Steve Tanzer's Best

Best Reds
	2000 Chateau Leoville Barton Saint Julien Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$199.99
	" Full medium ruby. Knockout superripe nose combines black cherry, licorice and exotic spices. Compellingly sweet, lush and complete, with harmonious acids giving the wine lovely vinosity and extending the flavors. Finishes with lush, dusty tannins and superb persistence. A great vintage for Leoville-Barton." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2001 Gaja Barbaresco Nebbiolo; Piedmont;	$139.99
	"Good deep red. Complex, ineffable nose combines red fruits, marzipan, tobacco and minerals. Pure, firm and sharply delineated; boasts superb richness of flavor without any undue weight. The wine's solid acid spine contributes to its impression of structure. Finishes gripping and very long." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
	2003 Chateau Haut Brion Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$399.99
	"Good deep ruby-red. Knockout nose of redcurrant, raspberry, tobacco, hot stones, minerals and menthol. Wonderfully dense and suave, with a texture like liquid silk. Extravagant, lush Haut-Brion, finishing with improbably smooth, fine-grained tannins and great persistence." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
	2004 Chateau Pontet Canet Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$79.99
	"(65% cabernet sauvignon, 29% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot) Deep medium ruby. Precise aromas of cassis, black cherry, licorice and flowers. Sweet, broad, dense and focused, with terrific purity and depth of fruit. Finishes with noble, broad tannins and outstanding persistence. Like the 2003 version, this wine really saturates the entire palate with flavor." -- Steve Tanzer (92 points)
	2001 Chateau Pichon Lalande Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$99.99
	" Red-ruby. Enticing aromas of plum, woodsmoke and Cuban tobacco. Lush, silky and suave, with intriguing hints of mocha and cedar. A wonderfully sweet, impeccably balanced claret without any rough edges. Finishes long and firmly tannic." -- Steve Tanzer (92 points)
	2000 Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$199.99
	" Good full red-ruby. Rich, mellow aromas of currant, plum, mocha and oak. Dense, seamless and deep, with burnished plum and tobacco flavors enlivened by very good vinosity. Lush, suave wine, finishing with sneaky length." -- Steve Tanzer (92 points)
Best Whites
	2000 Domaine Jacques Prieur Montrachet Chardonnay; Burgundy;	$249.99
	" Bright but reticent aromas of iodine, clove and nutty oak. Fat, round and silky, with superb weight and volume. By far the richest and longest of this set of wines, with the most volume. Very suave and mouthfilling, but with plenty of underlying backbone and power. Very tightly wound but also very long on the aftertaste." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
	NV Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Chardonnay; Champagne;	$199.99
	" Explosive but fine mousse Complex, yeasty aromas of lemon, honeysuckle, wet stone, toffee, hazelnut and caramel. Subtle and creamy on entry, then dense, powerful and youthfully brisk, with flavors of minerals, nutmeg and mace framed by strong lemony acidity. Solid, vibrant, dry and rather backward. Not quite as large-scaled or harmonious as last year's release and a bit more youthfully unevolved." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)