With Bordeaux, What a Difference a Year Makes

- Wait for the dollar to recover. No matter how great the 2005 wines are, the weak dollar has made them dubious buys. History suggests that the dollar will recover and that another "vintage of the century" will appear, both sooner rather than later.

- Look for undervalued great wines from earlier vintages -- another reason you'll need a good wine merchant, although the Internet is useful, too. An outstanding vintage for the mainly cabernet-sauvignon wines of the M-doc is 1996, while 1998 favored the merlot communes of St. Emilion and Pomerol. High 2005 prices have put pressure on those earlier vintages, but there are still relative bargains. And those wines have several years of bottle age and are either close to or at their peak, so it won't be long before you can realize a delectable return on your investment.

Joseph Ward is senior wine correspondent for Conde Nast Traveler.

Five to Try

Stores that stock or will ship these reliably good-quality Bordeaux can be found on http://www.Wine-searcher.com and http://www.Wineaccess.com.

-Chateau Potensac ($20-$28): The cru bourgeois classifications are full of strivers' wines with no laurels to rest on, and Chateau Potensac is a prime example. I've been buying Potensac since 1982 and have rarely been disappointed. The wonderful 2003 is still available for less than $25.

-Chateau Poujeaux ($22-$30): A large and impeccably run cru bourgeois exceptionnel that, like Potensac, is making wine much better than its classification. The 2000 is splendid now, and a bargain at about $30.

-Chateau Sociando-Mallet ($38-$48): Few classified growths can match the consistent quality of this cru bourgeois over the past 25 years. Such quality is no secret, and the price keeps rising, but Sociando-Mallet still represents good value. The 2003, my favorite Sociando-Mallet since 1990, sells for less than $50.

-Chateau de Reignac ($20-$25): This is classified as a humble Bordeaux superieur, but an ambitious and quality-conscious owner has turned Reignac into something more. The last four or five vintages have produced very good wines.

-Chateau Leoville Barton ($45-$120; the latter price is for the 2005): When the English talk about claret, this grand cru classe from Saint Julien is the sort of wine they mean. Until the 2005 vintage, Leoville Barton was one of the last reasonably priced great wines of Bordeaux, and perhaps it will be again. While you're waiting, buy a bottle of the superb 2004 for about $55, and find out why otherwise rational people can lose their minds over great Bordeaux.

-- Joseph Ward