QPR Winner   I give this award to wines that demonstrate an excellent quality to price ratio. They are sometimes more expensive than the wines featured in my Best Buys section (which is cut off at $15), so while every Best Buy is also a QPR Winner,  not every QPR winner is an official Best Buy.  QPR winners are simply wines that are great values for a relatively  reasonable price. 

Alsace    Australia   Bordeaux     Burgundy    California/USA (red)   
California/USA (white)   Dessert/Sparkling     France/Misc.   
Germany     Italy       Loire      Rhone/South/SW France  

Alsace (except dessert/sparkling)
1994 Riesling "Rangen Clos St. Urbain" (Zind-Humbrecht)
This ZH riesling is a remarkable wine that scores on all fronts, flavor, elegance, depth, finish, complexity and balance. With time, this wine has developed focus and intensity. The fruit has opened and seems ripe, but the wine is closer to dry and focused than opulent and sweet. It seems unusually spicy for a riesling, and has more acid than I find in most Alsace rieslings.  The finish, propelled by the acid, goes on and on. The concentration is excellent, and the wine is solid in the mid-palate, yet it seems easy to drink and remarkably balanced, for all of its structure and intensity.  Wonderful Alsace riesling, and a wine that defeats many of the stereotypes about Zind-Humbrecht.  94 points.

1995 Riesling Rangen Clos St. Urbain (Zind Humbrecht)
Unlike the 1994, this burly wine is very deep, very powerful and nowhere near ready. Its depth and concentration levels give it more weight than the 1994, but the acidity keeps it lively. The fruit is very ripe, even though the wine is bone dry.  The finish is long. I think this needs a couple of more years of cellaring. It will certainly hold for a decade or more. It lacks the charm of the 1994 at the moment, but it is so deep that if, with age, it develops some, it may become far superior in every respect.  92+  points.

1993 Riesling "Rosenberg" (Albert Mann)
Elegant and airy, this wine is fully ready, floral and completely open. It lacks some depth and finish, but its expansive, sunny nature and bright appearance makes it extremely appealing for drinking now.  88 points.

1997 Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes (Zind Humbrecht)
Off dry with some of that caramelized onion flavor some vins d'Alsace get on the finish when they are very ripe (some might say, overripe and with a hint of botrytis), this also seems spicy and peppery.  The depth for generic pinot gris, even given the "vielles vignes" designation, is considerable. The wine is drinking well now, and shows more viscosity than most pinot gris could ever.  Big, but a bit monolithic, too. It never quite becomes a superstar. 90 points.

1998 Tokay Pinot Gris "Brand" (Albert Boxler)
Thick and intense, powerful and viscous, this is one of the most concentrated pinot gris I've ever had not made by Zind-Humbrecht. The fruit seems layered on in slabs. The wine is young and dense, filled with flavor, and opulent. A tour de force. 94 points.

1998 Pinot Gris "Clos Windsbuhl" (Zind Humbrecht)
Ok, well, pinot gris just doesn't get much better. Succulent and deep, with an amazing level of concentration and viscosity, this wine is fat and dripping fruit. The finish lingers forever and the fruit coats your mouth with a medley of ripe, citrus fruit nuances. Stunning opulence, sexy and purely hedonistic.  Its only competitor is some Pinot Gris Rangen VT I had a few years ago from ZH.  98 points.

1985 Gewurztraminer "Gueberschwihr"  Vendage Tardive (Zind Humbrecht)
This has pretty much gone dry, as I expected, and has thinned out, too. It is spicy and retains some focus and charm, but the mid-palate seems a bit hollow. The smokey, viscous finish is long and is the best thing about the wine. This is a bit underwhelming at times, but it has its moments. 88 points.

The gewurzs below along with the Muller-Catoir Auslese in the German section were opened together at a peer group event:

1976 Gewurztraminer "Cuvée Christine" (Schlumberger)
You don't really think white wines can't age, do you?  In one of the greatest of all vintages in Alsace,  well made, well stored wines can still show beautifully. And so it is here. This shows good body, with excellent depth still in the mid-palate. There is a bit of that roasted peach flavor that comes from wines like this getting a bit along in years. It is on the cusp and another five to ten will probably result in substantial notes of oxidation. For the moment, though, the finish is lovely, the wine has flavor  to spare, and the typical bouquet that gewurz tends to produce is there in spades. Very fine performance for a graceful ager.  It has its weaknesses, but it is hanging on and then some.  90 points.

1983 Gewurztraminer "Cuvée Personnelle" (Preiss-Zimmer)
Flash forward to another great vintage in Alsace.  It is hard to believe that this is coming close to age 20.  On opening, it is off dry and surprisingly fruity, fresh and pristine. If you had told me this was a 1993, it would have made more sense. The wine has developed a certain round smoothness in texture. It doesn't have a lot of oomph, intensity or power, but its charm,  youthfulness, elegance and pristine fruit make it a pleasure to drink. 89 points.

1983 Gewurztraminer "Clos Gaensbroennel" Vendange Tardive (E. Willm)
Contrary to popular belief, Alsace VT isn't really the equivalent of a California late harvest or a German BA. It is just late picked. Particularly in the old days, that often just meant very ripe fruit rather than very sweet wines. The wines tended to be off dry, but that would blow off quickly with age on a lot of them, too.  Modern stylistic preferences let some of these wines become much sweeter, but this is typical of (if not as good as)  old style VT. By now, it is dry and you would hardly guess this is late picked. There is a decent finish, and the wine displays some effect of age, a bit of burnt biscotti on the finish. It is bright, but there isn't quite enough fruit left to balance out the acidity. Past prime, and not something that should have been held so long.  83 points.

1988 Gewurztraminer "Cuvée des Seigneurs" (Trimbach)
Clean and polite, not much more. At this juncture, this is a little too laid back, the fruit is a bit too thin, and wine seems a little too acidic for its own good. At best, this is run of the mill gewurz that is perhaps getting a little tired. 85 points.

1988 Gewurztraminer "Clos Windsbuhl" (Zind-Humbrecht)
Out of the gate, this seemed restrained and tight, a little too much like the Trimbach above. Hmmm. Worry. Concern. Not to worry. While the Trimbach went downhill, the ZH kept unfolding, revealing some new aspect to its personality at every juncture. It is not as deep or rich a vintage as the 89s and 90s or 94s, but it is a classical wine with superb focus. As it opened, the spice and pepper characteristic of gewurz popped out, and the wine showed great typicity. This is one of  the drier wines for ZH, but one thing that is typical ZH is the intense, persistent finish.  Class, breeding, elegance. 91 points.

1990 Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive "Hengst" (Zind-Humbrecht)
This expansive, fully open VT is generous and charming. It lacks the depth of the 1994 Hengst VT or Windsbuhl (next to which it was tasted; no notes right  here because I've published notes on both often in the past). But it is beautiful anyway. Off dry, gentle but persistent, the wine saves its best for last: a stunning finish with grip and power.  92 points.

1989 Gewurztraminer Herrenweg Turckheim Vendange Tardive (Zind-Humbrecht)
By most accounts, this is pretty far down on ZH's food chain, but the Herrenweg bottlings often offer great value.  This is even sweeter than the 1990 Hengst, above,  although it lacks some of its class. It has most of the elegance and charm, but not quite the depth, and certainly not the finish. I don't think anyone will regret drinking it, though.  90 points.

1993, 1994, and 1998 Gewurztraminer "Steingrubler" (Albert Mann)
Mann Steingrubler is one of the traditional best buys in Alsace...high quality grand cru for rational prices.  I've posted on the 1994 a lot, so let's just use that as a departure point for comparison. It is solid, well made gewurz, nowhere near the level of, say, the 1994 Clos Windsbuhl, but hitting well on all cylinders and evolving nicely. The finish was particularly nice, although the wine seemed a bit restrained tonight. (One reason might be that it was paired with some of the biggest, most profound gewurzs ever made.)    The '93 and '98 served with it show about as one might think. The weaker '93 vintage seems a bit watery in the mid-palate by comparison, but otherwise nicely done, especially in the context of the vintage, with good lychee nut overtones, and a nice finish.  The youthful 1998 shows as young Mann wines often do, very sweet and almost sugary.  The 1994 in its youth, now gone pretty much dry, was rather similar. The 1998 at the moment is all flamboyance, but there is depth under that wave of sugar.  So far, I'm liking what I see in 1998 Alsace from top producers. At this point, I like the 1998 better than this slightly faded incarnation of the 1994.   For the 1993: 87 points. For the 1994: 89 points.  For the 1998: 90 points. 

1989 Gewurztraminer "Cuvée Laurence" (Domaine Weinbach)
This is a curious showing for this wine. It seems too tight, too acidic, and oddly short of fruit. I expected better, got very little. Hopefully, this is just the bottle.  84 points.

1997 Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive "Cuvée  du 3ème Millenaire" (Schleret)
This beautiful wine is another big winner from this fine producer.  It is the type of wine that makes me think of a great Quarts from Baumard. It is certainly rich and concentrated, but it is also bright and balanced, and seems infused with sunshine and vibrancy. Orange and tangerine nuances permeate the fine finish. It is a wine that makes you think of  the first great Spring day after a long winter. Somehow, you know everything will renew itself and blossom.  95 points.

1983 Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive "Hengst" (Zind-Humbrecht)
This wine was included in the peer group tasting that the prior wines listed here represent, but it was off. So, we opened another bottle a bit later. From this bottle,  that had some ullage but was otherwise pristine, the wine was still very much alive, with great varietal characteristics, the fat, lychee aftertaste and the fine gewurz bouquet. The wine was mediocre at this point, though. It has become a bit too subtle. While very enjoyable for a considerable time, it also cracked up a bit at the end of the evening. A much better performance, but underwhelming. 85 points.

Australia (except dessert/sparkling)
1996 Shiraz (Mt. Langhi Ghiran)
This cooler climate, Victorian shiraz shows more focus and more Cote Rotie tendencies than your typical in-your-face Aussie shiraz. In addition, the oak is modest and restrained. The result is a wine that defeats a lot of Aussie stereotypes. It opens a  little tight and disjointed, but pulls together and develops texture and flavor, along with a  peppery aspect I rather liked. This is not a wine that will bowl you over, but it might be one that will remind you that Aussie shiraz (despite clonal differences) can bear some resemblance to Rhone syrah.  88 points.

1998 Theologicum (RBJ)
This is mostly grenache and mourvedre. Call it very new wave Australian. Fragrant and juicy, the wine drips with red berry flavor, raspberries and strawberries. It is sweet and delicious. There is little if any structure and backbone, but the oak is moderate and the wine is charming as well as ripe. This wine intends to get your attention, but there is no intent to hit you over the head thereafter. I liked the balance and the flavor. It's drinking pretty well right now. Pure pleasure, losing a some points perhaps for its guesstimated aging potential. We'll see what we see when the future gets here, I suppose. 91 points.

1977 Cabernet (Chateau Tahbilk)
I think I would've called this an old, mature, powerful California Cab if served blind, or perhaps even a big Bordeaux from the Medoc, dominated by cab. Big and deep, very concentrated, this was a wine that had a lot going for it, but also showed some problems. The nose was disgustingly moldy at first and thoughts turned to TCA. But the moldiness kept blowing off and the wine aired out beautifully.  The fruit never really became what I would call pure and pristine, but it did develop some red berry fruit flavor that I enjoyed. Problematical, but still worth drinking. 85 points.

1998 Grand Viking Shiraz (Soderstrom)
Soft and velvety, intensely sweet, this wine has a gorgeous core of fruit. The flavors, though, are a touch candied and perhaps dominated by some licorice (no doubt from the considerable oak). Of course, this is still a baby. With air, the texture became more burnished and smoother, and there were strawberry notes. I came to like this wine. I wonder how it will pull together in the future? In five years, will it more likely be a beautifully balanced charmer dripping with fruit--or just a clunky wine with fading fruit flavors and aromas, all alcohol and oak?  I think it will tend more to the former, but it is hard to tell exactly where to put it. With all of these new Aussie wines, who really knows what is going to happen in the long or even mid-term years ahead? In many respects this seems to be drinking fairly well now, though I believe at least two years of cellaring would improve it.   89-92 points.

1985 Cabernet-Shiraz (Seppelt)
Sometimes, not having many expectations helps. This wine would have done well anyway. On opening, it justified all my fears. Acidic, seemingly thin in the mid-palate, hints of American oak and not much else. Then, it pulled itself off the floor, shook off the shock of being released from the bottle, and became, well, superb. Nine bucks on release, folks. Of course, that was when Aussie wines couldn't be sold in this market unless they were Grange or cheap. The oak eucalyptus notes integrate quickly into the wine and basically blow off. The fruit kept rising and developing with air. Suddenly, the wine was an elegant, round, velvety textured blend that tasted delicious. It is a bit light, as befitting its age, but it never tasted hollow. The finish was very good. You never had a feeling that the wine was falling apart, either in the cellar or the glass. 90 points.

Bordeaux (except dessert/sparkling)
1995 Moulin de Duhart
This Lafite-affiliated wine, one might have thought, would be a pretty nice, easy drinking Bordeaux. Instead, while it was approachable and drinking well with just a bit of air,  it seemed green and a bit vegetal. In texture, it was more Pomerol than Medoc, but the odd flavors and nose certainly didn't say Medoc. Served blind, I think I might have been more likely to guess a lower priced South American merlot.  If you didn't mind that it didn't seem much like Bordeaux, and you liked the flavor profile, perhaps you might have liked it.  My guess is that this was not what this estate was aiming for. 80 points.

1988 Domaine de Chevalier
This wine continues to open and blossom, and is one of the wines I enjoy most in the vintage. No, it is not the biggest or deepest, but it has character, and the fruit is pristine, and pure, laced with cassis. Youthful, superb. 91 points.

1993 Chateau L'Angelus
This is a very good 1993 that is a bit underwhelming. The tannins dominate at first, then fruit comes out. The tannins blow off fairly fast, and integrate. The wine is medium bodied at best, though, and while the fruit is sweet and tasty, it is short and lacks sufficient depth. I think there may be balance problems as this ages, and I'd think of drinking it on the young-ish side. Not quite ready. Try again in two years. 88 points.

1989 Chateau L'Enclos
This earthy Pomerol had lush texture and ripe, cherry and plum notes on the fruit. There was a hint of tannin underneath, but it was generally pretty friendly and elegant. Medium bodied, tasty, a long way from monumental, but tasty and charming. 89 points.

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Burgundy (except dessert/sparkling)
1993 Moulin à Vent (Domaine des Rosier -Duboeuf)
This Beaujolais is what they do down there when they depart from the mass market, carbonic maceration style wines. I've had a few of these from this Domaine and others, and it is a big improvement in gamay. Yet, the wines never show much depth. Maybe gamay isn't capable of more in this climate.  Maybe it's just a style. This typical of the style. Charming, light, almost better if a bit chilled, the wine is a perfect summer red, fragrant and easy, with no tannins to speak of.  At age 7 it has thinned, but is otherwise pristine, with red berry nuances. Pleasing, but not particularly profound.  85 points.

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California/USA (red) (except dessert/sparkling)
1998 Rosé (White Heron) QPR Winner 
This is a pretty nice Washington State rosé from a small producer that does a lot right. It is a wine I would be willing to buy--it delivers good value for $6.  This is the way pinks should be made. It is dry and clean, with some pleasing cherry nuances.  It has good weight (if anything, the 13.5% alcohol is overkill).  It has a nice Tavel feel to the flavor. All that said, I didn't like the flavors on the finish as much as it warmed up. It sometimes seemed a bit metallic.  Perhaps the reason for off flavor on the finish is the odd grape blend of chardonnay, cabernet franc and a hefty 40% limberger.  I suppose the simple answer is to drink it colder.  Still, this is what rosé should be.  If more wineries had this attitude towards pinks, people might be more willing to try them. They are, after all, the perfect compromise for summer dining. This is very close to superb rosé; it just needs a few tweaks.  85 points.

1998 Zinfandel "Old Vines" (Turley)  QPR Winner 
Turley zins are not always monsters, despite the PR, but they do always deliver flavor. The "old vines" is usually a bargain, providing a lot of quality for a much lower price. In 1998, a difficult zin year, this wine delivers again. Oh, sure. It lacks the depth of the great Turleys, and the mid-palate is a bit thinner than normal, instead of presenting that stolid, jam packed feel that the bigger single-vineyard zins do. Still, what more could you ask of a bottom of their line zin in an off year? Simply delicious. Drinking beautifully now, it does not need holding, nor will it benefit from being held. Tinged with strawberry nuances and bursting with sweet fruit, it also shows some unusual pepper and spice, and the familiar, smooth, creamy Turley texture. Rolls around your mouth, tastes great. If we weren't tasting it next to the two big boys noted hereafter, it would have made an even greater impact. Loses points only for depth and longevity.  It's hard to factor that in now, though, given the purity of flavor and exuberant, well balanced fruit.   90 points.

1995 Zinfandel "Aida" (Turley)
This big boy, stolid and jam packed, displays remarkable concentration, a long, wonderful finish, and spicy, chambord nuances. As it airs out, it regains some balance and calms down a bit, a rather remarkable feat. The density of the fruit is impressive, and the wine reveals multiple layers as time goes on. The only bad thing you could say about this wine is that the 1996, below, was better. 93 points.

1996 Zinfandel "Aida" (Turley)
Opened next to the stolid, jam packed 1995, this wine seemed brighter, more elegant and less dense. I was fooled. It is brighter, and more elegant. No question there. But as it aired out, it put on weight and showed more depth than was first apparent. By the end of the evening, when the 1995 was beginning to seem merely thick, this was still developing and improving, and the flavors were still unfolding. Ultimately, it seemed almost a match for the 1995 in concentration, and much more focused and flavorful. Superlative Aida....and with Turley's loss of this vineyard a couple of vintages later, we may never see an Aida this good again. 95 points.

1976 Zinfandel Late Harvest "Old Hill Vineyard" (Mount Eden Vineyards)
This is one of the best performances I have ever seen in a really old zin. Despite the late harvest designation, the sweetness has blown off. Perhaps the ripeness in the fruit helped preserve it. After blowing off some bottle mustiness, it showed a nice, solid body, excellent depth and concentration, and surprisingly pure, bright raspberry flavor nuances. In a sense, it held well for hours. It was still enjoyable and drinkable two hours later. It is true, though, that the very appealing, raspberry notes faded fast and the wine lost some pizazz. Still, it is once in a blue moon that you find a zin this old that shows this well. 88 points.

1997 Siena (Ferrari-Carano)
It was opened, and poured, and seemed inoffensive and ordinary, a bit flat, and well, a lot like cheap Chianti, except that this is about twice the price and is supposedly a Super Tuscan imitator. Suddenly, it blossomed. With air, the fruit became brighter and bolder, cherry notes popped out, and the wine developed elegance and a pleasing finish. This isn't exactly Tignanello, but I came to like it a lot. 89 points.

1994 Firebreak (Shafer)
I have several notes on this wine, and have never seen it show so well (although it has come close).  It has been attractive from the start, sturdy and solid, but now the fruit has opened and developed and it is giving off flavors never before noticed. Sweet and concentrated, ripe and velvety, the wine does not particularly seem like a Super Tuscan imitator, but more like a Bryant Family cab. The finish is superb, and the quality of fruit is amazing. Pristine now, and seems in no danger of falling off, it is a wine that I think will confound those who picked it as a five-to-seven year short-termer.  Ready to roll,  just hitting peak now.  Don't miss it.  92 points.

 1996 Cabernet (August Briggs)
Another barely known California producer arriving on the scene. So, what else is new? This opened bright and tannic, showing a lot of its components, including the acidity and fruit, but not much integration. With air, it briefly shut down tight, displaying good grip and depth. With yet more air, it rounded into shape and pulled together. The varietal cassis came through unshielded by the acidity or big fruit. The tannins moderated. The texture became more appealing. It will be interesting to taste this again in five years. My sense is that it is not a great cab, but a very good one that needs a little more finesse and ripe texture.  I think it cellar fairly well. 88-90 points.

1996 Chantepierre (White Heron) QPR Winner 
Served blind, this opened a bit disjointed and light, but then pleasing cherry fruit popped up. The guesses around the table tended to new wave Italian. One can't say that the wine is varietally typical.  In fact, this is a $10.99 Bordeaux blend dominated by cab franc from a small producer in Washington State. Ignoring how much it tasted like Bordeaux, or didn't, the reality was that it tasted good. As it aired out, the fruit became juicier, and I was pleased to see that it picked up a little weight. This is fully ready to drink and I wouldn't hold it. On the downside, the wine lacks depth, the finish is short and it is a bit thin. But, hey, we're talking $11 retail here. The ultimate consensus is that it was closer to a lighter-styled Chinon than Bordeaux.  Either way, nice effort for the price, good value. Officially named a "best buy."  This is a perfect summer red, light but flavorful.  85 points.

California/USA (white) (except dessert/sparkling)
1997 Riesling Vineyard Select (Chateau Ste. Michelle) QPR Winner 
Served blind, this reminded me of a fine, lower level Alsace riesling. My guess was something like a 1997 Barmès-Buecher, partly because it had the very ripe, almost caramelized onion finish that the estate sometimes gives in youthful, basic wines (whereas many estates don't get much ripeness or flavor in their basic $10-$12 range wines). Varietally true, with a solid mid-palate, and excellent finish, this wine was simply one of the best American dry rieslings I have had. The last stunning thing it did was sell for $12.  So often, I see New World wines that do a pretty fair job of imitating Alsace or Chianti--but at their lower levels. Then, instead of selling for $12, they sell for $30. And I think, "not bad, but why bother? I can get a real Alsace riesling that is better for half the price."  Not this time. This is competes with Alsace's $10 to $15 range wines in both price and quality.  Loses points for anticpated longevity and depth, but real nice at the moment. 89 points.

1999 Gewurztraminer (Gundlach Bundschu)
At a tasting of great gewurzs, this had the misfortune to be served next to some of the greatest ever made. Fortunately, it was served first. We hated it even then. At $13, it is fairly pricey for what that sum would deliver in Alsace. There was a bit of gewurz varietal fragrance, but after that the wine went downhill fast. Thin, a bit acidic, lacking in concentration or flavor, there just wasn't a whole lot here to like if you're a gewurz fan. If you've never had gewurz before, and you're used to drinking inexpensive chardonnay, you might like it a bit better and wonder why I'm trashing it, since it is not unpleasant in and of itself, though it is too thin and lacks appropriate concentration.  It's more like a gewurz imitating a cheap chard. But why bother?  79 points.

1998 Gewurztraminer (Fogarty)
Another new world gewurz, and another strike against new world gewurz. I know two really good new world producers, relatively speaking, Murray Robson in Australia and Navarro in the USA. Neither comes close to top or even mid-level Alsace. But they are worlds above this.  This wine is all acid, even thinner than the GB above, and basically unbalanced. It would be nice if it had some fruit. If the GB was like cheap chard, this is like even cheaper riesling. Why bother? 77 points.

1991 Pinot Noir Reserve (Ponzi)
Graceful and flavorful, this Ponzi is still kickin' and deliverin'.  It seems a bit earthy now, but the sweet, strawberry fruit, while tinged with age, is the dominant characteristic. Broad, fully developed and expansive, it is a mature pinot caught at a perfect time for drinking.  89 points. 

1996 Pinot Noir (Beaux Freres)
This is a wine I've followed closely since release, and like most Beaux Freres from any but the lightest vintage, it was a long way from ready on release. It is hard to think of too many other pinot makers in the new world who absolutely require some bottle age for the wine to show decently. This is just starting to come around. On opening, it was tight as a drum, and dull. Then, it finally started to evolve and show some fruit. What beautiful fruit it is, too. Black raspberry and plum, wrapped in a focused wine with a nice backbone.  Very elegant and graceful, call it a cross between the 92 flavor and the 93 grace.  This is still developing, and it may yet improve with another 1 to 2 years of cellaring.  At the moment I would rank it behind the 92 and 94, but above all other BF vintages, with the potential to move higher.  90+ points. 

Dessert / Sparkling Wines
1989 Late Harvest Scheurebe (Phelps)
Phelps is in so many ways such an underrated winery, even though it has many awards and favorable mentions. Here's an eleven year old Scheurebe. Why imitate a hybrid grape? Late Harvest Scheurebe in California?  Some might say it isn't such a great thing in Germany.  :)  Yet, it's super. Yep, there is some trace of oxidation around the edges, some sign that the wine has entered a very mature phase. But it is still ripe, thick and sweet, and the scheurebe is purer and more pristine than what one often gets from Germany. (See the Bernhard reviewed under Germany, below.)   There is good balancing acid on the finish. The thick, concentrated body goes down real easy and never seems overbearing. 91 points.

1991  Spatburgunder  Weissherbst  "Weinheimer Holle" Eiswein, (C. Gysler)
Rich and big, this is about everything I like a great eiswein to be. Cherry-nuanced, with enough bright acidity to make it lively, the depth and concentration of this wine are simply superlative. The fruit is pure and pristine. It is sure unusual, but it is delicious. 95 points.

1994 Riesling "Bodenheimer Kapelle" Eiswein (Kuhling Gillot)
Unfortunately drunk after the opulent Gysler, above, this wine seemed a lot drier, and was certainly more restrained. On its own, it was  a very nice wine, with a solid mid-palate, a good finish and good concentration. The finish was nuanced with dry, caramel flavors that I rather liked. It lacked the pizazz of the Gysler, above, for sure, and certainly it lacked its lively demeanor and depth, but on its own, it was a pretty solid eiswein with good weight and depth. 90 points.

1989 Tokay Pinot Gris "Selections de Grains Nobles"  (E.  Schueller)
As a SGN this is a bit shameful. For a VT, it is a very nice, well balanced wine. It is too dry, too light and too inoffensive to deserve to be called "SGN," though. Good producers make VTs with more depth. All that said, it still drinks nicely and has a decent finish. It just needs to show some truth in advertising. ;)  86 points.

1976 Riesling  "Bernkasteler Badstube" Trockenbeerenausle (Karl Dillinger)
Viscous and deep,with some orange rind flavor on the end, this shows great depth, weight and power, but not much sweetness any more. The flavor nuances are pretty much muted. Yet, the finish is superlative and persistent.  This wine has lost a step, I think, but it does so much right, that it is still a star. Now, get me a knife so I can cut you a piece. ...  92 points.

NV Sangre de Toro (Bychia-Krov)
This Moldovan dessert wine is high in alcohol (17.5%) and delivers not much else. It seems more like liquor than dessert wine. There is a slight analogy to Australia's Chambers Rosewood Muscat, but there is no fruit flavor, and no liqueur (as opposed to liquor) quality--just alcohol wrapped around light fruit flavors. Rather annoying, and not much use as a dessert wine. Would probably work better as a flavored brandy substitute. 80 points.

1996 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Vin d'Or (Eola Hills)
Oregon's Eola Hills has been making great dessert wine lately, and this is no exception. The apricot and peach notes emit from a solid, viscous body with a fine finish and relentless flavor. If you like 'em thick....this is it. Could use a bit more intensity and structure to become a true superstar. 91 points.

1989 Gewurztraminer "Selection de Grains Nobles" (Adam)
Thoroughly disappointing. This reminded me a bit of the Tokay Pinot Gris SGN reviewed above, in that, while it was not bad wine, it did not seem to come close to displaying the depth, viscosity and sweetness one would expect from a SGN.  However, this was even worse. Thin, and not showing much in the mid-palate, this wine seems like a generic $12 gewurz from the bottom of some producer's line. Not bad. But nothing to write home about. To call itself SGN, though, is a bit of a disgrace. It just doesn't show anything like that quality or class of wine.  84 points.

1998 Late Harvest White Wine "Noble School Road" (Giesen) QPR Winner 
This New Zealand stickie reminds me of a German Riesling, with a Muscat nose. What it is, I can't say, since the label merely proclaims it to be white wine. Beautifully balanced, with a nice hit of sugar, the wine shows good fruit, and elegant demeanor, with a solid mid-palate, and considerable brightness. Charming, sweet and enjoyable.  About $18 for a 500ml.  90 points

1978 Muscat Rivesaltes Vieux (Domaine Cazes)
This aging Muscat is not much of a dessert wine any more, but it is completely charming. Thinning, with hazlenut hints and nuances, the wine has some aged tawny port characteristics. In an earlier incarnation, it was probably sweeter and more luscious. Now, it is elegant and intense. It has seen better days, but I liked it still.  86 points.

1994 Gewurztraminer "Selection des Grains Nobles"  (Leon Beyer)
Beyer is known for elegance and traditional styles, but hey...this is a SGN from a top, fairly recent vintage. I want more. It has some charm and some fruit and some flavor. But it seems a little too elegant and too bright and too gentle. This is SGN. I want oomph. And power. And depth. And intensity. Pleasing enough to drink, but not much to write home about. 88 points.

1991 Gewurztraminer Eiswein "Haardtr Herrenletten" (Muller-Catoir)
Speaking of writing home about great wines.....go buy a yellow pad and be prepared to take notes. This is utterly stunning, monumental, great eiswein.  On opening, it seemed like big time TBA, thick, rich, syrupy, honeyed and amazingly concentrated and powerful. The apricot and peach flavors were intense and up front. The wine assaulted the taste buds.  With air, it showed underlying acidity. It never lost the sweetness, but lost some thickness. Whatever the value of that attribute, it was replaced by another incarnation, an equally intense, beautifully balanced wine that fired on all cylinders.  I would have liked for it to have held its first incarnation a bit longer, but there wasn't a whole lot to complain about here. 97 points.

1985 Gewurztraminer Cluster Select Late Harvest (Navarro)
This wine is a bit past prime, but I liked it a lot anyway. The orange peel notes provided lotsa flavor, and the body was thick enough and the fruit ripe enough still to provide some syrup and honey texture qualities at times. Reasonably fresh and flavorful, the only thing this wine did wrong was get served next to the Muller-Catoir Eiswein, above. 90 points.

1993 I Capitelli (Anselmi)
Dark orange nuances suffuse this medium bodied wine that shows beautifully. Decent viscosity allows it to hold up to real desserts, but it is balanced enough to drink all by itself as an aperitif. Easy drinking, very pleasurable. Delivers a lot of flavor, although it lacks a bit of intensity.  89 points.

1996 Ortega Beerenauslese " Wachenheimer Mandelgarten" (Vier Jahreszeiten)
This interesting co-op makes pretty good wines, but let me say ... this is way above the last couple of Ortegas I had from the estate, lot their 1993 Durkheimer Feuerberg. Viscous, and powerful, with good underlying acidity, the wine is sweet, flavorful and ripe. I loved the concentration, and the finish seemed to last a lot longer than it took me to write this note. Sprightly and concentrated. Delicious. 92 points.

France/ Misc. (except dessert/sparkling)
1997 Arbois Ploussard (F. Lornet) QPR Winner 
This inexpensive ($12) Ploussard (an obscure grape) grew on me. It reminds me a bit of Sine Qua Non's Cracked Rose. It is dark pink, or light red, as you prefer, and translucent, a cross between a rosé and a red wine. Too dark, too heavy and too red to be a rosé, it is nonetheless very light and fragrant, not quite a red. It can be chilled, yet bring on a lot of flavor--it tasted like pinot noir, a bit candied, perhaps, but dry. There is nothing profound about this. It is fruity and floral, and can be drunk slightly chilled. It is a fun summer red that goes one step farther than a rosé in color and fruit flavor. Pick your food matchups carefully and just have fun. Remember, my scores are relative. It is very fresh now, but don't hold this for any reason.  This is an old-fashioned style of wine that isn't seen much any more. Worth a try.  86 points.

1997 Vin de Savoie Chautagne 'Mondeuse"
It was my week for inexpensive, offbeat reds. This good value red is basically a Beaujolais from a different grape. The carbonic maceration process would seem obvious. It is fruity and flavorful, with a velvety texture, and that bubblegum aspect Beaujolais often gives. It is simple and straightforward, not in a style I particularly like, but the fruit, all the fruit and nothing but the fruit style will please many. A good summer red, in particular. Drink now; not to be held. 84 points.

Germany (except dessert/sparkling)
1989 Scheurebe Auslese "Hackenheimer Kirchberg" (Bernhard)
Unusual Scheurebe Auslese in that it seems remarkably thick--but not so sweet. It is pungent, with some of that cat pee nuance; yet there isn't all that much acid. I was impressed with the wine's depth and concentration, its sheer power and size, but I found its nose somewhat unpleasant (though not atypical), and the wine could have used some balancing sweetness and even a touch more acid. This is a bit of a curiosity which you might like better than me if you are not put off by some of those strong, Scheurebe odors. 88 points.

1997 Riesling Kabinett Herrenberg (Maximin Grunhaus) QPR Winner 
On release, this was one of the most charming and appealing Kabinetts that I have ever had. It is a little pricey for a Kabinett perhaps ($20), but for a wonderful riesling...a QPR winner. Now, with a little age on it, the acidity has popped to the forefront, and is currently dominating the fruit and the early off-dry characteristics the wine displayed in its youth. The finish is still stupendous, but on pouring the wine needs air and some warming up to come around. What it probably needs most is another year or two of cellaring to regain all of its balance.  The depth is still exceptional, and this is quality wine, despite being in a bit of a dumb phase. 92 points.

1992 Riesling halbtrocken "Mussbacher Esselhaut" (Muller-Catoir)
Bright and big, and lemony, this halb-trocken has superb balance and fine fruit, together with a good finish and elegant demeanor. It is attractive and charming, and the acidity moderates with air. 90 points.

1979 Riesling Spatlese "Kallstatder Saumagen" (Koehler-Ruprecht)
This older spatlese shows just a touch of oxidation and orange rinds, but just a touch. It is in great shape, deep, viscous and intense, remarkably concentrated for its age and pradikat, and with a superb finish that lingers. I liked the wine's weight and focus a lot.  The aging process did detract a little from the purity of fruit, but in the grand scheme of things, that was inconsequential.  91 points.

1988 Riesling Auslese halbtrocken "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" (Kerpen)
At age 12, this wine seems like a baby, youthful and sprightly, pristine and pure. The only clue that it might be on the older side is that the mid-palate is a bit light. Otherwise, the wine is so bright and elegant that I would have been inclined to guess more along the lines of 1995 than 1988.   Very nice, though I would have liked more depth. 88 points.

1989 Riesling Spatlese "Abtsberg" (Maximin Gruhaus)
A riesling that has it all, a great spatlese. In perfect condition at age 11, this wine is dense and powerful, yet balanced by bright and lively acidity. The finish is fantastic, persistent and intense, and just lingers and lingers. The fruit seems to have more layers than a spatlese has a right to, all balanced by the lively acidity.  A great performance. 95 points.

1959 Kreuznacher St. Martin Auslese (A. Anheuser)
This fascinating Nahe wine was different up and down the scale. First, there was no grape specified. It could be a blend. Second, it was amazingly thick and deep for any Auslese, let alone one that was forty years old. Third, the flavor characteristic was bright cherry in the mid-palate. That was all the interesting and good news. At times, the wine was more of an intellectual experience than a flavor sensation. Bereft of its acidity, it seemed a bit monolithic and clunky. The finish was bitter, and this time the cherry nuance was boiled. Surprisingly, though, the wine had one more unexpected thing in store for me: it opened and improved with an hour of air. The bitterness moderated a bit and the fruit became more expansive. On the whole, there was a lot to like here, but there were also some cracks in the facade. 89 points.

1976 Riesling Auslese Scharzhofberg (F. Muller)
Smokey and thick, this 1976 seemed older at times than the 1959 above. There were some hints of oxidation, but the main nuance was roasted apricot. Good body and weight, but a little tired. 88 points.

1983 Riesling Scharzhofberg Auslese (R. von Kesselstaat)
Bright and thick, this wine opened beautifully with air. The apricot nuances became peach, and the finish, driven by the acidity underlying the good fruit, lingered nicely. Solid wine, with good balance. 90 points.

1983 Riesling Auslese "Graacher Himmelreich" (J.J. Prum)
Off dry, with a hit of sugar, this wine has penetrating flavors and noticeable viscosity. Its intensity of fruit and elegance combine into a marvel.  Add some lively acidity.  Depth, finish, excitement....zing, go the strings of your heart. 93 points.

1986 Riesling Auslese "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" (S.A. Prum)
The acidity overwhelms the fruit a little, but there is good, solid stuffing here. The wine has plenty of oomph and depth. The flavors are remarkable and for the vintage, this is a huge success. 90 points.

1988 Riesling Auslese "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" Gold Kap (Kerpen)
This wine is superb from start to finish, but let's talk about that stunning finish, bright, focused, penetrating, and forever. The wine is subtle but intense because of the finish. Bright and beautiful, perfectly balanced, with lemon and orange overtones. This is one of the wines where you say, "Well, if this is what they meant every time they said elegant....I'd want more."  92 points.

1998 Riesling Spatlese "Niederhauser Kertz" (Mathern)
Another Nahe wine that has that little bit of distinctiveness that the region seems to produce, as I've been learning. I've called it raspberry; others settle for red fruit. This is an airy, elegant and fun wine, drinking nicely now, but showing a bit thin, too. The distinctiveness was welcome, because the wine needed something to focus it.  For summer, though, it a perfect, easy drinker. 86 points. 

1992 Bacchus Kabinett "Westhofener Aulerde" (Wittman)
How many odd grapes can the Germans make wine from? Quite a few. But Wittman is a super producer and this seven year old Kabinett is rather nice. (Bacchus is a cross between sylvaner and riesling.)  This has a nice body for its age and status. There are pretty peach notes on the nose, and the wine has harmonious acidity.  Pretty nice performance on the whole. 88 points.

1988 Gewurztraminer Auslese "Haardter Burgergarten" (Muller-Catoir)
This monumental wine is another reason why I pay homage regularly to Muller-Catoir. I was thinking recently that they are the Zind-Humbrecht of Germany.  Funny,  but this is a gewurz that reminds me of nothing more than a ZH Clos Windsbuhl from a great vintage.  This is also, by the way, about the greatest German gewurz I've had. Thick and rich, with an unbelievable finish, this very ripe, honeyed wine seems to belie its Auslese pradikat. Firing on all cylinders, it never gave a hint of quitting. Age 12, and still a baby.  It has it all.  The level of concentration and power this wine has is unusual for a German Auslese, and particularly a German gewurz, but perhaps it is just what we expect Muller-Catoir to achieve when they hit home runs. Bases loaded. Two outs in the ninth. Score tied. Well, you know the rest. 98 points.

Italy (except dessert/sparkling)
1995 Ateo (Ciacci Piccolomini) QPR Winner 
For about $25, this gives you Super Tuscan quality at a big discount. Intense and fruity, structured with a nice supporting tannic backbone, this wine melds power with fruit perfectly. With air, the tannins do their duty and integrate into the body nicely, and the roast cherry fruit flavors pop up and suffuse the wine's nose and your palate with flavor. Beautiful wine, like just about everything from this estate. 92 points.

1991 Brunello di Montalcino (Uccelleria)
Big and lush, with an excellent finish, this wine was fine Brunello. I liked everything about it, although I didn't quite find anything to really get excited about. Still, the ripeness, the texture and the pristine flavor made it a wine nobody could DISlike. Lotsa charm. 90 points.

1997 Dolcetto "S. Anna" (Vietti) QPR Winner 
Yum. For $14, you get Vietti Dolcetto. This is not quite up to the level of the Lazzarito that I reported on recently, but it doesn't have much to be ashamed about.  It opens hesitantly, showing good grip and power for a Dolcetto, but seems reserved and bland. Then, it explodes. The fruit emerges, seemingly chocolate cherry, and then turns brighter and even more expansive, with raspberry nuances. Drinking this wine was like being a kid in a candy store and being handed Snickers. It was hard to stop, even if you knew it would hurt the next day.  92 points.

Loire (except dessert/sparkling)
1999 Sancerre Rosé (Domaine Roger)
This is a rosé for lovers of Sancerre, all right. Sharp and pungent, with a heavy hit of acid, the wine shows good weight, good body and a lot of zing. It is a bit unbalanced in favor of acidity. Matched with the right foods, its unusual demeanor could be the perfect answer for something summery but not white. Whether you can deal with the acidic kick, which rather overwhelms the fruit at times, will depend on your palate and the food matchup.  This has a hard edge to it. 84 points.

1997 Savennières "Cuvée Speciale" (Domaine du Closel)
This interesting and enjoyable Savennières takes you through the obstacle course, but lands you safely back at home. It opened a bit dull, but then the flavors came out, and kept changing. Hmmm. Was that a bit of botrytis? A bit of cinnamon? Canteloupe? Canteloupe covered with cinnamon?  Add in some good acidity and weight, and the wine was interesting and flavorful and reasonably deep for its style and class.  When it settled down, it was solid and tasty, distinctive and very fine. 90 points.

1995 Coteaux du Layon "Beaulieu" (Chateau de la Soucherie/Tijou) QPR Winner 
Loire chenins are such great deals. Just $14 on release, for a ripe, round wine, off dry with some hints of botrytis. The depth is excellent, the finish is fine. The concentration levels belie what you think of as cheap white wine. Very well done. 90 points.

Rhone/South/Southwest France (except dessert/sparkling)
1998 Minervois (Chateau Prat-Majou-- C. Keim) QPR Winner 
This is another Southern French beauty from importer Hand Picked Selections. If it's not in your area, ask why! About $8,  this blended wine delivers plenty of Rhone-y qualities, from the nuances of game, to the ripe cherry fruit. It is drinking well now, although I was pleased to see some tannins emerge with air. The fruit improved and developed more flavor and weight, too. Medium bodied, a touch short of depth and finish compared to big boy wines, but way outclassing most things in this price range,  it is is real wine for a modest price. Elegant, balanced, with good stuffing in the middle. A steal.  When I lined this up in a peer group tasting of things like the Pomarades and Combes Hautes, below, this still outclassed the field.  88 points. 

1999 Tavel Rosé (Les Lauzeraies)  QPR Winner 
This pretty little Tavel is under $10 and does about everything well. Clean, pristine and elegant, it delivers purity of fruit on the finish with a good, solid body. It holds well with air, and never seems to get tired. Nice. 89 points.

1995 Syrah Vin de Pays du Gard (Mas de Aveylans) QPR Winner 
Rustic wine. This inexpensive syrah from the South of France is leathery and gamey, and not very deep. That said, there is good flavor, a nice balance of other elements like acid and fruit, and the wine has an honest, straight ahead simplicity, together with good varietal character. Too light to be distinguished at age 5,  with a fair bit of thinness in the mid-palate now, it is nonetheless a good, flavorful value for the price, around $10. If you like this, though, try the 1998 Prat-Majou, which has more intensity and is even cheaper.  85 points.

1994 Hermitage "La Chapelle" (Jaboulet)
This La Chapelle was generally not well received on release, though opinions differed. I now see a lot of reassessments about the wine pouring forth, with the reviews generally more positive. I'm about where I was, though I am more impressed with the quality of fruit showing now than on my last tasting. This is a useful, well structured La Chapelle, but not a great one. On opening, it seemed a bit odd, the fruit having a flavor somewhere between blueberry and rhubarb. At least, there was a lot of fruit. In earlier incarnations the stern tannins dominated the wine.  There is still a nice tannic backbone, and the wine has plenty of life in it. I don't see it as something that has to be drunk within ten years of vintage date. It is far more austere than the 1990, lacking its depth and pizazz, and not nearly as sexy as the 1989. Still, as it sat and developed, the flavors became more varietally true and the texture developed some soft velvet.  I am not sure, still, where this wine is going, but I would conclude tentatively that it is good, not great La Chapelle (which is a considerable improvement over earlier assessments). 88+ points.

1992 Coteaux du Languedoc "Clos Syrah Léone" (Peyre Rose)
Stern and powerful, brooding and tight, this wine was served to me blind and I really got no syrah essence off of it for half an hour. My first guess--I'm not ashamed to admit--was Bordeaux varietals, something big and powerful, too. As it opened, it developed some syrah nuances. The fruit became sweeter and more typical. We all looked up and nodded when someone said "five more years."  Some performance for a wine that was about $15 on release.  The word is out, by the way. Recent vintages are closer to the $30 price point. For wine of this depth, power, profundity and concentration--it is still a bargain.   92 points.

1997 Minervois (Domaine des Combes Hautes)  QPR Winner 
At this level of wine (under $7), and in this vintage, this is even more of an achievement than it seems at first blush. This major estate owned by a Belgian  in Minervois  has some upper level cuvées that it releases under Combe Blanche in various incarnations  (One of their best is the Minervois Chandeliere--give it a try! ). This is a relatively new entry level cuvée, which in 1997 was declassified from the bigger wines they make. No, it is not especially deep or powerful, and it needs drinking in the next year or so, but it is delicious, a classic Languedoc, with lots of powerful Carignan, and scents of game and earthy forest. It is a distinctive wine with a velvety texture. If you like your wines sweeter and purer with less game and less of the sauvage quality this has, this won't be your first choice, but for this price in 1997 this is hard to beat.  It stood up to higher priced 1998s (a great vintage)  in a peer group tasting.  Loses points for depth and ageworthy qualities, but for the short term that is not much of a concern. It is a style of wine that plays well and could fool some Rhone lovers. As time went on, this showed better and better, and considering the vintage, this was an achievement.   Shows a lot of class and while it didn't seem as deep as the Pomarades cab or merlot, below, it developed and held better than both.   86 points.

1997 Merlot Vin de Pays d'Oc (Domaine de la Presidente)
This opens nicely, but only for a little while. It is soft and pleasant, but ultimately the acid seems to be a bit more prominent. It has enough depth so that it seem thin or mean, but it fades fairly quickly and never showed much intensity or flavor. At the $5.50 price, this is just fine, but the same importer brought in a lot of other things that were better recently. A bit dull.  Needs drinking immediately. 80 points.

1997 Cabernet Vin de Pays de l'Ile de Beauté (Martine)  QPR Winner 
This Corsican wine is something you don't see every day. It is beautiful at the outset, with flavorful red berry notes. If it had been drunk quickly enough, I would've liked this a lot. My first impression was very positive and it was about to rack up a hefty score. However, it cracked up fast and eventually became totally dominated and unbalanced by acid.  If you scarf this up quickly, it may show better for you. It has a place and provides some value. Needs drinking immediately. 81 points. 

1998 Vin de Pays "Cuvée MC" (Domaine de la Madeleine)  QPR Winner 
This is an entry level bottling from this estate that provides a lot of value, but the wine seemed a bit dull and closed from the first bottle I had. I wondered if it would open and did not find out.  It seemed to have enough density and mid-palate weight (more than the Combes Hautes, for instance, less than the Prat-Majou at the beginning of this section) to make it satisfying in its texture and mouth feel at this price range ($8).  I wondered  if in a year this would show better or was it just the first bottle or circumstances?  A second tasting under better controlled circumstances went much better. It  revealed a wine with some welcome tannin on the finish that opened and developed Rhone-y flavors. It showed better, but you will have to like the sometimes characteristic, earthy, Rhone-like game and bacon fat flavors as the wine opens up. I also would recommend not letting this get too warm; it will drink better closer to 65 than 72 degrees--not that it should be cold or like cheap Beaujolais. As time went on, this grew on me, but it is not as immediately likeable as, say, the expansive, gentle and classy Combes Hautes.  82 points. 

1998 Vin de Pays d'Oc Cabernet (Domaine des Pomarèdes)  QPR Winner
This is a cab that opens tight and focused, but sharp and tinged with acid. It has some power and pretty decent weight in this roughly $7 price range, but I wasn't liking it a lot. To my pleasant surprise, it evolved and improved with air, and the fruit popped up, and sweet berry flavors mingled with the wine's bright structure. I began to rather like it a lot. The question for this wine is how it will show with a year more of age. It needs to have the components better integrated, particularly the acid.   85 points at its best.

1998 Vin de Pays d'Oc Merlot (Domaine des Pomarèdes)  QPR Winner 
To my surprise, this was a class act all the way. Languedoc Merlot? Yeah, right. This has intensity of flavor, though not much typicity if you are looking for Pomerol flavors.  The wine has some power, and most of all, with air it becomes supple and succulent, completely delicious and irresistible. Drink now.  Another good feature of this wine is its price--around $7, depending on your marketplace.  Its score will decline as it gets older, and as its big brother, the Cabernet above overtakes it.  I suspect it will hold nicely for a year or so, tops, and then gradually begin to lose charm. When it does, there will be nothing left. I don't think cellaring will help it at all. But it is drinking beautifully now. I can't predict how fast this will go downhill, so call this rating a score for the moment. Must be drunk for the short term.  NB: whether this was well stored or not, will count a lot. It will be easy to destroy that pristine, succulent lushness by poor storage, and other bottles did not show as well. For those that like American merlot, incidentally, this is a different creature, since it shows some Languedoc earthiness, too.   84 points.

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