The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is nearly perfect. I drank three bottles of this at La Beaugraviere restaurant during my trip to the Rhone Valley, and wish I had had the fortitude to drink even more. Probably the most thrilling dry white I have tasted in the last year, it possesses great intensity and unctuosity, yet extraordinary elegance with a viscous nose of honeyed caramel, pineapple, and apricots. Beautifully proportioned and full of mineral nuances, this is a tour de force in winemaking. Drink it over the next three years, and keep your fingers crossed that it will still deliver the same pleasure at age 10-15. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is nearly perfect. I drank three bottles of this at La Beaugraviere restaurant during my trip to the Rhone Valley, and wish I had had the fortitude to drink even more. Probably the most thrilling dry white I have tasted in the last year, it possesses great intensity and unctuosity, yet extraordinary elegance with a viscous nose of honeyed caramel, pineapple, and apricots. Beautifully proportioned and full of mineral nuances, this is a tour de force in winemaking. Drink it over the next three years, and keep your fingers crossed that it will still deliver the same pleasure at age 10-15. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802