In 1987 the Graves region, the only one of Bordeaux's top appellations where most leading producers make both white and red wines, was cut in two.
In the hands of superb producers like Pierre Gonon, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave and the now-retired Raymond Trollat, these wines offer all the pleasure you could want out of a northern Rhone red, lacking perhaps only the structure and complexity of the top appellations.
Jean-François has no time for the high prices some of the top appellations, such as Cheval-Blanc and Ausone command.
Bryan's Sol Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, made with Beckstoffer's To- Kalon and Dr. Crane vineyard grapes, was selected to receive top honors as "Best-of-Appellation" by Appellation America.
Take, for example, all the information that appears on the label of a particular white (from top to bottom): Bourgogne Blanc Appellation Bourgogne Contrôlée Domaine Roulot Propriétaire à Mersault, Côte-d' Or, France.
In the end, the proportion of appellations in our top 10 mirrored the tasting precisely, with seven Pouilly-Fumés and one each from Menetou-Salon, Reuilly and Quincy.
The government also gave some of the top super Tuscan reds new appellations.
The exception is when you find a wine from a simple appellation made by a top producer or négociant, like Maison Leroy.
A 1999 Radici Riserva, Mastroberardino's top aglianico from the Taurasi denominazione, or appellation, was just starting to shed its adolescent surliness when I tasted it.
Eric Texier Roussanne, Brézème, Rhône, France 2011 (£19.01, HG Wines, stjohngroup.uk.com) Utterly delightful unoaked white from a winemaker who has helped revitalise Brézème, a small, long-neglected Rhône appellation that sits at the top of the southern part of the valley, but which has a style more in common with the north.
