Steve Tanzer's Best

Best Reds
	2003 Chateau Latour Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$699.99
	"Deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines currant, raspberry, kirsch, graphite, minerals, cigar box, tar and musky prune. Huge, sweet and lush, with a truly three-dimensional texture. Like a mouthful of liquid minerals, but the fruit has near-confectionery sweetness. Finishes with exploding, inexorable length. The wine's extravagant mid-palate richness calls to mind a chocolate cake." -- Steve Tanzer (96 points)
	2001 Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello Nebbiolo; Piedmont;	$89.99
	" Good full medium red. Highly nuanced nose of red berries, minerals, flowers, spices, underbrush and caramel. Then juicy and tight in the mouth, with very brisk, firm flavors of red berries and minerals. At once superripe and gripping. Perhaps a bit uncharacteristically structured and closed for this bottling, owing to its excellent acidity and tightly wound tannins." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2002 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$299.99
	"($130-$180) Good saturated ruby-red. Tight nose hints at currant and smoky oak. Highly concentrated, densely packed and built to age. As young as it is, it also shows a lovely velvety texture rare for this vintage. Finishes with terrific breadth, subtle minerality and noble tannins. I've been a fan of this wine since the outset." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	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)
	2003 Clarendon Hills Syrah Astralis Clarendon Syrah/Shiraz; McLaren Vale;	$249.99
	"($375) Opaque ruby with a violet rim. Full-throttle, liqueur-like aromas of raspberry, black cherry, blueberry, mocha, coffee, violet, licorice pastille and exotic Asian spices. Dense and thick yet fresh, exuberant and high-toned in flavor, showing every imaginable berry note and an impressively deep, velvety texture. Finishes bright, pure, fresh and very long, with fully buffered tannins and exotic, sexy oak spices lingering." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2003 Chateau Margaux Margaux Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$499.99
	"Medium red-ruby. Coffee, mocha, exotic woodsmoke and brown spices on the nose. Fat, full and rich, with intriguing curry and cardamom notes. Opulent and voluptuous wine, with a huge middle palate. But surprisingly tight-grained in the mouth considering the evolution of the wine's aromas. Finishes extremely long, with sandy tannins." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
	2004 Chateau Latour Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$399.99
	"Ruby-red. Highly complex aromas of dark berries, graphite, licorice, minerals and cola. Lush, dense and sweet, with a wonderfully creamy, opulent mouth feel for the vintage but no impression of excess weight. This boasts superb fruit and palate coverage. Finishes with very suave, spreading tannins and outstanding persistence. An aristocratic expression of ripe cabernet sauvignon." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
Best Whites
	NV Chambers Rosewood Winery Rare Muscat Rutherglen (half bottle) Muscat; Victoria;	$199.99
	" Green-edged medium brown. Exotic orange peel, maple syrup and marzipan aromas; as with the last pair, this is fruitier than the Rare Muscadelle. Wonderfully thick but perfectly framed by electric acidity. Boasts incredible fleshiness of texture and concentration. Like a solid on the back half, building inexorably and saturating the entire palate." -- Steve Tanzer (96 points)