2 | Wine | Haut-medoc, $10 to $20

"This has a nice warm feel, with plush roasted coffee bean, steeped plum and fig fruit flavors melding through the tobacco-filled finish."

"This juicy red has a nice compact feel to the core of red and black currant fruit, studded with anise and dark tobacco notes. An iron-tinged grip carries the finish."

"Another of my favorite estates from the southern part of the Medoc, Macau, this Haut-Medoc cru bourgeois is a blend of 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. The alcohol was 14% and the wine bottled unfined and unfiltered by its consulting oenologist, the brilliant Claude Gros. Wonderfully dark ruby/purple in color, with loads of sweet berry fruit as well as hints of licorice and charcoal, the wine displays a lush texture, medium to full body, and the vintage’s tell-tale ripeness, high glycerin and silky texture. Drink it over the next 5-6 years."-Robert Parker

"A sleeper of the vintage, the 2008 exhibits a dense plum/purple color along with loads of sweet berry fruit, black cherries, licorice and camphor intermixed with hints of mocha and oak. Reminiscent of La Lagune, the texture is plush, round, generous and irresistible."-Robert Parker.

"Notes of herbs, cedar, black currants and licorice are all present in this classic Medoc, which is medium-bodied, has very good fruit and moderate tannin. Drink it over the next 4-5 years." -Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 87 pts.

"Ripe black currant fruit with some cedar wood, licorice and wood spice are all present in this generously endowed, concentrated, low-acid Lanessan. The tannins are silky, and the overall impression is one of elegance, plumpness and beautiful intensity. This is a sleeper of the vintage and one that should only improve over the next several years and merit an outstanding rating. It should keep for up to two decades."-Robert Parker

"The finest La Bernadotte made to date, this 2009 is an undeniable sleeper of the vintage... It reveals a dense purple color along with a big, sweet kiss of black cherries, black currants, charcoal, and spice. With layers of fruit, decent acidity, freshness, and precision, and an opulent, fleshy, succulent style, it should drink easily for a decade or more." -Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 90-92 pts.