices, and blood oranges. Bold, powerful, and crammed with black cherries, allspice, and raspberries, it reveals copious quantities of exquisitely ripened tannin in its finish. This noble, muscular, extravagant wine should be drunk between 2007 and 2017. Importers: Importer: David Hinkle, North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (800) 266-6585; A David Schildknecht Selection, Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; tel. (513) 229-3630; Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700; Chambers & Chambers, Inc., San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 642-5500; Dreyfus Ashby, New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770; Ideal Wines, Medford, MA; tel. (781) 395-3300; and a Becky Wasserman Selection / Le Serbet; French Fax: 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; various American importers.

Bright medium red. Explosive aromas of cherry and iron lifted by high-toned exotic spices. Hugely rich and fleshy, plush and full, with the powerful spice character following through on the palate. Finishes with terrific breadth and substantial dusty tannins. Millet finds the 2002s less subtle than the 2014s. The wines are a bit sweeter as well as higher in alcohol, he added. I should note that this sample came from a 375-milliliter bottle, so the same wine in a 750 almost certainly has a lot more life ahead of it.