The 2000 Le Desir (a 500-case blend of 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon), a St.-Emilion look-alike, is difficult to fully understand. The aromatics justify a mid-ninety point score, but the palate merits an upper-eighty point rating, so where does that leave us? It possesses a dense saturated purple color, a phenomenal bouquet of dried Provencal herbs, sweet black fruits, spring flowers, and scorched earth, and medium body, but the finish is a bit compressed for all the perfume and impressive attack. It will unquestionably be an outstanding wine, but it is not as remarkable as the 2001. Drink it over the next 12-15 years. Score range: 89-92 points.

A tough, brittle young wine. It is so tannic, you have to think about what the winemaker intended. There seems to be a core of black cherry fruit that could live long enough to age, but who knows?