2007 Wine between $25 and $50

The 2007 Quimera is a multi-regional blend of 38% Malbec, 24% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc aged for 12 months in 40% new French oak before bottling without fining or filtration (as were all of these wines). Purple-colored, it displays an expressive perfume of cedar, scorched earth, violets, black cherry, and black raspberry. Medium- to full-bodied, this mouth-filling blend is sweetly fruited, complex, layered, and rich. It will continue to blossom for another 2-3 years and drink well through 2022.

Imagine what Château Lafite-Rothschild would taste like if Malbec grew as well in Bordeaux as it does in Argentina? Caro, which is made in Argentina by the owners of Lafite, provides the answer. It has the classic mineral and herb notes of Lafite, and Lafite's classic Cabernet structure, but it adds the distinctive deep, rich black fruit notes that can only be obtained from Argentina's world-class Malbec grapes. For this wine, Lafite has teamed up with Argentina’s leading winery, Catena Zapata, which owns most of the finest Malbec vineyards in the region.

The nose takes time to coalesce in the glass, very pure with honey, white peach, Turkish Delight honeysuckle, and beeswax. The palate is beautifully balanced, still with some oak to be subsumed, but has great depth and precision. This is a confident, almost ambitious Suduiraut with great power and intensity towards the botrytis-rich, viscous finish that is endowed with great persistency. Lovely. Drink now-2030.

?Bright purple. This looks like a much younger wine. Heady aromas of candied black and blue fruits, garrigue and licorice, with a smoky overtone. Rich but lively, offering vibrant cherry and boysenberry flavors that gain energy and sweetness with air. Quite showy, with excellent finishing clarity, soft tannins and lingering sweetness. Demonstrates the best attributes of this ripe vintage.?

The 2007 Fonseca Vintage Port is opaque purple-colored with a high-class perfume of lavender, Asian spices, pencil lead, incense, and an amalgam of black fruits. On the palate it is voluminous with layered, succulent fruit, outstanding density, and excellent integration of tannin, acidity, and alcohol. The long finish and the wine's impeccable balance suggest a lengthy evolution and a drinking window extending out to 2045.