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 Gaja Nebbiolo Sperss Langhe Nebbiolo; Piedmont;	$189.99
	"Deep, saturated red. Very rich aromas of plum, redcurrant, menthol, graphite and nutty oak, along with a cool minerality. Wonderfully rich, layered and deep; lush and suave but with energy and spine. Really packed with berry, spice, earth and mineral flavors. Finishes dense, broad and very long, with a touch of austerity." -- Steve Tanzer (95 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)
	1998 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$499.99
	"Saturated bright ruby. Noble aromas of blackcurrant, cedar, lead pencil, licorice and nutty oak. Very intensely flavored and penetrating, with great class and grip. Impressively concentrated and juicy, but still rather imploded in the middle palate. This showed terrific subtle sweetness as it opened in the glass. Offers quintessential Lafite elegance as well as the strong backbone to support long aging." -- 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)
	2001 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$599.99
	" Bright red-ruby. Sexy aromas of raspberry, cedar, coconut, minerals, lead pencil, chocolate and tobacco leaf. Juicy, lively and penetrating, with sharply delineated flavors of blackberry, raspberry and rose petal. Boasts the classic inner-mouth energy of this great first growth, but also grew increasingly silky with extended aeration. Finishes with tongue-coating tannins and superb lift." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
	2003 Chateau Leoville Las Cases Saint Julien Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux;	$199.99
	"Medium red-ruby. Explosive nose of currant, cedar and lead pencil; shows near-perfect integration of the new oak. Sweet and lush but bright and light on its feet, possessing plenty of harmonious acidity. This has a wonderfully fine-grained texture and really saturates the palate with flavor. The very suave tannins reach the front teeth. Impressively dense, large-scaled wine." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
Best Whites
	NV Krug Grande Cuvee Brut Chardonnay; Champagne;	$139.99
	" 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)