Benzoylacetate esters and aryl-substituted derivatives are efficiently reduced in 2-propanol using the readily available catalytic combination (1S,2R)-ephedrine/[RuCl2(eta(6)-p-cymene)](2) to give the corresponding alcohols in high yields and enantioselectivities (up to 94% ee). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.