Another amazing buy, this was dreastically reduced by a wholesaler. It was $540 wholesale and now we can sell it for $449. Fantastic wine at a fabulous price!

"The dense plum/purple-colored 1999 offers up aromas of truffles, underbrush, espresso, black cherries, and roasted meats. The wine is powerful and muscular with high extract and mouth-searing tannin, it is an atypically backward effort for the vintage. Patient connoisseurs who admire wines with this level of intensity will be handsomely repaid for their discipline. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020." 90 points R. Parker

To find a great ten year old Bordeaux, that will get better with age, at this price, is an outright steal. Buy this by the case!

" Pichon Longueville Baron's 1996 has turned out to be even better than I thought from cask. The high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend (about 80%) resulted in a wine that has put on weight in the bottle. An opaque purple color is accompanied by beautiful aromas of tobacco, new saddle leather, roasted coffee, and cassis. It is dense, medium to full-bodied, and backward, with moderately high tannin, but plenty of sweet fruit, glycerin, and extract to balance out the wine's structure. This well-endowed, classic Pauillac should be at its finest between 2006-2022."91 points Robert Parker

"Marvelous aromas of raspberry, coconut and mineral. Full-bodied, with superbly well-integrated yet powerful tannins. Chewy and fruity finish. Needs a lot of time to mellow. Much better than the barrel samples I tasted. Best Pichon-Baron since 1990. Best after 2006." 92 points Wine Spectator

A truly fantastic wine and a great value from this overlooked but very solid vintage. The Baron rarely disappoints!

"A very successful effort for this vintage in the Medoc, this deep ruby/purple-colored Pauillac exhibits class/nobility/breed along with black currant liqueur, licorice, and incense notes. Sweet, expansive, fleshy, and medium to full-bodied, with good structure, ripe tannin, and a long, 30-35 second finish, it can be drunk now, but will be even better in 2-3 years; it will last for 12-15 years. I had this wine three separate times out of bottle, and it is performing significantly better than it did from cask." 93 points R. Parker

Like Pichon Baron, this is a superb wine in 2001 and priced at a fraction of other great vintages of Pichon Lalande.

"A distinctive bouquet of violets, soy, pepper, blackberries, cassis, and tree bark gives this 2001 a singular style. This dense ruby/purple-colored blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and a whopping 14% Petit Verdot exhibits plenty of structure, wonderful sweetness, a closed style, but a rich, textured, persistent character. The unusually large percentage of Petit Verdot gives the wine more structure and less initial charm. This beauty needs some time in the cellar. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2018." 93 points R. Parker

What an amazing value...again! Chateau Pipeau delivered an amazing 2000 and the 2003 promises to be even better. Amazingly enough, even with a weak dollar the price has remained low enough to fit in the category of truly amazing values. This is a serious wine and it would be foolish to miss it. It's a bargain!

"One of my favorite St.-Emilions because of its sexy, exuberant, hedonistic style, Pipeau is the type of wine I would love to find more frequently at restaurants. In vintages such as 2000 and 2003, this unpretentious effort becomes bigger, more structured and muscular than it is in near-term drinking years such as 2001. The 2003 performed exceptionally well. Its deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by impressive sweet black cherry fruit, good structure as well as tannin, medium to full body, and tremendous purity, weight, and ripeness. Give it 1-3 years to settle down, and enjoy it over the following decade." 90-92 points Robert Parker

MAGNUMS, DOUBLE MAGS AND HALF BOTTLES ALSO AVAILABLE. EMAIL FOR DETAILS

One of the most successful, and now hard to find, wines of this legendary vintage. Along with Pape Clement, Haut Brion and La Mission, it is a star of the Graves appellation. It is a fabulous wine that is still worth every penny.

"A sensational effort, and undeniably the finest wine to ever emerge from this estate, the opaque purple-colored 2000 offers scents of tobacco, camphor, graphite, creme de cassis, and licorice. This full-bodied, concentrated effort possesses low acidity, a multi-layered texture, tremendous intensity of flavor, and a persistent finish with considerable ripe, well-integrated tannin. This is a brilliant example of equilibrium and finesse allied to considerable power and flavor. Kudos to the Cathiards. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025" 94 points Robert Parker

Make no mistake, this is a serious wine. Sociando Mallet is often one of the greatest, most under-rated bargains in all of Bordeaux. The 2001 is an amazing wine and even better than the 2000. Don't miss it!

"This Haut-Medoc performed spectacularly on the two occasions I tasted it from bottle, even eclipsing its impressive showing from cask. It looks to be every bit as powerful as the 2000 ... not an easy achievement. A fabulous sleeper of the vintage, it tastes more like a first-growth than an unclassified offering. Its inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by a spectacular bouquet of lead pencil shavings, ink, blackberries, cedar, and earth. Full-bodied, with terrific texture, fabulous concentration, and moderately high tannin, this massive, atypical 2001 must be tasted to be believed. A brilliant achievement! Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020+"93 points Robert Parker

Another great sleeper of the vintage that Mr. Parker found to be outstanding at his January 2006 tasting of 2003 Bordeaux. This is a beauty that will drink early but will age very gracefully for 10-15 years.

That's where the 2003 vintage gets exciting. Many superb wines in this price range were produced, with low acid, great ripeness and soft tannins. This Canon-Fronsac is a beauty at a very realistic price.

"This noble effort, displaying terrific purity, power, and richness, provides further evidence that Canon-Fronsac’s cool terroirs were beneficial in the torridly hot, dry summer of 2003. An inky/ruby/purple color accompanies aromas of violets, blueberries, and crushed stones. Powerful, rich, and generous, this sleeper of the vintage should be at its finest between 2006-2014." 88-90 points R. Parker

Make no mistake, 1996 was an amazing vintage for Barolo and to find one this good, at this price, really is a rare treat.

Daniel Thomases of The Wine Advocate in the August 2005 Issue..."Any 1996 Barolo from better producers still floating around should obviously be snapped up immediately."

"The greatness of the 1996 vintage is obvious in the saturated ruby/purple colors of Cordero's wines. The 1996 Barolo Monfalletto reveals lots of mineral and new saddle leather scents in addition to black raspberries, cherries, tar, and rose petals. Extremely full-bodied, with new oak coming through in the flavors, this powerful, multi-dimensional, sensational Barolo should offer thrilling drinking after a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025." 91-93 pts R. Parker

"Fabulous. Intense aromas of fresh roses, with balsamic and cherry notes, introduce this full-bodied, muscular Barolo. It's thick and rich, with velvety tannins and a long, chocolaty, meaty finish. Best after 2005." 93 pts Wine Spectator