1990 Hermitage "La Sizeranne" (Chapoutier)
Light and fading, this is elegant and pleasant, with modest fruit but a little brightness and verve on the finish. While not decayed or oxidized exactly, and therefore with more years left to live, it seems to have passed its peak and it is not likely to improve. Drink up. 87 points.

1994 Hermitage (Chave)
Simply beautiful, this is bright, friendly and fresh, hardly seeming 14 years old. There is that gamey note that will be familiar to Hermitage and Chave fans, but what is impressive is how lively and young this is. It is a perfect time to drink this now--it will not likely improve, but everything is in perfect harmony and it is still vibrant. 90 points.

1995 Hermitage "La Chapelle" (Jaboulet)
Bright and pure, this is a much cleaner, more pristine wine than the Chave reviewed above--that is, not much game, and perhaps much more closed. Fresh and a bit tight, this wine seems remarkably young for its age, but I'm not sure it will become truly distinguished. The tannins have moderated considerably with cellaring. 91 points.
 

1995 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "La Crau" (Vieux Télegraphe)
This has held pretty well, but I do not think it will improve more. It opens with a lot of brett. Yet, it is bright and succulent, with strawberry overtones. It quickly becomes smooth and harmonious, drinking beautifully. At this stage of its life, it lacks intensity but it does have that sunny and charming demeanor. 89 points.

1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Beaucastel)
Sleepy on opening, this opens smooth and reticent, and I wondered where the '89 Beau I knew had gotten to. Yet, with a bunch of pretty nice CdPs on the table next to it, this is the one that eventually became the big star, fleshing out, waking up and showing its power. The tannins popped out and provided grip and intensity on the wine. The mid-palate is bursting with flavor, nuanced--I've seen worse in '89 Beau--with a little brett. This seemed to improve in the glass for as long as I had it. 96 points.

2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Reservée" (Domaine Pegau)
This Pegau has come around rather quickly for its vintage. It still sports some power, but it is far more harmonious than it was just a few years ago. It is full of flavor, throwing off lots of bacon fat and game. The finish is bright and delivers persistent flavor, although it is no longer as gripping as it was. This is a lovely wine that has begun to drink pretty well. 94 points.

1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvée Barberini" (Domaine de la Solitude)
Very bright, this opens rather harshly, too, with the alcohol seemingly too prominent. It has some intensity still and some power, but I wondered where it was going, as it was rather disjointed. It pulled itself together surprisingly well and surprisingly quickly, becoming full bodied and pointed, but no longer harsh. The brightness is always present. The fruit opens well, but becomes a bit more muted with air. 89 points.

1995 Chateau La Sauvageonne
This Languedoc was brilliant in '92 and '94. The '95, while a couple of steps off of those performances, was still pretty nice. At this point in its life it has probably slipped a notch off peak, but still shows nicely, although the mid-palate has thinned considerably. It is elegant, with some gamey nuances and a graceful feel. 86 points.

1998 Cotes du Rhone "La Pialade" (Chateau Rayas)
Light and thinning, this is a modest wine at this juncture, although it has pleasant aromatics, some brightness, and a certain classic demeanor. It has probably seen better days, although it has not begun to show any real decay. Drink up. 86 points.

2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Charvin)
This opened tight and completely closed, throwing off some aromas of game, and relatively little else. It expanded slowly, but when it came around it became remarkably succulent, with the acidity leaving the mouth watering a bit. A little more time allowed it to show power and a tannic backbone that bodes well for the future. The best thing you can do with this, however, is cellar it for a few more years, give the fruit a chance to open, and the tannins a chance to soften. 92 points.

1998 Rasteau Cotes du Rhone (Gourt de Mautens-Bressy)
In its youth, this was a tannic monster as wines from this producer can seem to be, but it has come around nicely, and better than I thought it would. It actually opens up seeming rather soft at the moment, throwing off game and smoked meat nuances. As it airs out, it evolves beautifully, the flavors increasing, and the wine becoming a little sterner. This is a good time to approach it, though. It just needs a little air to show its best. Don't be fooled by the shy, initial demeanor. 90 points.

2007 Tavel Rosé (Chateau d'Aqueria)

Chateau d'Aqueria is one of the more prominent estates in one of the world's great rosé regions.  This is a typically lovely effort, with pleasing fruit surrounded by good acidity. It is the type of fresh and sunny wine that will be a pleasure to drink in the Summer. It can seem almost a bit brooding and steely initially.  This has a suggested retail price of $17, though, so you do pay a little for the reputation. It might be worth noting, however, that it was the only pink on this page that actually seemed to improve with air. 87 points.

2004 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Domaine du Pegau)
My first taste of this since it was tasted in the Rhone finds this in superlative form, young, sappy, but bright, beautiful and beautifully structured. This wine has lots of layers and unfolds very well in the glass with time. This rewards the faith I placed in it at the time, and it is simply lovely. Those who are put off by gamey notes will be less impressed, but the overall performance here is superb. 94 points.

1990 Crozes-Hermitage "Thalabert" (Jaboulet)
Not many Crozes-Hermitages show this well this old, but this is a beauty. Age does make its mid-palate on the lighter side, and it has become rather bretty, but it is bright and charming, with lots of bacon fat nuances, and it is still lively and flavorful. This may well have past prime a bit--but it is also very much worth drinking, and quite tasty. 89 points.

1999 Cote Rotie (Tardieu-Laurent)
Bright, plush and yet penetrating, this focused wine manages to provide intense flavor to go with the structure, and it seems to be doing quite well at age 9. The finish is lingering, and there plenty of grip, as well as some density in the mid-palate. This has turned into a rather elegant charmer. 92 points.

1999 Vacqueyras "Vielles Vignes" (Tardieu-Laurent)
Tight, bright and rather elegant, this evolves slowly and then becomes utterly charming, showing ripe tannins. It comes together quickly and shows harmonious and seamless with time. It is a pleasure to drink and holding well. 90 points.

1996 Cote Rotie (Jasmin)
This modest Cote Rotie is thin and light. Its most noticeable feature is its acidity, which is sometimes a bit overbearing and too much for the modest mid-palate. There is a little intensity from the acidity, but the tannins are largely resolved, and the wine seems sometimes older than it is. Despite some succulence due to the acidity, it is often austere, flat and rather flavorless, too. 86 points.

1998 Coteaux du Languedoc "Cote Rousse" (Domaine de l'Aigulière)
I thought this big, powerful Languedoc would round into form around 2005 or so. It is now 2007, and it is finally opening. Even now, it requires some air to unwind and get the full fruit flavor. It showed better after an hour or so.  Age has integrated the tannins far better, and they seem ripe and enlivening rather than stern and astringent. Age has not thinned this one bit, however, as it shows full bodied, with a sensual, velvety texture. There are the typical notes of game. As this sits in the glass, it expands over time. It still has considerable grip on the finish, which lingers. Bright and flavorful, this is also beautifully balanced. At age 10, Languedoc doesn't get much better or age much more gracefully. 94 points.

1998 Coteaux du Languedoc "Cote Dorée" (Domaine de l'Aigulière)
In this vintage, Aigulière's other specialty bottling, the Dorée, is pretty fine, but not on par with the deeper, more gripping Cote Rousse. Still, on its own, this is no slouch. It starts off softly, but it shows that it has reasonable depth and surprising grip on the finish of its own. Just when you think this may be a bit too subtle, it shows a level of persistence on the finish that you didn't think it had, and it expands in the glass. It is bright and lively, and beautifully constructed, fully open and expansive. 91 points.