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   Bordeaux  Burgundy: Red   &  White   Dessert/Sparkling 

California: Red  &  White   Germany     Loire   Rhone/South/SW France

Alsace (except dessert/sparkling)
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When I want typicity, concentration, class and varietal character, I can always look to Schleret, a vastly underrated producer that I have particularly liked for his classical, mid- and lower-level gewurzs.  This wine is more, though. As always, Schleret gets great varietal character from gewurz; there can be no doubt what this wine is, from the fragrance alone. But this is a remarkably thick, unctuous and dense wine, flaunting power and depth, with a fine finish.  It seems thick enough and sweet enough at first to work as a dessert wine, which is often the case for young VTs.  But with air, and as befits this fine producer, the wine develops more and more of the trademark gewurz spice and pepper.  This is a superlative wine in all respects.  It will be interesting to see how it ages; I hope I haven't underrated it.  95 points

1985 Riesling Rangen de Thann "Clos St. Urbain (Zind-Humbrecht)
Thinning and unimpressive, this wine has some gentle flavors left, especially at the back end, but the mid-palate seems thin, hollow and even watery.  There was nothing to impress here, even in a run of the mill riesling, let alone something of this pedigree.  I have not had this wine for nearly a decade, and thus cannot say if this is a typical bottle.  From this bottle, the results were pretty grim. 80 points.

1994 Riesling Rangen de Thann "Clos St. Urbain" (Zind-Humbrecht)
Now, this is a different story.  Elegant and balanced, and showing many components a bit in disarray at the moment, this wine provides an intense finish with a heavy hit of acid on the back end.  It seemed a bit light, although firm and focused, and what I liked best about it was its complexity. The wine was unusual in displaying some spice. The medley of flavors made it interesting to keep coming back to.  90 points.

1997 Pinot Gris “Rosenberg” (Barmès-Beucher)
Nice acidity provides a bit of refreshment in this balanced, flavorful wine. There is a vague hint of spice, and just a touch of off-dry on the finish. Medium bodied, and easy drinking. Quality pinot gris. 88 points.

1997 Muscat (Barmès-Beucher)
Light and unimpressive, this wine does nothing very well. It just "is." Those who love Muscat for its very special fragrance will be exceptionally disappointed because this wine has just about no bouquet. I didn't know it was possible for a good producer to make Muscat, even generic Muscat, that is this boring. I wonder if I could have identified it as Muscat in a blind tasting. OK, it's clean and correct. I can say something nice. 84 points.

1998 Gewurztraminer “Herrenweg” (Charles Schleret)
This modest gewurz is not meant to be a Big Boy, but still shows some typicity and clean, easy drinking.  With warmth and air, some spice and lychee nuances pop out. The wine is too light to be really interesting, and is already drinking well, but for middle of the road, inexpensive gewurz, it does a decent job. I've had better examples of this in other vintages, where it is usually a good QPR wine.  85 points.

1993 Gewurztraminer “Hengst”  (Zind-Humbrecht)
When young, this was a bigger, denser wine. Age, in this vintage, has robbed it of its depth and intensity. The mid-palate seems a bit watery and thin. What the wine retains though is very fine varietal typicity, spice and pepper. If it is not especially thick gewurz, it is classic gewurz. It is fading, but there is a certain gentle elegance about this wine that makes me judge it more generously than perhaps it deserves.  87 points.

1998 Riesling “Schlossberg”  (Albert Mann)
For young, grand cru riesling from a good producer, I found this rather light and disappointing. Oh, it has a lot of classic, typical riesling elements.  The wine is light, though (12.5% alcohol) and seems to have little concentration or depth in the mid-palate. The finish is a bit short, too. It's nice enough for routine wine, but from this producer's grand cru, I expect better. 85 points.

1997 Riesling “Hengst” (Barmès-Beucher) QPR Winner 
This intense, focused riesling has it all together. This is what you expect from grand cru. This is what you want the great Hengst vineyard to deliver. Powerful and dense, the wine features bright acidity and lots of concentration.  It needs some cellaring time before it hits peak. I would wait at least two years before trying it again. At that point, I hope the wine will have knit together. And if so, it should be stunning riesling. At about $26, this is also pretty reasonably priced for wine of this quality and grand cru status.  90-92 points.

1994 Gewurztraminer “Goldert” Vendange Tardive (Zind-Humbrecht)
The 1994 ZHs are wonderfully deep and intense wines as they move up into grand cru and/or VT status. This Goldert VT, both grand cru and VT, does about what you expect--it takes no prisoners. The sweetness has mostly blown off (as it tends to do with VTs as they age), but the depth and power remains, and the wine is pristine. There is just a hint of botrytis, and as the wine aired out and warmed up, some varietal characteristics popped out, too. They were hidden at first because the wine is so powerful and so dense. The quality of fruit here is simply exceptional. 94 points.

Bordeaux (except dessert/sparkling)
1992 Haut Brion
Served from double magnum, this wine promised to be unusually well preserved, a 1992 that would still have stuffing and something special about it. Wrong-o. One of the lightest vintages in recent times has produced a wine under a famous label that is, less than ten years later, starting to thin out. Some of the nicest 1992s, when drunk young, had an enjoyable texture that compensated for their lack of depth and concentration. This seemed to be a wine like that when young. Now, one notes mostly the thinness, the ordinary aspects of it. It is run of the mill Bordeaux, something you might expect from a run of the mill winery. Correct and pristine, but thin, short and unexceptional in every respect.  84 points.

1985 Chasse Spleen
 This is not a particularly deep or intense wine, but just as it was when young, it is a beautifully harmonious wine that projects charm and elegance. There is a bit of tar and roasted meat on the finish. The wine improves with air and shows some of the sensual roundness for which this vintage is known in Bordeaux. 88 points.

1985 Canon-La-Gaffeliere 
Medium bodied and rather restrained, this wine is in perfect shape, if a bit subtle. With air, the flavors poke out, some game, some chocolate. The fruit is alive and shows little hint of thinning. A very respectable performance some 15 years out by this producer. 89 points. 

1990 Canon-La-Gaffeliere
 A beautiful wine, with intense fruit in the mid-palate, and lots of sweet fruit. No, it's not Petrus or La Conseillante. But there is plenty of velvet to the texture, plenty of ripeness to the fruit, and a very pleasing and long finish. 90 points.

1985 Mouton Rothschild 
This bottle showed some seepage and seemed about ten years older than it should. Still, it otherwise showed beautifully and seemed to be classic Mouton. The pungent lead and tobacco bouquet follows through onto the palate, which is, as always, impeccably balanced. The wine never seems weighty, but on the finish the fruit is sweet and the flavor lingers. With air, the medley of flavors becomes a bit more rustic, with some charred beef notes. The wine's intensity is real, even though it doesn't hit you over the head on the first pour. Even from this bottle, which was clearly not pristine, this is a fine showing. 91 points. 

1982 Gruaud Larose
Opening generously from this bottle, the 1982 Gruaud delivers sweet, ripe and very, very deeply concentrated fruit. The wine is not jammy sweet, though. The fruit is remarkably focused, and the mid-palate seems rock solid. It opens, and evolves, throughout the evening and keeps getting better. Simply beautiful in terms of depth and concentration. 95 points.

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 Burgundy (red) (except dessert/sparkling)
1990 Charmes-Chambertin (Mommessin)
 Soft and velvety, loaded with charm, no pun intended, this wine shows elegance and flavor, with great texture.  As the evening wore on, it seemed to fade a bit. It lacks a bit of depth and intensity. But the ripe berry flavors were very attractive, and the velvety texture made it particularly appealing. I could score it big on texture alone.  90 points.

1988 Bonnes Mares (Comtes de Vogue)
When I bought this, knowing it was not a great Vogue vintage, I was told not to bother. Hah. The first bottle was hard and unforgiving. Uh-oh.. The second bottle a few years later developed some bouquet, and I began to enjoy it. The third bottle I liked. This, the fourth bottle, with air, finally began to open, seemed surprisingly sweet, and developed a nice nose, too. As the evening wore on, I found it difficult to believe that this was the same wine that showed so hard and unforgivingly ten years back. The ripeness and sweetness of the fruit seemed to be candied raspberries.  Yet the wine also had a long, lingering finish and a bit of a tannic kick.  Like most 88s, it is not the most charming of wine, but the flavorful fruit went toe to toe with the tannins.   This keeps showing better and better, and I tend to agree with another taster now that it needs more time still. Hard to believe. And I wish I'd bought more.  90-92 points.

1990 Beaune "Les Chouacheux" (Machard de Gramont)
Simply beautiful, one of the best wines I have ever had from this estate and a stunning Beaune.  It opened silky and elegant but a touch closed. With air the sweet fruit popped out.  And then redoubled in flavor and intensity. At one point it seemed so thick, so creamy and intense, it was as if it were concentrated tba-style chambord. With more air, it regained its balance and revealed tannins and structure, too.  The intensity of flavors was remarkable and Beaune this deep was surprising. It did fall off a touch at the very end of the evening, but until then it had a fine finish and good staying power, and kept developing all night long.  Needs cellaring, and could improve more. 93+ points.

1995 Cote de Nuits Villages "Clos de Chapeau" (Domaine de l'Arlot) QPR Winner  
Here's a big winner and a big surprise.  I've had it before so I wasn't personally surprised. But one shock was uncorking the bottle and smelling an intense, pungent odor that led us to conclude the bottle was as badly corked as anything we had ever experienced. Then we all smelled it in the glass.....and it was fine. Odd. Perhaps odder still, given the general quality of cheap Burgundy, was that this bottle cost about $12 on release. It has some depth, flavor, a nice solid, velvety texture and a decent finish. The fruit is perhaps more rhubarb than raspberry,  and perhaps a touch herbal, but ripe and concentrated for this level without a trace of thinness and delightful.  The wine held beautifully all night long. Some performance for $12.  88 points.

1988 Monthelie (Chauvenet)
I expected nothing at all from this old village wine and unappreciated appellation. But to my surprise, it had some charm and flavor and was certainly well worth drinking. It is beginning to lose some fruit and it was best to catch it early in the evening. But while "on," it was bright, fresh and lively and tinged with raspberry, not the oxidized strawberry older Burgs sometimes show.  Not stunning, but certainly exceeded expectations. Not a lot of depth.   84 points.

1983 Nuits St Georges "Les Boudots" (J. Grivot)
I expected nothing from this wine.  1983 has been responsible for some of the worst Burgundy performances I have ever had.  I was wrong. A lovely nose exceeded the palate, but the palate had good weight and depth, and a nice finish. The palate showed some oxidation and that strawberry flavor older Burgs get, but it was well integrated and gently charming while it lasted and still provided lots of flavor and some intensity. It did fade and start to crack up in the last third of the evening, but it is one of the more impressive recent performances from a 1983 I have had of late.  At its peak it was better than the score, and I enjoyed it a lot.  88 points.

1990 Pommard "Charmot" (Parigot Père et fils)
This big wine is in a dumb stage, and completely shut down. The weight and concentration are considerable, though, and on the finish you can begin to detect some intense fruit.  There's also a hit of brett, but the wine pretty much overwhelmed that aspect quickly.  It was hard to evaluate other than to say it was closed and will almost certainly come around, providing, I would wager,  a well concentrated wine with good flavor. 89-91 points. 

1985 Clos St. Denis (G. Lignier)
On opening, I thought this wine had long since passed peak. I got a hint of acid, and not much more. Cracking up? Then I got a whiff of a mature, red berry bouquet. In about ten minutes, the wine pulled itself off the floor and knit together. Suddenly, it was very charming, very interesting Burgundy, with clearly defined flavors leaning to strawberry and maybe just a touch of animal. The wine needs drinking, to be sure. The fruit has thinned some. But at the moment, once it pulls together, it is fine enough so that you don't waste much time worrying about what it doesn't have, or will soon lose. Hubert gets most of the PR but Georges Lignier ain't bad, either, even at this point in time. 88 points.

1993 Gevrey-Chambertin "Combe aux Moines" (P. LeClerc)
Some strawberry fruit pokes through, but this wine is mostly a haze of acid and tannin. With a lot of air, it opened and developed some, but I can't say it ever became particularly charming or flavorful. It had good weight and depth, but not much more. On the whole, it was just disappointing, disjointed, unbalanced and routine. Probably not what you were looking for.  Will it develop with more age?  Perhaps. But I don't think so. The lack of balance was too disturbing for it to be a top notch wine.  85 points.

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Burgundy (white) (except dessert/sparkling)
1991 Pernand "Ile des Vergelesses" (Chandon de Briailles)
I was wholly unimpressed with this wine, which I found to be thinning. The acid started to dominate and the flesh was not fleshy enough to make me happy. I think this wine is just fading.  There was no "there" there. (And by the way, in an aside, when we pulled the cork, it had RED wine stains on it!) This was the type of white Burg (and chard)  that makes me yawn when considering white Burgs. 83 points.

1990 Puligny-Montrachet "Les Folatières" (G. Chavy)
I had never heard of this producer.  I loved this wine, although I would caution that it is a bit eccentric. Very nutty, with hints of caramel and a touch overripe perhaps, this ain't subtle. But it is big, thick and mouth puckering, both because of the fruit and the underlying acidity, which nicely cut the thick fruit. I don't know if this would have made me think "Burgundy" first in a blind tasting, but its caramel and nut flavors made it delicious. So I drank it, shut up, and stopped writing. 90 points.

1996 Meursault "Clos des Perrières" (A. Grivault)
For a 1996, this seemed rather flabby, thin and unfocused.  Call me unimpressed.  Acid mingles with the modest fruit, and there are touches of traditional hazelnuts on the finish. The wine does nothing very badly, nor anything very well. Its lack of mid-palate concentration is its undoing. 85 points.

1990 Meursault-Charmes (Bouzeraux)
Elegant and sprightly, this wine attracts you with its lively acidity but then surprises with its depth and finish. Pure and pristine, charming and invigorating, this is lovely Meursault. Classy and well bred.  91 points.

1992 Chassagne-Montrachet "Morgeots" (Colin-Deleger)
The nose was a bit off-putting and sulfurous, but that didn't stop me and I was rewarded. The wine was round and harmonious. The components were perfectly knit together and there were nuances of nuts and less on the palate. The smooth, ripe body had a texture that I liked a lot. It was hard to get past the stinky nose, though. Otherwise, this might have scored big. 89 points.

California/USA (red) (except dessert/sparkling)
1974 Cabernet (Stonegate)
I gave this wine credit for little while I pulling the cork, but it surprised me. Maybe lowered expectations had something to do with it. It opened spicy, showing some candied cherry fruit, which quickly blended into the medium weight body to provide a harmonious whole. The wine was not showing much age or much in the way of oxidation defects. It seemed relatively pristine. While open, it did not last all night long, and didn't develop much beyond the first hour, but it was charming, flavorful and lively for that time. A very good performance, and fun to drink. 87 points.

1997 Cabernet Franc (Niebaum-Coppola)
This entry into the cab franc sweepstakes is a big winner. The fruit is redolent of dark currant jelly, but is well supported by some tannins that appear on the finish and with air.  There are no jammy characteristics here; in fact the wine is a bit stern. In flavor profile it seems a bit racy, fairly bright.  It is a wine that I think would be interesting to serve blind in flights of French wines for comparison. The only question is how the fruit will evolve, and its balance with the fairly astringent tannins lying underneath the surface. It is approachable now, but will be better in one to two years, when I would guess it will be at peak.  I think the fruit, while flavorful, is not deep enough to support a longer aging profile. Still, the flavors are prominent and the wine is focused, a pleasure to drink. 88-90 points.

1995  Cabernet "Herb Lamb Vineyard" (Colgin)
I've reported on this recently at a tasting, but this time I had a chance to sit with the wine through a long night, and also open it side by side with a more classic wine (see 1980 Montelena, below). My ultimate score is in the same ballpark, but my impressions are somewhat different. I did not get the harsh tannins this time on the finish, but the wine retains its remarkable lushness, and exceptionally sweet fruit. There is a hit of acid hiding in there, too. The powerful,  fragrant nose and the black cherry nuances are amazingly appealing, and the velvety texture is sensuous. But what this wine also showed that I didn't get last time was a rather eccentric flavor profile. It seemed to have some rhubarb and not as much cassis. It seemed to have, well, herbs. No pun intended. If the wine was somewhat eccentric, it was nonetheless delicious and impossible to keep one's hands off of.  Those who really insist on typicity may not like it as much as I did.  But I figure this isn't supposed to be a Bordeaux look alike.  94 points. 

1980 Chateau Montelena
Tasted next to the 1995 Colgin throughout a long night, this was revealing in many respects. It had more power, more tannin, a more intense finish and a more classic, cassis profile. It wasn't as exotic, as lush, as sensuous or flamboyant, the flavors weren't as overt and the nose wasn't quite as good. But they were both wonderful, and it was a classic example of how a single style does not have to be the ONLY style. Unlike the Colgin, which was delicious at the outset and held perfectly, the Montelena did not reach its best until we were a couple of hours into the night. At that point the tannins finally moderated and the fruit got sweeter. The balance became perfect and it became a bright, focused, medium-bodied cab in perfect harmony with its components. This has always been one of my favorite Montelenas. My last bottle did not disappoint me.  It was still improving at the end of the evening.  93 points. 

1994 Pinot Noir "Case" (Talbott)
Not too many people seem to know this pinot made by Talbott. It's great stuff.  On release, I know some tasters who questioned whether it would hold. But this wine shows today the same depth and focus that it had on release, together with the same exuberant flavors. Tightly wound still, the ripe cherry nuanced fruit makes for a fulfilling mid-palate experience.  Nice nose and finish, too, and the wine held effortlessly through an evening. This can easily be cellared for another five years with classic storage.  90 points.

1987 & 1990 Pinot Noir "Allen Vineyard" (Williams Selyem)
When WS pinots are young, they seem as far as you can get from Burgundy. When they are around 10+ years old--and they hold deceptively well--suddenly, you begin to say "Burgundy." It is a tribute to the complexity, style and quality of the fruit and winemaking. What a tragedy that this winery has been sold, lost some key vineyard areas and seen some of its guiding lights ride off into the sunset. It is as if  DRC were sold and lost La  Romanée.  Sob. Anyway. ... The 1987 is the lesser of these two wines. It shows a very light, watery color. Yet, the palate is far better. Although it does have a heavy strawberry overlay (the sign of aging pinot for me), and the body has thinned considerably, the fruit is still flavorful, and the whole is elegant and charming. This wine has passed its peak, but on the other hand, when served blind, I guessed it was a mature 1985 Burgundy. So it must be doing something right. For the 1987, good symmetry with 87 points.  The 1990 is a prime time wine, on the other hand. Bigger, denser and more substantial, it has some of that strawberry and a bit of tea, but it also has much more intense flavors and more depth. When I last had this a couple of years ago, it was a fruit bomb. I never thought it was truly great WS, but it has certainly evolved well and better than I expected.  This current bottle seems much farther along, as well as having the extra couple of years, but its grace and focus in the mid-palate make it a winner still. More symmetry, for the 1990, call it  90 points.

1995 Cabernet (Buehler)
Buehler went through a short period of cult wine status, but no longer has much profile. They're still making nice wines, but this certainly shows why they have slipped out of view.  This is understated, and a Bordeaux ringer. For its youth, I think it shows a bit too little fruit and flavor, and its depth is suspect. There are still nice cassis notes, and the wine is bright and elegant, if a little too light. This has its place in a cru bourgeois sense, but it could use more oomph. 86 points.

1995  "Claret" (White Rock)
I presume this Bordeaux-styled wine is called Claret for that reason. It is a great Bordeaux imitator and very nice. It delivers good intensity and depth, perfect balance and subtle cassis notes. Its texture is lovely. This is neither the biggest, the most ageworthy, nor the most flavorful Cal cab/meritage you will find, but it delivers a lot in a Bordeaux style. 89 points.

1995 Trilogy (Flora Springs)
Very ripe, with a dense, black currant core, this wine mingles a lot of factors together with great fruit. The tannins are ripe, but significant enough to provide aging potential.  The acidity is prominent and a little annoying at times after the wine airs out. I wonder whether someone manipulated the acidity levels here.  With a few more years of cellaring, all the components here will likely pull together into a very pleasing wine, although it is a bit disjointed now. I'm  not sure, however,  that it will quite reach the "exceptional" level.  89-90 points.

1997 Affinity (Robert Craig)
This pretty, elegant wine does so much right that it is a shame to focus on its flaws. At its best, it reminds me of modern Chateau Palmer.... as it ages, when the fruit thins, when the texture develops that velvety mouthfeel,  when the fragrance develops. The balance here is exceptional, and with air it opens and becomes a lighter-styled Bordeaux ringer. The tannins are hard to find; supple would be an understatement.  At the moment, the wine is sensuous and charming. But something this drinkable and light at age 3 is a little disturbing. There is a certain thinness to the wine, a bit of hollowness in the mid-palate. For a premium wine (around $40 or so), this need more depth and concentration. If it showed this well at age 10 or 15, it might be a different story.  While this is a pleasure to drink now, it seems to me that a premium wine needs a little more intensity and oomph to claim a rightful place in this price range.  88 points.

1985 Dominus
This was a tannic monster when young, but it showing much better now. It still has a long life ahead. As tannic as it was, the depth of fruit was always exceptional, and so it is now. The wine is burly and rich, but the mouthgripping fruit is still focused and ripe, with some game nuances. It opens and evolves throughout the night, peeling away layers. Superbly concentrated, and showing just a touch of oxidation. This the best this wine has ever showed in my view. 92 points.

California/USA (white) (except dessert/sparkling)
1994 Chardonnay "Diamond T" (Talbott)
This youthful Diamond T is another superlative effort from Talbott. Year in, year out, it is one of my favorite California chards. This version, in contrast to the 1993, shows more of a creamy texture from what appears to be French oak. The fruit is ripe and rich, however, and the nose is fragrant. There is some balancing acidity as well. When you put it all together, it is a  rich, mouthful of wine that delivers structure and flavor. 92 points.

1996 & 1995 Chardonnay "Cuvée Indigene" (Peter Michael)
These are two superlative Indigenes from Peter Michael. If you're oak-averse, you may have some complaints. If you can be just a little tolerant, there is an awful lot here to like. At this juncture, whether inherently or because of the vintage differential, I preferred the 1996 by a considerable margin when tasted next to the 1995. The 1995 Indigene is a beautiful wine, though. It is broad, expansive and fully open, with nut and cream flavors, and a long finish. Ripe, and mouth coating, yet surprisingly elegant. 90 points. The 1996 seems much more focused, intense and deep, though. Again, could that be a function of another year of cellaring? Perhaps. But right now, the crème brulée flavors are more than balanced by an intense, focused mid-palate attack, with just enough acidity to be noticeable. Stunningly concentrated, yet not at all clunky, this wine lingers and keeps assaulting your taste buds. Superlative chardonnay. 95 points.

1997 Chardonnay (Ledson)
I had never heard of this winery, let alone its chardonnay. But here's a winner. The wine is deep, and creamy in texture. It has just a touch of mineral on the finish. The acid mingles nicely with the oak, and neither element is too dominant. I was appreciative of the concentration levels and the overall quality, and the touch of minerals added a distinctive note. I'd like to try more from this winery. 91 points.

1995 Chardonnay (Hanzell)
It is true that some like cleaner, purer chardonnay, unadorned by oak, or even much lees. Well, I wouldn't say this is 100% oak free, but the oak is not very noticeable, and the wine's bright, liveliness is the dominant impression. Good medium-weight mid-palate, with a gun metal flavor. This gives the impression of being pristine and pure. Pretty nice. 88 points.

Dessert / Sparkling Wines
1990 Vouvray Selection de Grains Nobles "Le Marigny" Vielles Vignes (Fouquet)
Infused with essence of apricot, this wine is rich and thick and sensational. The finish assaulted your tastebuds and never seemed to end in the time left in the evening.  Dense, concentrated, delicious. Superior wine all around. 95 points. 

1989 Riesling Beerenauslese "Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl" (Paul Anheuser)
Bright, and marked with acid notably on the finish, this wine also shows just enough perceptible sweetness to absorb the acid. The body weight is good, but not thick, and the fruit is fully open and pristine. The purity of flavor and the intense finish provide the coup de grace. 91 points. 

1995 Sainte Croix du Mont (Chateau de la Rame) QPR Winner 
This producer from a Sauternes satellite appellation is one of Big Boys in the region. They tend not to make big powerful wines, but rather unctuous ones that seem sometimes a bit sweeter than Sauternes, at least in perception if not in fact.  This is medium bodied and not as intense as the 1990 (a great vintage) was at a similar age. Round, open and beaming with charm, its texture and flavor are superb, and the finish is good, too. Not much botrytis, no apparent oak, no tannin. If I had a complaint, it is that it could use a little more power (like the 1990 had). In short, it's Sauternes, but a little different than Sauternes. It's de la Rame, and its bargain priced, too, at about $20 per 500ml. 88 points.

1992 Tokaji 6 puts (Disnoko)
This AXA property (Jean-Michel Cazes) is one of the leading lights in Tokaji these days. This is definitely new wave Tokaji. Reasonably thick and sweet, yet balanced and charming, the wine shows not a trace of oxidation, just pure fruit flavors redolent of apricot and mango. I've had bigger and deeper Tokaji, especially in the 6 puts range, but rarely ones so well balanced. 90 points.

1992 Riesling Beerenauslese “Bopparder Hamm Ohleberg” Mittlerhein (Weingart)
This BA strikes a beautiful balance amongst its many components. It is ripe and smooth, but not very heavy. It is sweet, but not sugary. It has acid, but not too much. I frankly would just as soon have my BAs a little thicker and sweeter, but the wine has tons of charm, and nice, intense core of fruit in the mid-palate. You couldn't not like this, unless perhaps you are Scrooge.  90 points.

1989 Sauternes (Latour Blanche)
Rich and pungent, this Sauternes showed many layers and kept evolving while I kept it open. Fresh and pristine at first, it kept adding weight and distinctiveness. It is not the biggest, best or most interesting Sauternes, but it was pretty fine.  90 points. 

1990 Coteaux du Layon (Baumard)
This  Coteaux du Layon from this great producer is, at age 10,  deliciously ripe, and in fine shape. There is a tangy citrus flavor to the wine, and in both balance and freshness it seems very sprightly. A pleasure to drink, with a fine finish, too, it has a more than acceptable medium bodied weight with good depth and concentration, if not much exuberance. Easy to drink, but getting to the point where it is probably better all by itself than as dessert wine.  90 points.

1989 Abalonga Beerenauslese "Westhofener Steingrube"  (Wittman)
This is a gently aging and genteely fading wine that nonetheless is...delightful. The roasted apricot and orange rind flavors are perhaps more of a product of ensuing oxidation than the Abalonga grape, and the wine does lose some fruit with air. BUT for all of its brightness and lightness, it has an amazing finish, all things considered, and intense flavor. It feels thicker and richer than it is. The fruit shows too much thinning and oxidation for my taste, but this wine has hardly given up the ghost. 89 points.

1998 Botrytis Affected Riesling (Tim Adams)
Simply beautiful. I had this for the first time at the Clare Valley winery in Australia. It is better now. It seems to be a dead ringer for a German Auslese. The acidity and the rich, ripe fruit fight for control. Neither wins; you do. Lively and bright, sweet and friendly. Filled with sunshine, and lingering. Another Aussie stickie superstar. 94 points.

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Germany (except dessert/sparkling)
1989 Riesling Auslese "Schlossbockeiheimer Kupfergrube" (Nahe State Domain)
Lemony at times, this wine manages to integrate its acidity with considerable sweetness, so much so that it seemed sweeter than the 1989 Nahe BA from Anheuser (note above) next to which it was opened.  The body is relatively dense and powerful, enough so that there is glycerine and mouth coating fruit apart from the effects of the acidity,  and the finish is intense. Simply superlative, flamboyant, lively and fun. 93 points. 

1996 Muskateller QBA Trocken  Wurttemberg (Graf Neipperg)
Inexpensive, under $8, and frankly, it shows. The wine does show some flavor occasionally, but for the most part it is too light and too watery to be of much interest. It has no nose to speak of, and very little varietal typicity. Boring and bland. 80 points.

1997 Gewurztraminer Spätlese “Burrweiler Altenforst” Pfalz (Messmer)
This modest (and inexpensive--under $15) wine is off dry and pleasing in a certain sense. It goes down easy, and is a good choice on a hot summer day. It lacks, however, depth, intensity, focus and much in the way of varietal character. Pleasant enough, even tasty at times, but not exactly what I would call a success. 84 points.

1998 Riesling Kabinett “Wehlener Sonnenuhr” Mosel (Kerpen)
Beautifully elegant, this charming Kabinett is light and airy, but never seems watery or thin. It has a fragrant nose and tingly acidity that refreshes rather than dominates. No, it's not very intense or deep, but it is fine, straight ahead Mosel Kabinett. 89 points.

1998 Riesling Spätlese “Norheimer Kirschheck” Nahe (Dönnhoff)
This stunner shows a lot of depth and power for this classification of wine. Thick and intense, it boasts a long finish, superb nose and focused, pure flavor. This can keep and develop, but I thought it was also delicious right now despite its youth and exuberance. Beautifully concentrated in the mid-palate, too.  93 points.

1998 Riesling Spätlese “Bernkasteler Bratenhöfchen” Mosel (Kerpen)
Drinking this after the Nahe wine from Donnhoff, above, was probably a mistake. The lighter-styled Mosel suffered badly in comparison. While still charming, with refreshing acidity, it seems a little unfocused and not very intense. Pleasing, but seriously outclassed by the company in which it was opened. 87 points.

1998 Riesling Auslese *  “Wehlener Sonnenuhr” Mosel (Kerpen) 
In most respects, I would call this middle of the road Auslese, straightforward, correct and very good, but not really exceptional. The one caveat, however, is the superb, lingering, clinging finish. The assault begins with lemons and acid, and then the fruit pokes through, too. It seems a little too light at its core, but that finish made up for a lot. Could improve with cellaring, too.  88-90 points.

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Loire (except dessert/sparkling)
1978 Chinon (Olga Raffault)
Going, going, gone. There was a moment, oh, about 10 seconds, when I found a hint of dying fruit. It didn't last long before its ignominious death. The weight on the wine is pretty good, but the fruit was marked by oxidation and the wet leaves smell of decay. There really wasn't much to taste. By the end of the evening, even smelling what was left from the bottle was annoying, give the whiff of decay.  On the road to vinegar.  Call it an antique. Even an antique lover would be hard pressed to drink this, though.  68 points.

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Rhone/South/Southwest France (except dessert/sparkling)
1998 Cuvée des Galets Vin de Table (Vignerons d'Estezargues)
This dirt cheap ($7 or so depending on where you find it) wine from Languedoc seems like a quality Côtes du Rhone. Half young Grenache, and half old Carignan, the flavors are dominated by the strawberry grenache. The grenache dominates the nose, too, and makes the wine very appealing. The carignan gives it the body it needs. Medium bodied at best without much depth, the carignan saves the wine from being light and watery.  This is not a weak sister, though, and for early drinking the wine has more than sufficient body. It  delivers a touch of game and brett for character and it profits quite a bit from fifteen minutes breathing, too. The fruit melds with the moderate tannins and becomes more intense. At the moment this is bursting with flavor, and is ready to drink now.  Early maturing, but exuberant and delicious. Distinctive wine at a nominal price; loses some points for anticipated short life span, but it is a lot of fun now.  Must be drunk for the short term. Normally I score for potential. This has none. It's just fun NOW and should really lose more point for aging ability. It's too charming to begrudge a couple of points though.  87 points.

1990 Chateauneuf du Pape (Vieux Telegraphe)
This is a charming rather than intense Chateauneuf. At age 10, it shows restraint and balance, but not much voluptuousness, depth or intensity. For all that, it is focused and flavorful, with just a hint of bacon fat, and incredibly charming. Lacking in power, it substitutes harmony and easy drinking pleasure. At this point, from this bottle, this is not a great Chateauneuf, but it is certainly something you'll want to drink. 89 points.

1990 Hermitage Blanc "Chevalier de Sterinberg" (Jaboulet)
I've reported on this before, and this bottle is no different. Meaning, it's spectacular, one of the finest white Rhones I've had the pleasure to drink. Yes, I think Chave is better in this vintage. But this is stupendous anyway. The powerful, rich fruit is tinged with smoke, lees and charcoal nuances. The concentration level is remarkable, and the finish seems more or less endless. Stunning, long and delicious. 95 points.

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