1989 Gewurztraminer "Herrenweg Turckheim" (Zind-Humbrecht)
In a great vintage in Alsace, this wine epitomizes much of what constitutes the modern ZH style: rich, ripe, a bit off dry, and a wine that shatters expectations.    Herrenweg is a decent, but minor ZH vineyard.  I remember Madame Zind herself looking surprised when I said I thought the wines were exceptional, despite its status.  Here's another example. Almost ten years old, absolutely pristine, and just about perfect. No, it doesn't have the power or depth of a great Hengst. But it is holding a lot better than some more prestigious gewurzs I can think of.  The fruit is not only sweet, but charming.  The wine is just a pleasure to drink. If I had any criticism, it is that the varietal character is not as strong on this wine as it is on bigger ZH wines.  The flavors are otherwise pure and pristine. 89 points.

1992 Gewurztraminer "Hengst" (Zind-Humbrecht)
Another example of how great a Domaine ZH is.  If 1989 was a great vintage, 1992 presented a lot of difficulties. Still, ZH marches on. Minor wines?   Off years?  Those are problems for other wineries.  This wine lacks the flamboyance and richness that we see in a lot of modern ZH wines.  But by any normal standards it is a marvel and powerhouse.  Much drier and crisper than normal, the wine is beautifully structured and has the backbone to continue on for years and years.   More importantly, the varietal intensity on this wine is simply remarkable.   You could never doubt that this was gewurz in a blind tasting, as the finish is suffused with that trademark lychee nut flavor, and the bouquet is equally pungent.   Further, one thing that gets lost in the very ripe, off dry wines we tend to see from Alsace these days is the spice on the gewurz.  Plenty here. Let this warm up, and then watch the pepper and spice assault your tongue in classic gewurz style.  A very long finish ensues.  This is a more traditional gewurz than what we normally see these days from ZH, but it is still unusually deep, concentrated and focused for its vintage.  This is a style that has plenty of merit on its own. It does not have the immediate charm or flesh of the Herrenweg above, but it something special in its own right.  Like this style?  Tip:  Try some Schleret wines, too. When I am in classical, traditional mood, but still want depth and flesh, I often turn to Schleret Herrenweg gewurzs, which are reasonably priced, too.  91 points.

1994 Gewurztraminer "Steingrubler" (A. Mann)
Here's a fine winery in Alsace that makes great value wines. They're not as expensive as ZH. Twenty bucks gets you a grand cru.  They are also not as good as ZH on the whole, despite claims in some quarters to the contrary. Here's why.  After showing exceptionally well when young, and very sweet and very flamboyantly at that--it sure seemed like a ZH kind of wine--this has steadily lost fruit, sweetness and character.   Tasted alone, it is still a nice, balanced wine.  But it no longer reminds me of a grand cru, and no longer reminds me of a ZH competitor.  Here, restraint has now become the order of the day, the varietal flavors have lessened, the sweetness is gone, and the wine has thinned. Not bad, but a disappointment for anyone who tasted it young.   87 points.

1997 Shiraz "Diamond Label" (Rosemount)
I had this last at a tasting, so it was interesting to see how it would hold up, and how a normal bottle bought off of a shelf would show.  Year in, year out, this $9 Shiraz from Rosemount is one of the Best Buys in the wine world.  It seems a touch thinner than in prior years, but it still ripe, round and sweet.  With some air, it put on weight and I can almost visualize blueberry syrup pouring over my pancakes.   Not a great vintage, but pleasing as always. Drinking nicely now.  87 points.

1964 Ausone
A lead pencil nose gives way to a flavorful wine that is holding brilliantly.   The fruit still has plenty of flavor, the wine expands in the glass nicely, and ultimately displays elegance and charm.  It does not have much flesh or weight at this point.   It seems pristine on opening, but after a while, it does show some decay, indicating the need to drink it up.  It has a long finish, supple tannins, and lots of vibrancy for a wine of its age. Shows some complexity, with a variety of flavors and nuances, lead, spices, tobacco, intermingling.   A beautiful performance in a so-so vintage (although better in St. Emilion).  89 points.

1982 La Lagune
This bottle was a bit off, but still showed pretty well.  The nose was a full of sulfur or something similar and stunk a bit, but the fruit on opening was soft, round and velvety. I loved the lush texture. The nose moderated into something neutral, and it did start to oxidize, but I attributed that more to the bottle than the wine.  A very sensual wine, despite defects it showed in this bottle.  87 points.

1983 Pichon Lalande
A surprisingly good Pichon for this vintage.  This opens with a rush of lush, rich fruit, chocolately and flavorful.   Although it mellows out with air, the wine shows more richness at first than one would have thought possible.  In many respects, despite the relative austerity of the vintage, this is the classic definition of Pichon Lalande in the modern era. It lacks only the depth and richness of really great vintages. 90 points.

1966 Pichon Lalande
This opens a bit sour on the finish, but ultimately becomes a very pleasing wine.  The supple tannins are surrounded with sweet fruit that emerges from the body of the wine and overcomes other elements.  The wine shows balance and finesse, but also flavor and spice.  The acidity seems out of balance, and is rather off-putting.   It does moderate, mostly,  once it gets some aeration. A little decanting would help this a lot. A burst of flavor and sweet, if thin, fruit saves the wine and changes it from an also-ran into an interesting wine.  88 points.

1982 Petite Village
This opens with a funky nose.  In between, it ultimately recovers to provide a wine with some velvety texture and lushness.  Hints of game and barnyard only on the finish.   The wine thins out with air, but shows an awful lot of class and intensity for awhile given its status and age, although  the wine becomes a bit one dimensional.  It provides a lot of pleasurable drinking in the meanwhile.   86 points.

1990 Pavillon Blanc de Margaux
Not quite the best white Bordeaux you'll ever have, but about the most bang for the buck.  Creamy at the outset, this wine develops with air.  It shows a backbone, some tang, and a long finish. Loved that finish; didn't seem to quit.  If you like white Bordeaux, you pretty much have to like this.  Yes, they do get better.   But this has fruit, structure, and the ability to age and change in the glass. It is appealing in every respect.  Excellent for drinking now.   91 points.

1987 Laville Haut Brion
That this wine shows this well after so long in this year is a testament to its quality, but it is still a wine that has modest appeal at this juncture.  The fruit is fading, the character muted.  Medium bodied, some pleasant, easy drinking appeal, but nothing of real distinction. 84 points.

1966 Montrose
The nose showed some decay, the palate a bit less.  On opening, the wine was smooth up front, and then developed some astringent tannins. These blew off fairly fast, and the wine developed into a pleasing, medium-bodied Bordeaux with some tar and tobacco, but not much flesh or flavor. A good example of a maturing wine.  Those who like this style will probably like it more than I did.  87 points.

1985 L'Arrosée
This is my style of wine. Forgive me if I wax elegant. This wine is holding beautifully, although it has lost a bit of depth and concentration.  But at age 13 it has a gorgeous, velvety texture, and the fruit is still pristine, pure and sweet. Blackberry nuances, violet nose.  Nice color.  A sexy, elegant wine with plenty of charm and flesh, too. It will never get better,  and if anything I would say it is notch off where this wine was a couple of years ago,  so start drinking.  90 points.

1985 Canon La Gaffelière
It's always fun to find wines that surpass expectations. Here you go.  This wine opened up a bit austere, with lively, supple tannins.  It developed nicely, and showed spicy fruit.  It did not have either the flesh or pure flavor of the L'Arrosée, above, but the well integrated components and structure combined to present a wine with everything in place.  A little more pure flavor would have been nice.  88 points.

1995 La Tour de By
This inexpensive cru bourgeois is a nice deal in Bordeaux. It's pretty much ready to drink now. It's simple, lacks depth, and lacks structure.  The tannins that are there take about 3 minutes to blow off.  That's the bad news.  But the texture of the fruit is round, lush, soft and velvety.  The wine has plenty of flavor, and it is drinking with considerable elegance and charm.  For everyday, current drinking, this is a good buy.  It loses points for structure, and ageworthiness, but don't let that scare you. It tastes really good right now. If you want something that is a fine house red and not a cellar treasure, this is for you.   85 points.

Burgundy (Red)

1990 Corton "Clos Rognet" (Meo-Camuzet)
This is a rich wine with a surprisingly crisp finish. However, the central feature of this wine is the intense, focused, almost candied raspberry flavor in the mid-palate. If you like them flavorful and sexy,  this is it. Drinking nicely now, and I wouldn't hold it too long. No point wasting that amazing fruit burst, although the wine has the structure to hold. 93 points.

1994 Ruchottes-Chambertin "Clos des Ruchottes" (A. Rousseau)
This is a big name, but a disappointing performance. The wine seems ready to drink, and has no tannins to speak of. It has some flavor, a certain elegant focused approach, and reasonable weight. With air it develops a little, but the flavor it does have flattens out, too. As a nice little village wine, this is excellent. As a Rousseau Ruchottes, it underwhelms. 86 points.

1985 Pommard-Rugiens (Courcel)
Rustic, balanced, focused wine with still lively fruit and a decent finish. This is drinking as well as it ever will, and still shows a lot of stuff left. It has lost some intensity of flavor, but it has a smooth texture, good weight, and good fruit still. Excellent performance for this wine at this point in its life.  88 points.

1990 Echezeaux "Vielles Vignes" (Mongeard-Mugneret)
Beautiful, flamboyant wine suffused with very sweet, broad, strawberry flavors from completely open, maturing fruit. Drinking beautifully now. Nice, lush texture. Pure pleasure.   A bit exotic and eccentric, too.  92 points.

1988 Clos de la Roche "Vielles Vignes" (Ponsot)
There is not much this wine lacks, and I suspect with a couple of years of age the score will go up. Like big? It's big, dense and concentrated. Like structure? The wine has the tannins to hold effortlessly for years more, but they are supple and ripe tannins that never overwhelm the balance of the fruit. Like elegance? For a wine this size, the balance is so impeccable that you are not aware at first as to just how dense it is. It gains weight in the glass, it took a long time to fully open and reveal its flavors, and showed considerable charm. Not completely ready, but close. It does not have the flamboyant, forward flavors of the Mongeard-Mugneret or the Meo-Camuzet, above, but it has more depth and finesse than either, and a longer aging potential. I think the fruit will continue to open and develop on this wine, too. 94 points.

1987 Richebourg (Jean Gros)
An intense, candied nose presages a sweeter wine than you get. Still, this is a beauty of a 1987. With age, the texture has become smooth and round, and the  wine seems almost buttery. It has also taken on some hints of game and fat. For the vintage, it is holding remarkably well. 89 points.

Burgundy (White)

1995 Meursault (Chartron et Trebuchet)
This is not one of C&T's bigger, top of the line wines, but it has charm and finish. After a few minutes of aeration, the wine develops some richness. But its main impression is one of attack, a good structure with some tannic bite, surrounded by decent fruit. Its best feature is the surprisingly long finish.  I say this is ready to roll right now, and given the fact that the fruit is a bit on the thin side, I would not consider it a keeper.  This has classic, nutty nuances that white Burgundy does so well, too.  Very pleasing, for short term drinking.  I've said it before on this page..don't let the point score scare you.  It deducts for ageworthiness and ultimate lack of depth.  But this wine is very pleasing right now.  Five years from now, you may not think so, but we are not five years from now, now are we?  :).  87 points. 

1978 Bourgogne Blanc (Ampeau)
Not that this is such an interesting wine per se, but one has to confess amazement that a generic white Burg could be this good at this point, even with Ampeau's "late release" policy. The wine still has a bit of flavor, and some nice leesy notes. It is thinning and showing a touch of tartness. But it is still pleasant to drink, and would put to shame a lot of recent Bourgogne Blanc releases. Its biggest flaw is in the finish, and the tartness that comes at the back end of it, signalling a wine just about at the end of its prime time life. 83 points.

1991 Meursault "Les Rougeots" (Coche-Dury)
The bouquet on this wine is one of the most stunning of any white Burg I have tasted. The creamy, nutty nose is remarkably intense. The palate is not as good. The finish is subtly long, but not truly exceptional. The fruit shows caramel and hazelnut nuances, following the bouquet. But whereas the bouquet is exceptionally intense, the fruit is thinning a bit and more restrained. Still, this is a wine that is complex and multi-dimensional, if perhaps a touch too austere for my tastes. Those more fascinated with the intellectual aspects of wine may like it more. 89 points.

1996  Pinot Noir "3 Vineyards" (Chelahem)
This pinot from Oregon is approachable now, but ideally needs a year or so of cellaring before settling down and coming together.  The fruit is remarkably sweet, like candied raspberries.  There is a still tight tannic core that takes awhile to blow off.  If you don't cellar it, at least decant it for half an hour.  Medium bodied, reasonable depth and  finish.  But the strength here is in the fragrant, flavorful fruit.  This is a really nice, exuberant pinot that will likely be at its best from around 2000 to 2003.   89 points.

1995  The Other Hand (Sine Qua Non)
This Rhone Clone is simply spectacular. I am beginning to be a wide-eyed fan of this winery. Every wine of theirs I have had has been super and distinctive. Sniff this wine. The bouquet is almost kinky. The fruit gives off syrupy, candied blueberry aromas that promise a wild palate experience. Yet the wine has more going it for than flamboyant fruit. In fact, the fruit, while full of sweet flavor, becomes remarkably like a classic syrah as it airs out, integrating perfectly with the whole. The flavor never diminishes and the wine is approachable now, better in a year.  92 points.

1992 Syrah (Swanson)
This is aging gracefully, and I would deem it fully ready. On opening, it still seemed a bit tannic and astringent. The bottle gave evidence of having thrown a heavy sediment. This is a wine, though, that has always shown the ability to develop beautifully in the glass, and within half an hour, it became lusher, the tannins moderated, and the wine displayed flavorful, velvety fruit. Age has thinned it out a bit, though. Still, through dinner, it merely seemed balanced and elegant, not thin and boring. I liked this better a year or two ago, but it is still holding very well. 90 points.

1995 Pinot Noir (Ken Wright)
Delicate, pretty pinot, with nice berry flavors and an attractive bouquet.   The wine is charming for early drinking, and is drinking nicely now.  The finish is better than anticipated, but it is a bit short on depth and concentration.   Still, the basic charm and user friendliness of this elegant wine makes it very hard to resist.  Drinking nicely now.  88 points.

1991 Cabernet "Family Vineyard" (Staglin)
I found this wholly unimpressive.  It opens austere and rather too tannic.   With some air, the wine softens and the tannins moderate, and there is a brief window in time when it is reasonably pleasant to drink.  But there is very little flesh, very little depth.  The wine always seems a bit unforgiving.  With a bit more air, it becomes unpleasant, showing too tart and acidic.  It is not in good balance and is shy of fruit.   Some good news is that there are rather focused flavors on the mid-palate and fans of cabernet varietal typicity will at least appreciate that.  Still.  THIS is a $25 cabernet?  84 points.

1990 Zinfandel "Lytton Springs" (Ridge)
One of the great zins ever made, now in dotage, does not go gently into the good night. Those who remember this, as I do, as a flamboyant, huge, sweet monster of a wine, will not necessarily appreciate this incarnation.  It is smooth and elegant, restrained and balanced.  The fruit has dimmed a bit.  Yet by any standards but those of young zins, this is wine with some glycerine and lushness that is velvety and pleasurable. I cannot say time has improved it, but I cannot say it is irrelevant and dead, either. 88 points.

1994 Zinfandel (Lytton Springs)
From magnum.  For awhile, this wine reminds you of the glory days of Lytton Springs.  The intensity is there, the fruit is pleasing, if a bit restrained, and the wine is round and covered in velvet.  With air, it does thin out a bit and hints of a bit too much acidity poke through.  Still, this is a nicely done, middle of the road zin with reasonable depth and a beautiful first burst.  It is not all this winery used to be, but it still nice drinking.  88  points.

1996 Zinfandel "Old Vines" (Turley)
As Turley flamboyance goes, this wine is a tad bit restrained, and actually is drinking quite nicely now.  The wine still has that very ripe--critics say "overripe"--quality that marches right to the edge of sweetness, but in this bottling, unlike many of the bigger Turleys, there is some restraint.  The quality of the fruit is exceptional, and the intensity of the flavor enduring.  The wine is a bit thinner than the bigger Turleys, but still has sufficient stuffing to please most. Nuances of caramel and toffee contribute to making this interesting and enjoyable.   90 points.

1993 Zinfandel "Old Hill" (Ravenswood)
This pristine bottle is in prime time.  The wine's balance, depth and intensity of flavor all meld together brilliantly. The wine coats your mouth with rich fruit, yet never seems one dimensional.  This is in its glory time now. I can't see why you would want to hold it.  Focused, deep and rich.  Beautiful intensity. 92 points.

1994 Pinot Noir "Hirsch" (Kistler)
Kistler moves into the pinot noir big time with this impressive wine.  The nose is stunning, assaulting your senses with an overpowering scent of framboise. The palate is not as good, but still impressive. The wine opens lush and rich, and then surprising tannins pop out. The tannins quickly resolve.  The velvety impression of the fruit is beautiful, and particularly early on, there are waves of flavor.  I was not quite as thrilled with its long term development, as the fruit lost its edge and its flavor.  Still, very impressive, rich and ripe.  About one year away. 90 points.

1993 Pinot Noir "Talley Vineyard" (Au Bon Climat)
A stinky nose presage some problems, and problems there are.  The fruit pops out on the finish, but this is a wine that shows herbaceous qualities and slighly deteriorating fruit.  The sweetness from oxidation gives the wine a pleasing strawberry flavor, but it seems too thin for its age.  This was simply mediocre pinot noir.  85 points.

1995 Chardonnay "Bien Nacido" Signature Reserve (Villa Mt. Eden)
Stunning, rich, concentrated chardonnay, the best bottle I've had from this estate. This is their top of the line chard, and it takes no prisoners. The fruit gives off flavors of  butterscotch. The wine's texture is creamy from the oak, which is certainly prominent, but not overwhelming to my palate. The depth and power of the fruit and the pretty bouquet balance out the wine nicely. Despite its relatively creamy texture, it also shows structure and some welcome crispness that stops it from being too clunky. A beauty. 93 points.

1997 Seyval Reserve (Clinton)
This winery in the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York makes only non-vinifera wines.  This Seyval, if a typical example from Clinton, is not a good recommendation for that strategy.  It is crisp, a touch tart, and a bit too thin and lacking flavor. In fairness, it was served too cold, but in fairness, that is how their own tasting room presented it.  On the whole, this wine has little to recommend it.   It is an undistinguished table wine with no particular feature that stands out to the good. 78 points.

NV "Romanza" Seyval (Clinton)
This dessert wine is fortified, yet still reaches only 14.4% alcohol. Yet it seems hot.  It has an odd finish, and liqueur-like flavor, reminding me more of a Fra Angelico, but without the richness and unctuous quality.  This has some flesh and thickness, but not nearly enough.  The concentration and sweetness it does have provides some enjoyment, but it is  ultimately too bizarre,  and the fruit is overwhelmed even by the relatively modest alcohol content.  80 points.

1995 Late Harvest Riesling (Hermann Wiemer)
Wiemer has one of the best wineries in the Finger Lakes region of New York, but this bottling does not prove it. As a wine designated "late harvest," the residual sugar is only 4.4%.  It is just a bit off dry. There is nothing here that would remind you of a dessert wine, which probably wasn't the intent anyway. But there is   also not much that would even suggest the richness of a vendange tardive from Alsace.  Maybe it is most like an off-dry  kabinett or modest spatlese. But it is a fairly thin wine without much flavor or character. It is also rather pricey, and a really bad value for the bucks (over $15).  80 points.

1994 Chardonnay (Mt. Eden)
When I last reported on this in May, the wine seemed thinning, a bit flat and deteriorating. The flavors were vanishing, and I reported that it was heading down.   This current bottle presents a different picture, so perhaps the other one was just a bit off.  This wine when young seemed a bit sweet and flamboyant. That, it is true, is gone, and the fruit has thinned some, especially on the finish.  But the wine shows more character and structure now than I ever thought it had. Suddenly, it seems more like a tight, focused white Burg.  There is a bit of  a tannic tang at the end,   but the wine is dominated by leesy, nutty notes. I wonder who could have identified this as a California chard in a blind tasting at this point--whereas, when young, this is a pretty obvious ringer.   For those who like them well delineated and structured, rather than expansive and creamy, this has  now developed into  your type of wine, amazingly enough.   As noted, when you get past that focused assault, the wine does show some thinning fruit.   I would drink up.    But this is a great showing for this wine, and reveals more class and breeding than I thought possible.  91 points.

1996 Omadhaum & Poltroon (Sine Qua Non)
This winery continues its experiments and explorations with this Rhone style wine into which, however, there is blended some chardonnay. As the price of SQN bottlings creeps up, I become a little more demanding. I liked this, but it was nowhere near as good as the stunning "Bride" released the year before. For the price charged (I've seen from $45 to $70 in stores), it is a poor value, and would have to duplicate the "Bride's" performance every year. Good wine, but not a good buy. 88 points.

1989 Champagne (Egly Ouriet)
This has been one of my benchmark champagnes over the last few years.    You could spend twice the price, buy a Cristal, and do no better.  It is still magnificent.  The fruit shows not a sign of fading.  It is rich and powerful, toasty and fresh.  Add a long finish. The fruit rolls around in your mouth and shows no signs of giving your taste buds a respite.  This is great champagne, if you like the richer, bigger styles.    94 points.

1985 Dom Perignon
Elegant and charming, this Dom seems just a touch unimpressive for its pedigree. The finish is good, and the fruit lingers longer than anticipated. The wine has a ton of charm, and I enjoyed it a lot. But it also seemed a bit too light and inoffensive for a champagne of this caliber. Very good, but should really be better.   88 points.

1989 Champagne "Grande Annee" (Bollinger)
A typical Bollinger, big, a touch oxidized and very dry. The 85 Dom, above, seemed light and thin by comparison. This brawny champagne is all power and big fruit, but touches of oxidation obscure pure fruit flavors. This is a style I have always liked a lot, although not to the exclusion of other types, but many will no doubt prefer sweeter fruit, and a more elegant style. Still, a very fine vintage champagne. 90 points.

1970 Port "Boberg Reserve" (KWV--South Africa)
I  last reported on this about one year ago.  I have nothing new to say, other than that it is holding beautifully, but I love spreading the news about this wine!  Check out last year's review---node97tn.htm  What a great find.

1983 Port "Boberg Reserve" (KWV)
I had mixed thoughts about this South African "port." It is inexpensive, around $15 on release in most competitive markets. If you have read other notes I have posted on more mature vintages, you know how well it can show. This release just came into Pennsylvania, and was out last year in other places. It is the first relatively immature Boberg I've had, and I am not sure how they develop. It seemed to me to be rather tannic, closed and tight, neither as sweet as the 1969, nor as rich and deep as the 1970. Yet, while it sat airing out, there were hints that there was more underneath,  the flavors were identical to the earlier vintages, and perhaps   all it really needed was another five to ten years in the cellar. On the whole, I'd say I'm not as impressed with this as with the older vintages, but there is a fair chance it will develop well and I will be proven wrong. Check back in five years. This wine may well be a lot more charming at age 20 or 25. Call it 87-90 points.

NV Muscat "Rosewood Vineyards" (Chambers)
With a year of age since release, this non-vintage Muscat is simply delicious. This is the bottom of the line, $13 Muscat, not one of their rare, pricey ones.  I like this  better than the similar Tokay (see below).  If you know about these wines, you know they are unique.  They are more like a cross between a sweet sherry and a liqueur.  Rich and thich--a  year's age has made this sweeter and richer.  It has a kick, too, at 18%.  It's a nice closer.  90 points.

1970 Port (Taylor's)
One of the great ports in my memory shows its stuff yet again.  I decanted this at 7 p.m.  At 10 p.m. it showed flavor, but was still a bit closed. Oh, well. I didn't notice anyone turning the glass away!   This is simply a monumental wine that shows a level of concentration and power that few wines achieve.   I think it is still, ideally, some five years away, though approachable now.   The tannins are fine and supple, the fruit packed and dense.  You couldn't ask for much more in porto.  95 points.

1991 Port "Late Bottled Vintage" (Taylor's)
Can't afford the true vintage ports? Worse yet, you lack the patience or cellar facility to hold the big boys for the decades they often require?  Well, this is not a bad compromise. Actually, it is a steal.  Only $15,  the 1991 is just a notch below the fantastic 1990 LBV from Taylor's.  These are getting so good, I wonder how many people are going to be left to pay an extra $60 and wait an extra twenty years for the true vintage stuff.  Supple tannins provide a perfect layer of support for rich, sweet fruit.  It held half full and open for a couple of days without fading much at all.  The texture is lush and velvety, but there lurks underneath plenty of power and grip.   Even if this is a notch below the 1990, it is a pretty darned fine LBV.  It lacks only the ability to age for 30 years, and loses points only for that reason. The archetype of port, after all,  revolves around its longevity.  We degenerate into esoterica as we try to debate the relative merits of the immediate pleasure this gives versus a thirty year development.  But this  provides a lot more charm and appeal than some pricier ports ever will and you can drink it now. 89 points.

NV Tokay "Rosewood Vineyard" (Chambers)
When I had this originally, I was not so impressed.  I did not think they tended to improve after release, but all I can say is that in the last year or two it has. Suddenly, this wine is sumptuous and thick.  It is still an odd duck, reminding me more of a cross between Fra Angelico and a brandy, but the flavors have popped out and the viscosity levels are remarkable for a bottom of the line wine--about $13 a half.  I personally preferred the Muscat (see above), but the style and quality is the same. Its odd points frankly overwhelm the varietal difference.  Drink as a finisher, all by itself.  90 points.

1985 Port (Gould Campbell)
On opening this wine seemed to have very fine, very sophisticated, supple tannins, but perhaps not enough fruit.  Some four and a half hours later, after decanting, the fruit opened, or so I though, and the tannins moderated.  That was the good news. The bad news was that this wine was indeed lacking depth and concentration, and simply came up short in intensity.  To give it its due,  the flavors were pleasing and the smooth elegant demeanor of the wine had a considerable appeal.  The next afternoon demonstrated that it had been still closed and dumb the prior evening.   By mid-day, some 19 hours after decanting, the wine was richer, smoother and tastier, although it also began to show some small signs of impending oxidation, especially on the nose.  Still,  for young port, while it displayed a lot of charm, it was short on power and depth.  I revised my opinion upward, but still find it to fall shy of a really good porto.   85 points.

NV Port "Six Grapes" (Grahams)
Compared to the Taylor's LBV above, which, by the way is cheaper, this pales in comparison.  On its own, this is pretty nice wine.  The fruit is sweet and flavorful, but a touch too thin, and unlike the Taylor's 1991 above, it lacks any structure or aging potential.  Pleasant, but not a great buy, a ruby that is fruity and simple.   85 points.

Germany (except dessert/sparkling)

1989 Riesling "Haardter Burgergarten" Spatlese (Muller-Catoir)
This wine is a touch long in tooth, but not by much. Around the edges, you can sense some very slight oxidation. Still, the wine seems complex and the finish is excellent. Some sweetness is still there.  The fruit still coats your mouth and tongue.  Some older wines along these lines can be very sharp and acidic.  Not so here.  The flavors are fruit flavors,  peaches and apricots, and the nose and palate give off fruit flavor nuances, not decay.  This needs drinking, but you don't have to be an old wine fan to like it.  It has character, but fruit, too.  87 points.

Rhone /South/ Southwest France

1990 Hermitage Blanc "Chevalier de Sterimberg" (Jaboulet)
A beauty of white Hermitage. This wine seems buttery and round, in perfect condition after eight years. The nutty bouquet is attractive, and the fruit coats your mouth and lingers. I like white Hermitage more and more every time I have one. If you are not familiar with them, try a nice one today, like this, a Chapoutier, or a Chave, and broaden your horizons! 91 points.

1994 Chateauneuf du Pape (Gardine)
This is the regular bottling, and it is not nearly as impressive as the specialty cuvée, "Generations."  Still,  not bad.  It opens a bit tight, and perhaps with just a hint of volatile acidity.  With air, the fruit flavors poke through, and there is a lot of flavor here. The wine comes together nicely over the course of an evening.  It shows some elegance, retains its grip, and turns into a pleasing, medium bodied Chateauneuf with all the typical nuances and qualities. What it lacks is depth, and a something to make it special. The texture is not particular lush or velvety.   Needs at least three years of cellaring, I think.  87 points.

1996 Cotes du Rhone (Aujoux)
Call this a Best Buy.  Less than $5.  Fruity, flavorful.  True, it lacks everything that goes into really great wines. It is not a great wine. And they probably cheated and used some carbonic maceration process vinification to make the fruit more forward and flavorful.  But it is forward and flavorful.  The wine will have the life span of a fruit fly. It has no discernible tannins.  But it tastes damn good.   For less than $5.  I cannot offhand recall a more pleasing performance lately in a wine this cheap.  Tip of the cap to Les Routiers Bistro in New York for this recommendation.  85 points.

South Africa

1993 Shiraz "Constantia" (Klein)
This is a pretty nice wine that is a bit shy on depth.  It opens silky and gamey.  It has a lot of Rhone-like qualities.  The bacon fat melds nicely into the wine which displays some sweet fruit and blueberry nuances as it opens.  The texture is elegant and silky rather than lush and dense.  With air it blossoms a little, but never develops a lot. With a lot of air, it loses too much fruit, and supple tannins take over.  This is not a great wine, but it is a good enough performance so that I would like to see what else the winery can do.  About $14.  85 points.