| Best Reds |
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2000 Chateau Latour Pauillac
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $999.99 | |
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" Full medium ruby. Wonderfully sweet, rich aromas of cassis, minerals and bitter chocolate. A huge wine with almost painful intensity; solid as a rock and at the same time utterly sensual and creamy, with great inner-mouth complexity and depth of flavor and a complete absence of rough edges. "Almost too easy today," says Engerer. Sweet notes of roasted nuts and chocolate add to the wine's early appeal." -- Steve Tanzer (97 points)
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2001 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon; Napa; | $89.99 | |
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" Deep ruby. Reticent but highly nuanced nose hints at black raspberry, cassis, smoke, espresso and minerals. Very complex, rich and sharply focused, with captivating flavors of cassis, bitter chocolate, menthol, tobacco and earth. Rather backward wine, yet suave and seamless; this is balanced from the start but has the structure to develop in bottle for 15 to 20 years." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
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2000 Chateau Leoville Barton Saint Julien
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $199.99 | |
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" 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)
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1999 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato
Nebbiolo; Piedmont; | $89.99 | |
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" Medium red. Very closed nose hint at crystallized dark fruits, menthol, marzipan and minerals. Distinctly closed in the mouth, conveying great energy and juiciness but much less fat and early complexity than the 2000. Following the 2000s, this very rich wine comes across as a bit lean today, as it's passing through a sullen stage. Completely different in style from the 2000 and 2001 examples." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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2003 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon; Napa; | $99.99 | |
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"Good full ruby. Very pure flavors of cassis, blackberry and licorice. Dense, rich and pure, with quintessential cabernet flavors of cassis and licorice. Like a finer-grained, fleshier version of the classic but tightly wound 2001. As rich as it is, this also boasts terrific inner-palate energy. Carries a distinctly moderate 13.8% alcohol. Finishes with big but ripe tannins and superb length." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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| Best Whites |
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1995 Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon Rose
Champagne Blend; Champagne; | $379.99 | |
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" Pale watermelon-orange color. Nose dominated by red berry notes of strawberry and raspberry, with hints of earth and minerals; seemed to go into a shell in the glass. Penetrating-verging-on-painful if not yet as complex as some past vintages of this wine, with delicate red berry flavors framed and intensified by the brisk acids of the vintage. Utterly primary, precise rose, with a very long, stony finish." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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2000 Domaine Jacques Prieur Montrachet
Chardonnay; Burgundy; | $249.99 | |
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" 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)
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NV Krug Grande Cuvee Brut
Chardonnay; Champagne; | $199.99 | |
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" 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)
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