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. 

Australia   Bordeaux   Burgundy (red)    Burgundy (white)   
California/USA (red)  California/USA (white)   Dessert /Sparkling 
Germany   Italy     Rhone/South/Southwest France

Australia  (except dessert/sparkling)
1998 Shiraz "Block 6" (Kay Brothers)
Creamy, with blueberry overtones, this very accessible, fruit forward shiraz seems well balanced and well rounded. The texture is milk, rather than velvet, and no doubt that comes from the oak, which lends some vanillin overlay to the wine, although not in an overbearing way. The color is inky black, and this is amazingly youthful in appearance. It is hard to believe it drinks so well now. At this point in time, I noticed little tannin, and I wonder how the wine will age. Maybe it's hiding underneath and is just closed. For the moment, I call this a mid-term wine that is appealing for the short term, and note that it is at a hard stage to evaluate. 89-91 points.

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Bordeaux  (except dessert/sparkling)
1962 La Mission Haut Brion
For a short while, this seemed somewhat miraculous. There was a touch of charred, slightly faded fruit. But the texture was gorgeous, pure velvet. The fruit had flavor.  The body had mid-palate concentration. The wine seemed bright and alive. While it was alive, it was quite impressive, and at its best, which is perhaps a fair way to score older wines (hi-lo ranges might be indicative of more than an ultimate result!), I would have given it 88 points. Within half an hour or forty-five minutes, the wine had faded. Within an hour and a half, it became increasingly and extremely acidic, and the fruit  badly oxidized. After the first hour or so, call it 78 points. After two, call it undrinkable.  Drink fast, and you'll have a good time.

1990 Pichon Baron
About as good as any Pichon Baron I have ever had, this remarkable wine has it all. Sexy and voluptuous, exuberant and youthful, it shows pure, ripe and concentrated flavor with tons of flavor wrapped in a core of crushed velvet. Yet, with air, it shows perfect balance, finesse and great typicity, too. This may  not have the tannin to age as well as the superlative 1989 Pichon Baron, but its highs may be higher. When I drink wines like this, I am reminded of the poor soul who once told me that Bordeaux was merely an intellectual experience. Alas. He has missed a lot, and this wine defines sensuality. 94 points.

1990 Forts de Latour
Classical, medium bodied Pauillac.  If you make me summarize this wine in a few words, that would do it. Elegant, with just enough mid-palate concentration, this opens as a pleasing wine to drink, but continues to evolve. There is just enough tannin to support it, and the balance is impeccable. With air, it develops more cassis and lead notes, and the finish is longer than concentration levels would have led me to expect. A very pleasing, elegant wine, with lots of charm and typicity, if not quite a killer. 90 points. 

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Burgundy (red) (except dessert/sparkling)
1990 Corton "Clos des Corton" (Faiveley)
Tightly wound on opening,  although not obviously big and deep, this wine took a couple of hours to evolve into something more open. It wasn't exactly tannic or unpleasant on opening, although it seemed too foursquare, and closed, a bit dull. The cherry notes that would later blossom were slightly bitter. With long aeration, the wine finally did open, and the cherry notes developed a sweeter, more pristine air. This wine did a lot of good things, but it also seemed a bit stolid and routine at times. At its best, it was pleasing, fun and enjoyable, but I couldn't get truly excited about it. 89 points.

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Burgundy (white) (except dessert/sparkling)
1990 Meursault "Clos de la Barre" (Comtes Lafon)
This suffered a little for being drunk next to the immense, very concentrated Corton Blanc below, from Chandon de Briailles.  It was lovely, but not what I would call exciting. As a lot of Lafon does, this opened angular and tight, with acid on the back end. It needed air, and showed considerable benefit from aeration, developing nice lees flavors and nutty aromas. It never seemed to have a lot of stuffing in the mid-palate, and seemed a bit compact. I recall having this wine when it was younger and a bit more exuberant, so perhaps time has thinned the fruit a bit.  Very classy and graceful, but I doubt that anyone would get really, really excited about this in a blind tasting with the producer's name hidden. 89 points.

1990 Corton (Chandon de Briailles)
Corton has the reputation of producing fat, big wines. I often don't find that reputation follows through, but here's a stereotype, and a stunner, from this great, highly underrated estate. Heavy lees notes are matched and then trumped by remarkably concentrated fruit, and a thick, dense, mid-palate. Air balances the wine, but the fruit remains mouth coating to the end, and the fruit and lees flavors assaulted the taste buds all night long. The beautiful bouquet redolent of the trademark hazelnuts was powerful and welcome, too.  The depth of fruit, the youthfulness of the wine, and the purity of flavor were all simply remarkable. Call it absolutely stunning Corton blanc. 95 points.

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California/USA (red) (except dessert/sparkling)
1997 Petite Sirah (Mirassou) QPR Winner
This is an easy drinking, medium bodied wine with some good fruit in the mid-palate and some earthiness on the finish. It is pleasing and has some character, and its charm is not diminished because it is inexpensive!  It is not the most distinctive wine in the world, and shows stolidly and dull at times. Still, a good deal for the bucks.  Approachable now, I don't think it is in any danger of falling apart with further cellaring, but I also don't think cellaring will improve it any.  84 points.

1997 Cabernet "Oakville" (Franciscan) QPR Winner
Sweet, soft and flamboyant, this gentle wine may not remind you much of a cabernet, but it is fun to drink. At the right moment and right time, it would be a perfect choice. The fruit is very soft, and the wine is completely open and accessible. The fruit is very sweet, and there is something of a candied note on the finish. Still, for an inexpensive wine it delivers a velvety texture and tastes great. Great cabernet it ain't. Fun wine, it sure is. Some will not like its atypical, somewhat eccentric style. Others will be beguiled by its charm. Ready to roll, and loses points as a short termer, but very attractive now. 84 points.

1993 Zinfandel "Old Vines" (Acacia) QPR Winner
Tangy and spicy, this sweet and somewhat eccentric but beautifully preserved wine drew guesses from all over the lot. Acacia does pinot. Perhaps not surprisingly, some guessed pinot. Others guessed grenache. Still others thought shiraz, the latter perhaps being influenced by some touches of mint typical of American oak. The oak is well integrated here, though, and the main feature is the very sweet, strawberry tinged fruit. I would have had to guess Aussie grenache myself. With air, it developed nice balanced and the components pulled together beautifully. It showed some dust and gravel at the end, too. On the whole, a very nice showing from an aging zin and a producer not known for it. 87 points.

1997 Cabernet Reserve (Raymond) QPR Winner
Smooth and velvety, this supple wine emits flavor and bouquet effortlessly, and remains impeccably balanced. At first, the nose seems blueberry-tinged, but as the wine airs, it develops some more typical red fruit flavors. Every single component is in perfect harmony, and the wine's texture makes it a pleasure to drink. This is at best a mid-term wine, and my view is that it will never show better than it does today. It seems completely ready, and is completely charming, too. Loses some points for depth and aging potential, but don't let that affect how you view this today. 87 points.

1995 Grenache "South Hart Vineyard" (BV) QPR Winner
Flamboyant on opening, and rather sweet, this exudes bright strawberry fruit.  I didn't think it did much in the glass in terms of evolution or development, but I sure liked how it showed initially. Take it for what it is, an in-your-face, easy drinking wine that isn't too complicated. 85 points.

1995 Cabernet (Stag's Leap)
At nearly $40, this is surely one of the worst deals reviewed in November! The wine opens brightly and shows some sweet fruit. So far, so good. It knits together quickly. OK. It's not undrinkable or downright bad. BUT....for a wine in this price range, it is so thin and diluted that you have to think, "Where's the beef?" Or, where's the fruit? As a village Burgundy, this is pretty nice. For a $35 to $40 cabernet, it is pretty pathetic. 84 points.

1998 Mourvedre "Ancient Vines" (Cline)
This wine does a lot right. It is big and powerful, aggressive and as youthful as its vintage date would appear. It shows up front tannins that will serve it well and a lot of fairly concentrated fruit. At the moment, it is a bit disjointed and needs some cellaring. The big problem though is its utter lack of balance. It is badly overoaked. Nothing this wine has will support this much American oak, which obliterates every trace of varietal character. This could have been an exceptional wine, but as it is, it is hard to drink and nothing it does justifies fighting through that annoying oak overlay.  Think big time Aussie shiraz, but without as much fruit. Those who like the oak overlay, with that distinctive (and overbearing) American oak mint and coconut flavor, will like it better. 83 points.

1997 Cabernet  (Jones Family)
Call this "V squared."  Violets on the bouquet, velvet on the texture. This is a prototypical modern style wine, and it makes quite a statement for modern winemaking at that. The texture is sensual, and in and of itself makes the wine irresistible. The fruit is classical, redolent of cassis, with a touch of blueberry on the back end, which is appropriately long. The violet bouquet is intense and never quits. As the wine airs out, it shows more and more like a nice Bordeaux, and shows some ripe, supple tannins lurking underneath. This is styled along the lines of the lovely 1996, but it has an element of seduction, sex appeal and sensuality that the 1996 cannot match.  Despite its approachability at the moment, it may well shut down, and show a lot of potential for aging. It's their second vintage. I don't know.  But I detected structure as well as great fruit, and my guess is that this will shut down, improve with cellaring and hold nicely.  93-95 points.

1987 Cabernet Private Reserve (Beringer)
From this bottle at least, this wine shows some traces of age and decay, that charred fruit aspect that older Bordeaux adopt as the fruit begins to oxidize. Notwithstanding that telltale hint, this wine shows remarkable depth, ripeness and roundness. In all other respects, it is vital and alive, with a good finish and intense, if mature, fruit. The texture still has velvet and there is a rush of concentrated ripe fruit on first impression. From this bottle, not exactly a prime time wine, but something very good for sure.  89 points.

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California/USA (white) (except dessert/sparkling)
1998 Chardonnay "Overlook" (Landmark) QPR Winner
An attractive bouquet dissolves at first into mouth assaulting acidity. It doesn't take long, however, for pretty, floral fruit to pop out and blossom. It is also infused with Burgundian-styled lees. Landmark's less expensive offering, this is a bargain for good, crisp, but distinctive chardonnay. Well balanced, with all components perfectly integrated. 89 points.

1998 Chardonnay (St. Francis) QPR Winner
This opens smoothly, showing butter and round fruit, unlike the initially aggressive Landmark, above. But with air it thins fairly quickly. Still, it remains varietally true, shows some nice flavors and drinks well in a reasonable price range.  85 points.

1997 Chardonnay (Silverado)
This opens annoyingly, showing bitter tar, charcoal and asphalt nuances. It does improve somewhat with air, but the charcoal stays on the finish. This wine never reminds me of anything I really would like to drink, although it has a reasonable amount of fruit. 83 points.

1993 Chardonnay "Gauer Ranch" (Marcassin)
This wine, derided in some quarters as overblown in its youth, has suddenly arrived. Not only is it still going strong, but it seems about perfect now, having developed balance, some finesse, and surprisingly, a Burgundian characteristic that even its supporters (like me) did not think it had. Let's just say that when this was opened next to a Corton Blanc, they seemed to have more in common than apart, and the French white Burg lover at the table looked up and pronounced the Marcassin "burgundian." Yes, we all saw it. 91 points.

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Dessert / Sparkling Wines
1989 Rivesaltes Ruby (Sarda-Mallet) QPR Winner
Ok. This doesn't taste much like Port. It lacks power and depth. It is inoffensive and off dry. That said, it was under $9 and was reasonably tasty and pleasant, too. For that money, I'd rather have Yalumba Clocktower, but that's a tawny, not a ruby. For a laid back, friendly, easy drinking wine, this works well for this price. 

1995 Vin Santo (Il Poggione)
A typical, oxidized and unpleasant vin santo that reminds you of what they did in Hungary before they wised up. As Vin Santo goes, too, it shows little power or depth, and not much of interest. If you like this style of wine, call it a so-so 83 points, but in my humble opinion this level of oxidation is a flaw per se. 

NV Passito del Santo Vino Liquouroso
If you must drink Santo,  the Passito here is an analogy that is considerably better. The wine is off dry and retains some hints of Madeira that is typical of its tradition, but the flavors are richer and concentrated, redolent of nuts and caramel. It is fairly thick and has a nice finish. It comes closer to new wave 5 puts Tokaji than old wave oxidized vin santo. 89 points. 

1994 Port (Quinta da Vesuvio)
Yum. Drinking gorgeously now, nowhere near shutting down, this is all grapes with power underneath. The purity of fruit and flavor is remarkable, and the texture has more velvet than a plush sofa. There is a backbone underneath for sure, and it evolved into something charming with air. Beautiful. 92 points.

1990 Sauternes (Rieussec)
Rich, dense and thick, this unusually unctuous Sauternes seems to give no hint of age or thinning.  The nose is gorgeous, and the fruit finishes long and redolent of orange peel. The unusual richness and depth of this Sauternes made it a thing to behold. Call this a statement wine, and let me state....... 95 points.

1990 Sauternes (Raymond-Lafon)
Graceful and utterly charming, this opens focused and compact, and then evolves into something completely pleasing. Heavily marked by botrytis, the wine shows delicious caramel notes on the nose and palate.  When it fully opens, the fruit blossoms beautifully, and the finish lingers and coats your mouth. This does not have anywhere near the depth, power or concentration of, say, the Rieussec above, but in its own way it provided a lot of sex appeal. 90 points.

1990 Champagne "Grande Année" (Bollinger)
Tight and toasty on the finish, this wine shows heavy acid as well, and a fair amount of oxidation. The mid-palate is fairly thick, but the toasty notes I would have preferred seemed mostly overwhelmed by the oxidized notes.  Good concentration, not a lot of charm, and not a lot of purity of flavor either combined to make this a good sparkler, but something to which I  could not quite warm up. 88 points.

1975 "Dalsheimer Burg Rodenstein" Beerenauslese (Rudolf Muller)
Orange in hue, this no-name varietal BA has little left of interest. The concentration levels are fairly good, but there is little fruit flavor left, and most of what you get is from oxidation. It fails to redeem itself on the somewhat bitter finish, too. The charred apricot nuances were not appealing. This was a bit of a chore to drink, despite good depth, and it just seemed that it had seen better days.  82 points.

1989 "Durkheimer Schenkenbohl" Huxelrebe Beerenauslese  (Vier Jahreszeiten)
This wine seemed a bit eccentric, but it had its moments. The fruit had reasonable viscosity, though the intensity of flavor faded too quickly on the finish, giving way to acid. It seemed like creamy orange biscotti at times, but with air came closer to the bitter marmalade nuance. The wine was far too orange in color for its relative youth, and there were predictable hints of oxidation (and then some, on the finish). There was enough here to like if you drank fast, but I hate wines with rules on how fast I have to drink. Past prime. 84 points.

1994 "Niersteiner Kirchplatte" Bacchus Beerenauslese (Georg Albrecht Schneider)
The offputting bouquet of skunk made this wine impossible to like. The palate impression wasn't bad, but it was hard to get that close without holding your nose. Too bad, for it seemed to have reasonable depth and fruit. 78 points.

1989 "Kreuznacher Narrenkappe" Riesling Beerenauslese (August Anheuser)
Light and relatively dry for a BA, this Nahe was charming and elegant. Nice and clean, pure and pleasing, the fruit had just a touch of cherry on the finish, and exuded friendly charm. Not a great wine, but a very pleasing one in all respects. 89 points.

1981 "Forster Ungeheuer" Riesling Beerenauslese Eiswein (Deinhard)
Badly oxidized, with bitter orange, and rather annoying nuances, this wine showed a nice body, but no appealing flavors.  It seemed just too old, too tired. 79 points.

1988  "Niersteiner Pettenthal" Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (Heinrich Braun)
This showed more oxidation than I liked, with a burnt orange rind finish, but it had a respectably thick body, and some sweetness left, and there was fruit flavor fighting to get out. The acid on the finish gave it a welcome bit of pizazz. Not exactly stunning TBA, but sure worth drinking. 86 points.

1977 Port (Taylor Fladgate)
Despite being decanted back into the bottle, this wine developed at a snail's pace in the glass. Its density is remarkable, and for awhile seemed almost impenetrable. The first and second and third impressions were of tannin and tightness. Finally, the wine begrudgingly opened. Slowly, very slowly, it budged. The fruit that emerged was remarkable for its purity and concentration. It never fully opened in the time I had, but every moment in the glass saw it gain more weight and become thicker still.  The Fonseca, Dow and Graham's are drinking way better in this vintage (though not all of them are ready), but this Taylor is backward and stubborn, as befits its reputation. When this wine is ready to drink--ten years? twenty?--it should, assuming it fulfills its potential,  merely be one of the greatest ports I've ever had. 98-100 points.

1990 Champagne "Cristal" (Roederer)
I keep expecting this wine to open fully and be ready for prime time. But ....not yet. The first impression is toast, but the back end is all acid, lime and lemon. The depth and power are quite amazing, the finish is long. But the wine really seems to need another five to ten years of age. This is something that will make great old bones for those who are fanciers of old champagnes. 94 points.

1988 Rabaud-Promis Sauternes
Not the biggest name on the block, right? And a lot of '88s have just recently begun to open. This is another story, fully open, fully awake, and at an absolutely perfect time in its life to drink it. The fruit is pristine and fragrant, and simply delicious, with a ripe, unctuous texture. This does not have the pure power or depth of some of the bigger (and better) wines of the vintage, but it is simply irresistible and gloriously open now--there will never be a better time for it. 90 points.

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Germany (except dessert/sparkling)
1997 Riesling Kabinett "Hattenheimer Schutzenhaus" (Bathasar Ress) QPR Winner
Sweet and sugary on opening, this Kabinett surprises with the impact of residual sugar up front. There is some acid on the back end, and the wine surprises again by pulling together quickly and regaining its balance. Pleasing, not profound, Kabinett. Fun to drink, a great summer sipper. 87 points.

1999 Riesling Auslese "Zeltinger Schlossberg" (Selbach-Oster) QPR Winner
Refined, well integrated sugar is noticeable up front, but there is a ton of ripe, concentrated fruit to support the sweetness and make it seem remarkably well balanced. I loved the depth and finish of this very elegant, yet very deep young Auslese that displays both concentration and finesse. 90 points.

1993 Riesling Auslese "Urziger Wurzgarten" (Merkelbach)
Medium bodied and off dry, this wine seems like a Kabinett that has seen better days. Served blind, it startled me when the bag came off and it was revealed to be an Auslese. by that standard, it seemed thin and diluted, boring and bland. Not unpleasant, but just "there."  83 points.

1973 Riesling Auslese** "Urziger Wurzgarten"  (Benedict Loosen-Erben)
Thinning and fading in the mid-palate, this Mosel retained some pleasing qualities as a consequence of its having remained pure and pristine, friendly and charming. The nose was subtle, but noticeably there and pleasingly floral, and the fruit had some taste, though faded and subtle. None of this was enough to overcome the mid-palate dilution, though, and this would have benefited from having been drunk a long while ago. 82 points.

1983 "Wiltinger Braunfels" Riesling Auslese, (Bern Van Volxem)
Hard and austere on opening, the initial impressions are of a dense wine that has seen the acid overtake the fruit, and is in the process of drying out. With air, this turned out to be at partly untrue. I came to like the depth, and as the wine warmed, it turned out that the fruit had flavor after all. This is remarkably dry for an Auslese and in many respects seemed to give an impression of a spatlese. At its best, the fruit was still a bit hard to find, and the wine was a bit too stolid and lacked charm. 83 points.

1992 "Urziger Wurzgarten" Riesling Auslese*** (J.J. Christoffel Erben)
Supple and light for Auslese, even by the standards of great Mosel, this wine nonetheless scores points for its impeccable balance, its fragrant, tasty and pristine fruit, and pretty nose.  It doesn't take much air, though, to thin it out even more, the last thing it needed. Elegant and friendly, this wine has a lot to recommend it, but won't leave anyone convinced that they have witnessed something special. 87 points.

1976 "Westhofener Kirchspiel" Faberrebe, Ehrenfelser Auslese (J.G. Orb)
This oddball Rheinhessen wine, another in a long line of German cloning experiments, is mostly derivative of riesling, with the Ehrenfelser cloned as well with sylvaner. All that results in not much. The wine is over the hill, showing an orange color that presaged the hard, baked marmalade and orange rind flavor old, off dry wines tend to get as they age. The problem here is too much rind, not enough marmalade, i.e., not much viscosity to the fruit, which shows dense, but without much appealing texture or flavor. It oxidizes more fairly fast with air. Clunky, boring. 80 points.

1989 "Niersteiner Paterberg" Juwel Auslese, "aus Berssuchsanbau"(Georg Harth)
And there's no reason to stop there, as long as we're doing oddball German clones and hybrids, especially from Rheinhessen, right? This Juwel was a more or less experimental wine cloned from several other unremarkable grapes like kerner and trollinger. At age 11, it actually is doing OK, given the circumstances. It tastes reasonably fresh, with just gentle hints of oxidation. The fruit is pleasant, mostly peach, with some pear mixed in. The wine is gentle and friendly, and I kind of liked it. It lacked any discernible acidity though, and seemed flabby and dull. I feared I would fall asleep from boredom if I drank too much. :)  A little excitement, please!  83 points.

1989 "Langenlonsheimer Lohrer Berg" Scheurebe Auslese (Willi Schweinhardt)
This has all the usual things I tend to dislike about Scheurebe, and adds a few more. Yes, there is some of that distinctive cat pee nose, though I've had much, MUCH worse. There is not enough sweetness to balance those aromas and the acidity stands out, though again, I have had worse in terms of acid. Still, the wine is too dry for both Scheurebe (which I don't mind so much if there is some residual sugar) and Auslese, which usually produces some hints of sweetness. Worse still, it finishes bitter and metallic. Really, there was not a whole lot here to like. Drinking it was hard work.  79 points.

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Italy (except dessert/sparkling)
1997 Sangiovese "Scassini" (Terrabianca) QPR Winner
This is attractive and inexpensive, and easy to drink. It is bright and flavorful, sweet and gentle.  It pulls together nicely with just a little air, and shows charm and sunny demeanor. What it lacks is depth and substance, and it is a bit short. Pleasant for short term drinking, though.  87 points.

1997 Chianti Classico (Antinori)
Dull and flat, this wine seemed to suffer from being poured next to some bigger and more flamboyant wines. At the end of the day, though, it still seemed dull, ordinary and boring, in need of more flavor and depth and a rounder texture, too. In short, nothing to write home about. 84 points.

1998 Rosso di Montalcino (Pertimali)  QPR Winner
Beautiful in every respect, and certainly this seems to defy any preconception of a what a Rosso will be. Sweet, but with the tannic structure to hold and develop with cellaring, this has strawberry nuances on the finish that are delicious. Yet, the wine is, as noted, not just about fruit. The structure is apparent, and the balance is impeccable. With a little air, it becomes pleasingly supple as well. A great success for a modest wine.  89 points.

1995 Brunello di Montalcino (Mazzi)
Medium bodied wine that drinks pleasantly after some airing, but shows no distinction, and insufficient depth. As Brunello goes, this could be a lot better, but it really has neither exceptional depth nor interesting character. Correct, middle of the road, and not much more. 86 points. 

1995 Brunello di Montalcino (Il Poggione)
 Light, relatively flavorless and uninspiring. With air—the bottle was open for forty minutes before I got to it-- this wine thinned out way too fast. In the glass, after that aeration, the wine kept thinning and began showing more acid than fruit. Not an inspiring example of Brunello by any perspective. 82 points. 

1995 Schidione (Biondi-Santi)
This opens with some bite and focus. It has a somewhat odd, slightly vegetal character that blows off quickly enough. What remains is reasonably distinctive and intellectually interesting up to a point. I liked the elegant, silky texture, but frankly for a Super Tuscan from BS, there should be less BS and more fruit in the mid-palate, which seems a bit too light. Worthwhile, but unexciting and surely not worth the price pushing near triple digits. 88 points. 

1997 Ornellaia (L. Antinori)
OK, Biondi-Santi. If you want to make a pricey wine, here is what the concentration level should look like. This opens big and dense, with some tannic bite on the finish. There is some lovely, bright red fruit in the middle, and plum and chocolate notes follow on the finish. Despite so much that this does right, it seemed also to be tinged with some asparagus for awhile. Finally, with some twenty minutes of air in the glass, it began to blow off and integrate nicely with the wine. Approachable now, but ideally needs some three to five years of cellaring. I will be interested to see if the things this wine does right overwhelm its eccentricities. 90+ points.

1997 Moscadello di Toscano (Castello Banfi)
So light it seems almost not there, this casual wine is not much good for anything but sipping on a porch. Even then, I have seen far better examples with a little more of interest and some more stuffing. If you need a porch sipper that is relatively light and charming, spend your money on a German Mosel Kabinett. 79 points. 

1995 Brunello di Montalcino “Vigne di Pianrosso”(Ciacci Piccolomini)
This fine producer has another lovely wine here. This is a fine example of how richness can remain elegant. The finish is bright and mouthgripping, and the mid-palate is solid. Yet, the wine shows finesse and a supple, velvety texture. Drinking nicely, but a bit subdued. This may open up more.  88+ points. 

1997 Ateo (Ciacci Piccolomini)
This is the poor man’s Super Tuscan, a wine that delivers a lot for about $25. It opens grapey, velvety, flavorful, charming and rather too light, but that turns out to be deceptive. The wine keeps putting on weight and is actually bigger the next night. There are underlying tannins for some structure. This seems to be drinking perfectly now, but I would not be surprised to see it actually improve with more cellaring. It certainly is not dying. I did think it ultimately lack just a touch of needed depth.  89 points. 

1993 Barolo (Chiarlo)
Soft and gentle like so many well made 93s, this shows oodles of sweet fruit, and considerable elegance. OK. It is short a bit in the mid-palate and needs some more depth. But it is sure charming, tasty and fun. For drinking now. 88 points. 

1997 Aglianico del Vulture (Paternoster)
Acid and weediness combine to hamper what bright fruit there is. This is too thin, and feels too much like cheap Chianti to admire much or for long. 82 points. 

2000 Novello di Toscana “San Giocondo” (Antinori)
Grapey, light, clean and correct, and very familiar….a dead ringer for a Beaujolais nouveau. At the time I had this in Siena, it was only in the bottle for three days. Can’t get any fresher, right? Blueberry notes, and a very slight tingle on the back of tongue from a barely perceptible spritz dominate the wine. It does not have even the depth of good Beaujolais Nouveau, unfortunately. It seems light enough to feed to the baby, but most adult drinkers will be unimpressed. 79 points. 

1997 Sancta Catharina (Dei)
This reminded me of Ciacci Piccolomini's "Ateo" in the sense that it is a reasonably priced Super Tuscan that delivers a lot of bang for the buck.  It is composed mostly of syrah, sangiovese and cabernet, along with something called Prugnello, a sangiovese clone with which the winery was experimenting. It is just terrific and should sell for around $30 or so when released. Tasted at the winery, it was relatively powerful, yet elegant, and drinking well. It showed some earthiness from the syrah, perhaps, and ended in a nice, bright finish. It opens beautifully, and in the end, it seemed like the primary notes were sangiovese as the wine knitted together and became beautifully balanced and elegant. Distinctive, and classy.  Not yet released, look for shortly after January 1.   90 points. 

1997 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Dei)
This charming Nobile in a great Tuscan vintage is just delicious. There are pretty cherry flavors up front, and surprising tannins on the back end. The wine melds together well, and has the stuffing that many Nobiles do not. Good stuff, with more than a touch of power lurking underneath. If three or four years from now I can say that the fruit kept up with that touch of astringent tannin on the back end, the score will be even higher. 88+ points.

1997 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano "Riserva" (Dei)
If the regular Nobile was very good, this is flat out beautiful, about as good as Nobile gets. Sweet, lush fruit up front is full of flavor. The mid-palate is absolutely solid, showing superb concentration and stuffing. The purity of the fruit is a thing to behold, and you wonder how many Brunellos this would put to shame. (Answer: a lot.) Youthful and exuberant, this is nonetheless not disjointed at all. It may close down a bit, but this is going to be a wonderful Nobile.  This will be imported into the USA  by Michael Skurnik Wines around January or February, and the total production will only be about 1,200 or so cases, so act fast.  91-93 points.

1999 Chianti Classico Riserva "Vigneta San Marcellino" (Rocca di Montegrossi)
This, still unreleased, may be the finest wine this young estate has produced yet. The estate is young, but it should be noted that the family behind it, led by Marco Ricasoli, is a major force in Chianti.  There is unlimited promise here, as reflected in this wine in particular, and I expect this to be a leading estate in Chianti in the near future. It sure can't hurt that Marco Ricasoli is an effective, energetic and enthusiastic promoter of his property. And for the wine.....Why doesn't all Chianti taste like this?  Lush and gorgeous, this is sangiovese as it can be, but usually isn't.  The wine shows superb concentration and depth, supple fruit, and fine tannins. After drinking this beautiful, sexy and velvety wine, it was a shock to hear that it had over 14.5% alcohol. I am almost sorry to mention that, because I know some tasters will never get the number out of their heads, and it will permeate everything that they think about the wine ever after. In fact, the wine is remarkably well balanced and seems easygoing and charming. As it airs out, it attains great typicity, too. Various 2000 barrel samples showed nicely, too, but won't equal this, I think.  90-92 points.

1998 Geremia (Rocca di Montegrossi)
I did not have a chance to taste the 99 Geremia--presumably a better vintage--but if the 99 Chianti Classico Riserva is not Rocca di Montegrossi's best wine yet, maybe the '99 Germia will be--or maybe this is. The Geremia is being positioned as a Super Tuscan, but at the moment is all Sangiovese. Not yet released, and only bottled in July, 2000, this is in a slightly different style than the '99 Chianti Classico. Both wines do what sangiovese so often fails to do in Chianti, namely deliver ripe, concentrated fruit. If anything, though, this wine is even lusher and deeper than the '99 Chianti Classico, rounder, and seemingly a bit oakier, too.  It is perhaps more internationalized. The solid mid-palate, though, is packed with delicious fruit, and there are enough tannins underneath for a backbone and aging potential.  I cannot wait to taste the 1999, and it will be interesting to see how this evolves. I may be underrating it, so give a "+" as well.  90+ points. 

1997 Chianti Classico Riserva "Vigneta San Marcellino" (Rocca di Montegrossi)
So, you buy everything according to vintage charts? They are helpful, but there are so many exceptions that they are hardly Holy Writ. Here's another example why.  1997 is a great vintage in Tuscany, right? But 1998 is not. Yet the 1998 Geremia is wonderful. The 97 Chianti Classico is average. The concentration levels I got in the prior two wines is what the vintage would lead me to expect to see here. Instead, we get a lighter wine, with not quite enough concentration to stand up to its backbone.  I liked the raspberry-tinged fruit,  but it also showed considerable tannins at the end.  There was not quite enough in the mid-palate to stand up to the tannins, and it dried out a bit too much on the finish.  Not that it is bad. The fruit is flavorful, and the wine is enjoyable. Very good, but not up the 1999 by a long shot. Relatively new wineries have a learning curve, vintage charts or not.  Maybe time will show me wrong, and the balance will be better than I think. 87 points.

1997 Chianti Classico "Montornello" (Tenuta di Bibbiano)
This is another case of a winery underperforming relatively speaking in a great year, for one reason or another, yet doing well at other times and places. This estate makes wines with a great purity of fruit. The wines all seemed to have a certain clarity of flavor that I enjoyed, no matter what other issues existed. Here, the cherry nuanced fruit was flavorful, even though the wine was light and lacked stuffing. It was still fun to drink, but I expect it will need to be drunk in the short term. 85 points.

1998 Chianti Classico "Montornello" (Tenuta di Bibbiano)
Again, vintages or not, I liked the 1998 better. It was not quite as elegant as the 1997, but it came wrapped in a solid, tight core of fruit. It seemed well constructed and powerful, if a bit stolid at times, and I never quite had enough time to see how well it would open. I think this will be a solid effort in the vintage. 87-89 points.

1997 Chianti Classico  Riserva "Vigna dal Capannino" (Tenuta di Bibbiano)
This reserve bottling is all sangiovese grosso, the grape usually used for Brunello. To me, this Riserva added back most (but not all) of the missing pieces from the regular bottling. Again, this estate's wines simply seem to lack some stuffing in the 1997 vintage. But this is a far greater success than the regular bottling. Where the regular bottling tries to substitute elegance for depth and sometimes seems to fall a bit short, this mostly succeeds. OK, sure, it is a touch shy in the mid-palate, and you would wish that in this vintage there was more depth. But this was just a pleasure to drink, charming, elegant, flavorful, and completely appealing. It probably lacks the structure and concentration to age particularly well, but as a short termer, it is a pleasure.  89 points.

1998 Le Terrazze di Manzano
This Tuscan Sauvignon Blanc goes for "big" and certainly does at least that much. It resembles nothing of sauvignon blanc, though. The first impression is of butter and oak, and the wine finishes with a bitter vanilla cream nuance. With air, it begins to resemble a pinot gris that has seen some wood, knits together a bit and loses some of the bitterness. Still, I could never quite warm up to this wine. It just seemed a bit too stolid, and tried a bit too hard, notwithstanding the good concentration.  And I wonder if anyone could pick this out blind as sauv blanc as it shows today?  85 points.

1998 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi "Balciana Classico Superiore" (Sartarelli)
Powerful, big and oaky, this wine reminded me more of a California chardonnay than Verdicchio, a wine I normally associate with lightness and elegance.  Not here. This swings for the fences, and often succeeds, but no one would dream of calling it light or elegant.  Air brings some welcome thinning and balance and the wine seems to have enough flavor to go with all of that big fruit. There are some good things here, particularly in terms of the concentration level, and the oak does not obliterate the fruit. However, I wonder if it really makes sense to try to make a Verdicchio in this style. Certainly, this wine does not prove it can be done entirely successfully, although for sure it is not a failure, exactly, either. 88 points.

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Rhone/South/Southwest France (except dessert/sparkling)
1998 Coteaux du Languedoc "Copa Santa" (Domaine Clavel) QPR Winner
Very distinctive, with some game on the finish, this shows power wrapped around a velvety core. The cliché "iron fist in velvet glove" comes to mind. Smooth, yet concentrated, the wine combines class, distinction and a beautiful texture with ripe, lovely fruit. At around $20, a super deal.  91 points.

1995 Bandol "La Rose Folle" (Pradeaux) QPR Winner
This is supposed to be Pradeaux's lesser, or at least, more approachable cuvée, softer and riper. Well. This is pretty tannic at age five and becomes accessible only with air. It is a bigger, more powerful wine than the Copa Santa, above, though not quite as ripe or exotic. Earthiness on the finish lends some distinction, and there is the trademark mourvedre bacon fat, too. The wine airs out beautifully and develops a smoother texture. Distinctive and deep, for around $20.  90 points.

1991 Gigondas (de Terme) QPR Winner
This nine year old Gigondas cannot  be believed in terms of pure power. It seemed Bordeaux-like at first, tight and focused, and tannic and young. But nine year old Gigondas?  The pure power here was hard to believe. The wine seems to need some more cellaring, if only to let the tannins resolve a little more. With air it developed flavor, too,  but it did seem a bit monolithic at times as well.  Still, for wine under $20, with this much age on it, and this much ooomph, it was pretty impressive. This could merit a higher score if it comes into optimal balance. 88+ points.

1994 Cotes du Luberon (Domaine de Fontenille) QPR Winner
This lovely Southern French wine is a perennial "best buy," the poor man's Chateauneuf du Pape.  It showed brilliantly at age two, and at age 6 it still drinking nicely. Earthy and solid, the wine has an appealing texture to go with a lot of character. It has flavor, of herbs and garrigue, and nuances of violets on the bouquet. No, it doesn't have the depth to be great. But for about $11 in recent vintages, it sure does deliver a lot of Rhone-y style and character for the bucks. Drink up; this will not improve and should probably not be held much longer, although it is drinking well. It is still very good, but has slipped very slightly.  The lovely 1998 is available now! 87 points.

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