daily wine picks

More than $30

Oct. 28, 2000: PASANAU GERMANS Priorat Finca La Planeta 1997 (94 points, $39)

From Spain's small northeastern appellation of Priorat, comes this outstanding red. It's produced from Pasanau's high-altitude Cabernet vineyard. Intense. Ripe fruit coats the palate first, then darker flavors of coffee, anise and minerals emerge and ling —Thomas Matthews

Oct. 26, 2000: ETUDE Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (95 points, $70)

Etude winemaker Tony Soter recently gave up the consulting side of his career to focus on his own Etude label, and he now seems to be making his best wines ever. The '97 Etude Cab is a wine of great structure, deliciously rich and complex, deep and fragra —James Laube

Oct. 24, 2000: GROTH Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 1997 (92 points, $42)

This California Cabernet grows on you. Rich and earthy, with complex herb, currant, sage and cedary oak, all folded together nicely, finishing with a complex, concentrated aftertaste. Best from 2002 through 2010. 15,400 cases made. —James Laube

Oct. 23, 2000: DUNN Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain (92 points, $60)

Randy Dunn has been making wine under the Dunn label from his vineyard atop Howell Mountain since 1979. The wine are always unique in their profile and the '97 is another ruggedly tannic and hard-edged Cabernet, with lots of cedary oak in the forefront, s —James Laube

Oct. 21, 2000: COLGIN Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Herb Lamb Vineyard (95 points, $135)

One of the hot cult wines of this past decade, this is the first vintage made by Mark Aubert who left Peter Michael to replace winemaker Helen Turley at Colgin. Remarkably complex and supple, with tiers of spice, pepper, cherry, currant, plum and wild ber —James Laube