'99 Guigal CdR, $11 Nice dark fruit, a little grapey at first, but settles down with some air. Well rounded wine finished very smoothly. Merlot drinkers won't mind this wine a bit. Good QPR CdR.

'00 Rocher Figeac, St Emilion, $10, Trader Joes. Dark, concentrated wine, very bold nose of tobacco, toasty oak, and red fruits. Nice in the mouth, the fruit is just sweet. These wines are offering wonderful complexity for their diminutive price and pair wonderfully with food. Wines finishes with medium length and no detracting aftertastes. I'd like to have all these AOC's side by side to better evaluate, but I think this is my favorite so far. 87 points.