Heterocyclic phosphorous acid chlorides, prepared from C2-symmetric menthyl, borneyl, or fenchyl tartrates and phosphorus trichloride, are inexpensive derivatizing agents for determining the enantiomeric purity of alcohols via phosphorus NMR. The most versatile agent identified from this study, a (1R,2S,5R)-menthyl (R,R)-tartrate-derived 2-chloro-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane, gives, upon esterification with