| Best Reds |
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2003 Chateau Latour Pauillac
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $699.99 | |
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"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)
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2003 Chateau Margaux Margaux
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $499.99 | |
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"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)
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2000 Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron Pauillac
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $199.99 | |
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" Good full red-ruby. Complex nose combines plum, mocha, minerals, tobacco and burnished oak. A bit tight on entry, then expands and explodes toward the back, showing dense, insinuating flavors of black fruits and licorice. Chewy, sharply delineated Pichon-Baron with excellent underlying backbone and broad, palate-coating tannins. An outstanding vintage for this estate." -- 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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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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2001 Gaja Barbaresco
Nebbiolo; Piedmont; | $139.99 | |
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"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)
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2003 Chateau Leoville Las Cases Saint Julien
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $199.99 | |
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"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)
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| Best Whites |
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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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