Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes 2003

Lafaurie-Peyraguey
Sauternes 2003
97 / $45
Bordeaux
6,520 cases made

Lafaurie-Peyraguey has produced some of Sauternes’ most powerful wines for more than two decades. The 2003 is no exception—Bordeaux’s hottest summer on record produced a full-bodied dessert wine with incredibly intense apricot and honey aromas. To achieve that concentration, the château uses more than 90 percent Sémillon, planted on 100 acres of gravel. Read more

Brancaia - Toscana Il Blu 2004

Brancaia

Toscana Il Blu 2004
96 / $70
Tuscany
4,100 cases made

Born of the successful team of owner-winemaker Barbara Kronenberg-Widmer and consultant Carlo Ferrini, Il Blu is the flagship of the Swiss Widmer family’s Chianti Classico estate. The family also owns Brancaia in Maremma, on Tuscany’s coast. This perfectly balanced super Tuscan is a blend of 50 percent Sangiovese, 25 percent Merlot and 25 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Shiraz Barossa Valley Bella’s Garden 2004

Two Hands

Shiraz Barossa Valley
Bella’s Garden 2004
95 / $50
Australia
1,500 cases imported

Two Hands, a partnership of Richard Mintz and Michael Twelftree, has quickly become one of Australia’s powerhouses. Of the half-dozen regional wines Two Hands makes from purchased grapes, the Barossa-based Bella’s Garden Shiraz is always among the best. Sixteen vineyards in the Barossa Valley go into this wine; the parcels are fermented separately before blending.

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Mollydooker - Shiraz McLaren Vale Carnival of Love 2006

Mollydooker
Shiraz McLaren Vale Carnival of Love 2006

95 points / $80
4,738 cases made
Australia

Carnival of Love is made with grapes from three contiguous blocks of the Gateway Vineyard, the same site that produces the Mollydooker Shiraz Velvet Glove. Sarah and Sparky Marquis find that they best capture color and fresh fruit character by fermenting Shiraz at relatively low temperatures. They bottled the wine after nine months of barrel-aging it in two sets of 100 percent new American oak.

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