| Best Reds |
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2001 E. Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis
Syrah/Shiraz; Rhone; | $174.99 | |
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" Superripe aromas of pepper, chocolate and menthol. Wonderfully deep flavors of cherries and spice. A very fresh, elegant wine with compelling sweetness but also excellent backbone. Really coats the palate on the very long aftertaste, finishing with strong spiciness and great lift. This makes the Guigal 2000 La-La wines seem almost soft by comparison." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
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2002 Chateau Leoville Las Cases Saint Julien
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $117.99 | |
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"($82-$100) Moderately saturated red-ruby. Captivating if cooler nose of blackcurrant, licorice and minerals. Very intensely flavored and gripping if currently quite tight. The black fruit and menthol flavors show an almost medicinal austerity and uncanny penetration on the palate. Very ripe for 2002, at 13.5%, with a pH of 3.85. Today, I find a more classically firm finish and a bit more personality than in the young 2004, but then the new vintage has a long way to go before it's in bottle." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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2001 Dominus Estate Red Wine Napa Valley
Bordeaux Blend; Napa; | $125.99 | |
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" Good ruby-red. Superripe aromas of plum, cherry, licorice, mocha, smoke and minerals. At once sweet and gripping, with very intense, nuanced flavors of cherry, plum, currant, tobacco, minerals and currant leaf. Despite the very high pH of 4.01, this shows no shortage of energy in the mouth. A muscular, firmly tannic, serious wine for aging. (A second sample that had been decanted for four hours prior to my visit was sweeter and more seamless, but still showed solid tannic spine." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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1995 Chateau Cos d'Estournel Saint Estephe
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $1225.00 | |
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"Red-ruby color, not quite as saturated as the '96. More roasted and less minerally than the '96: notes of black fruit, game, and toasty oak. Tightly wrapped and rather taut today, but offers terrific concentration and length. Today the wine tannins are very visible, and perhaps not quite as sweet as those of the '96, and firm acids are not yet in complete harmony with the wine." -- Steve Tanzer (92 points)
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1998 Chateau Figeac Saint Emilion
Merlot; Bordeaux; | $150.00 | |
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" Full medium ruby. Rich, new-oaky nose of raspberry, cedar and coffee shows an almost liqueur-like sweetness. Dense, sweet and refined, with superb richness for Figeac. Still quite youthful. Finishes with huge but fine oak-influenced tannins and excellent persistence. Drink 2008 through 2025." -- Steve Tanzer (92 points)
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| Best Whites |
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1996 Domaine Vincent Bitouzet Prieur Meursault Les Perrieres
Chardonnay; Burgundy; | $112.99 | |
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"Complex aromas of smoke, herbs, spices and minerals; less expressive today than the above, but more subtle and minerally. Very firm and structured in the mouth; stone and grapefruit flavors are intense, pure and penetrating. Very fresh and extremely unevolved. A tightly coiled, extremely long wine that will require several years of patience but should be superb." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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2002 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Hengst
Gewurztraminer; Alsace; | $99.99 | |
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" Very fine aromas of candied pineapple, smoked meat and rose oil. Tightly wound and very pure, with a compelling penetrating sweetness. A powerful, highly concentrated gewurztraminer with superb fruit and lovely balance. Finishes with palate-staining persistence." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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2000 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile
Riesling; Alsace; | $35.99 | |
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"Stony, musky aromas of lime and mint, with a faint lactic nuance that was probably due to the recent bottling. Rich and supple but bracing and fresh; aromatic inner-mouth flavors of grapefruit and wet stone. Lovely combination of spices, citrus fruits and minerals. This is 13.4% alcohol, with less than three grams per liter of residual sugar. "Close to the 1990 in style," notes Pierre." -- Steve Tanzer (92 points)
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