Fine Wine Is Cellar Wine Rare Wine And Vintage Wine Combined. Best Advice Expert Wine Merchant

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Fine Wines. Rare wines. Does one help to define the other? Certainly greatness is by definition a rarity. Therefore rare wines are those fine wines that are made scarce by design of the winery, grape yield, size of land under vine, unyielding standards of perfection by a winemaker and the continual caprice of Mother Nature from vintage to vintage.

We all may have a different definition of what is a good, great or greatest wine. But just as Bordeaux has been the paradigm of winemaking in so many ways so too they set the scene when it comes to classification. Napoleon III, emperor of France in 1855, held the Exposition Universelle in answer to London´s Great Exhibition of 1851. France´s finest in Agriculture, Industry and Art were on display and the Emperor commissioned a classification of all wines from along the banks of the Gironde River which Bordeaux´ Chamber of Commerce deftly handed off to the wine merchants´ syndicate. Controversy ensued but the classification has held to this day. Chateau Lafite Rothschild, a Pauillac (Left Bank of the Gironde,) which means in any blending cabernet sauvignon will predominate over merlot, was given first place among the Premier Crus. It has had its ups and downs but its outstanding terroir with gravelly soils on top of limestone and long-term strategy is cited as bringing 2000 Chateau Lafite Rothschild a perfect 100 score from Wine Spectator. It is without question considered the world´s greatest wine.

Next on any list would be wines from Burgundy. On both the red and white sides of the ledger, Burgundies, red and white, use only one varietal, chardonnay for white and pinot noir for red. Yet with each single varietal Burgundy is able to achieve not only complexity but subtleness, elegance and finesse to a degree that few Bordeaux achieve. Burgundy differs from Bordeaux in that many growers may own a small parcel of individual vineyards. Winegrowers then make their single varietal white or red Burgundies of grapes in a variety of vineyards. Of course some growers are better than others and so the finest meets the rarest when it comes to Burgundy. Romanee-Conti La Tache, a GrandCru from the heart of Vosne-Romanee in Burgundy´s Cote de Nuits region is accorded pre-eminent status in red Burgundies.

For the region´s white wine, the 30-miles of Burgundy´s Cote de Beaune is its most acclaimed wine region. Domaine Leflaive is situated just outside of the village of Puligny-Montrachet. If we go back to the 1750´s we would find there was only one white Burgundy Grand Cru; that was Montrachet (Stony Hill in French). The Puligny and Chassagne halves of Montrachet are only 4 hectare or just under 10 acres under vine each. The greatest estate in Burgundy for white wine is Domaine Leflaive. They hold only two hectare within the "Stony Hill." Leflaive's wines are distinctive, showing vanilla, mineral and bread dough aromas. They are smooth-textured and refined, balanced and long on the finish. They are never heavy and they age gracefully. Their white Burgundy Le Montrachet is accorded top rank, this from an area of land the size of less than 4 football fields. In November of 2008 a single bottle of 2005 Domaine Leflaive Montrachet sold for $4,235. Thus rarity and the finest meet again.

Proponents of French wine would have us never leave their borders in a fine wine discussion. Lovers of Brunello 1997 would have a serious problem with this position and rightfully so. Brunello, which is best translated as "the nice, dark one" is made from the Sangiovese grosso grape. Sangiovese is the signature Italian grape and it finds its most beautiful, richest expression in Brunello di Montalcino. Its vineyards cover only some 3,000 acres, are 1,800 feet above sea level and benefits from the dazzling sunshine of Tuscany. By law, the wine must be aged longer than most other Italian red wine. Two of its four years are spent in oak for Brunello di Montalcino and five years, two and one half in oak for Riserva. 1997 is recognized as the greatest Brunello vintage ever, although 2006 is making the argument a jump ball. If prices and ratings are the barometer of what is finest and rarest in Brunello then Altesino seems to carry the day. Complex aromas of grilled meat, cherry, with hints of cedar and tobacco turning to plums and flowers. Full-bodied, well-structured, with well-integrated tannins, ripe fruit was the Wine Spectator description in giving their 1997 Montosoli 98 points.

Finally, if the wine is in the bottle, then greatness is in the eyes of the beholder. Port wine takes its name from the Porugese city of Oporto, one of the country main centers of exports and training. Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931 vintage is from the winery that has been producing ports since 1715. It lies in the Douro Valley, situated in northern Portugal. Noval made its reputation with the declaration of 1931, not only the greatest Port of the last century but also the most expensive. A bottle of Nacional 1931 sold for $9,235 at a Christie´s auction in June of 2006.

Robert Wood

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