| Best Reds |
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1982 Chateau Pichon Lalande Pauillac
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $499.99 | |
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" Deep red-ruby color. Liqueur-like aromas of currant, cedar, lead pencil, truffle and smoked meat. Magically sweet and silky in the mouth, with superb depth of flavor and a complete absence of rough edges. A huge wine with utterly compelling sweetness and great terroir character. Powerful if somewhat unrestrained. Finishes ripely tannic, long and sweet." -- Steve Tanzer (95 points)
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2001 Gaja Nebbiolo Sperss Langhe
Nebbiolo; Piedmont; | $189.99 | |
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"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)
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2001 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala
Nebbiolo; Piedmont; | $89.99 | |
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" Medium red. Quintessential Barolo perfume: minerals, tobacco, underbrush, tar, licorice, gunflint. Then wonderfully rich and seamless in the mouth, with superb concentration and purity of flavor. Spicy red fruits emerged with aeration. Comes across, atypically, as less clenched in the early going than the Colonnello and strikingly complex from the outset, but this is nonetheless extremely young." -- Steve Tanzer (95 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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1998 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $499.99 | |
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"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)
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1982 Chateau Cos d'Estournel Saint Estephe
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $299.99 | |
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" Full medium red. Spicy aromas of redcurrant, strawberry and plum. Ripe, lush and gentle, with a mineral character contributing to the wine impression of structure and leavening the wine's sweetness. Very long, ripely tannic finish shows slightly elevated alcohol but comes across as firm nonetheless. (A second sample showed aromas of currant, tobacco, coconut and menthol and seemed tighter, even a bit harder, in the middle palate, with a similarly firm structure; I scored this sample 93(+?)) Drink now through 2020." -- Steve Tanzer (94 points)
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2002 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
Bordeaux Blend; Bordeaux; | $299.99 | |
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"($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)
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NV Chambers Rosewood Winery Grand Muscat Rutherglen (half bottle)
Muscat; Victoria; | $59.99 | |
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" Medium brown. Exotic, high-toned aromas of orange peel, clove, currant and maple syrup; showing more fruit than the muscadelle. Then silky and pliant in the mid-palate, with compelling sweetness and perfect balancing acidity. This is downright elegant. The Muscadelle suggests a higher percentage of older material, but this is even smoother." -- Steve Tanzer (93 points)
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