I cut my teeth on Bordeaux and I can remember the day. Vintages of the century were few and far between and disaster was never more than the next hailstorm away. Of course, this was before Robert Parker healed the land and made the Bordelaise fabulously wealthy. Back in the day, Bordeaux expertise was measured by your ability to sniff out the good wines in a poor vintage. Everyone got a lot of practice.

As the Bordelaise contemplate a third consecutive iffy harvest, I suspect happy days are here again. There's something definitely amiss since the glorious vintage of 2005. In the era of climate change, this wasn't supposed to happen. Consider that the first half of this decade had produced a VOC (vintage of the century) twice, in 2000 and again in 2005, and another vintage, 2003, that was so sunny and warm the Medoc couldn't help but produce California-style wines. Quite the role reversal, that.

They hadn't started picking when I visited Saint-Emilion and Pomerol in mid-September. Grape sugars were low and recent rains and humidity were causing problems with rot. Everyone was praying for just 10 days of warm sunshine, but most knew the jig was up. There wouldn't be enough heat, even if they avoided the rains, to push the sugars and fully ripen the grapes.

Of course, the Bordelaise can add sugar to achieve the desired alcohol strength. True ripeness and flavor is something only nature can manage. They won't get it this year except in spots, and they didn't have it in 2007. And those who remember 2006 know that it was destined to be a great vintage until a funny thing happened on the way to another VOC. That was the year of the big chill. It happened in August and it was a signal event.

"It turned cold," I remember one chateau owner saying during the '06 en primeurs barrel-tastings in the spring of 2007. "I don't mean cool. I mean cold. It was like that for two weeks. Nothing ripened during that period. Everything came to a halt."

It appeared as though a gorgeous Indian summer might save the harvest in September, but then the rains came. Some chateaux were able to make good wine, some not so much. On the Right Bank and in some areas of the Medoc, especially, the wines were harsh and tannic, or thin and weedy.

The following year was difficult as well, and anyone who tells you 2008 is going to be exceptional would be fibbing. So what's going on? I'm neither a scientist nor a climate-change expert, so I'll stick with what I know.

The current string of problematic vintages is simply Bordeaux being Bordeaux. It has always been this way, save for that miraculous run of superb vintages over the past quarter-century, but mostly those of the amazing Eighties. A refresher: The vintages of 1982, 1985 and 1989 were widely heralded successes. What many forget is that 1981 was very good, 1983 was better in many ways than 1982, 1986 was very good and 1988 was an extraordinary vintage that was vastly underrated. But we haven't seen a decade like the '80s since, although the '90s and the first half of this decade certainly produced noteworthy years.

The upshot of all of this is that skill is back in play. As consumers weigh Bordeaux purchases from the vintages of 2006, 2007 and 2008, they will have to know their stuff lest they get burned. As it was in the good old days, knowing the producer and the track record of the chateau will be more important than the overall evaluation of the vintage.

The Bordelaise have become more adept at dealing with calamities of farming than they once were, and their selection in the vineyard and winemaking skills are vastly improved in the modern Bordeaux. Where they once accepted bad vintages as an act of nature and blemished the brand with unremarkable wines that made the truly good vintages even more vivid and desirable — and expensive — the modern vintner of Bordeaux at least attempts to blunt the effects of poor growing conditions.

Certainly, the First Growths do this, and their example has been closely watched by lesser chateaux. The standards at properties such as Lynch-Bages and Canon-La-Gaffeliere are every bit as high. That's just to name two. There are others.

With several questionable vintages coming to market over the next couple of years, it would behoove Bordeaux lovers the world over to become acquainted with those estates that hold to high standards.

Bordeaux prices are too high, and there are too many other parts of the world producing exceptional wine, to do otherwise.

BEST BUY

Wines are rated on a 100-point scale. Wines are chosen for review because they represent outstanding quality or value.

Paul Jaboulet 2005 "Les Jalets" Crozes Hermitage, France ($27) — One of the finer examples of Crozes Hermitage I've experienced from Jaboulet, the '05 Les Jalets is an utterly delicious wine. This vintage delivers ripe, juicy, fleshy raspberry and blueberry fruit, a savory smoked game backnote, and a scintillating nuance of white pepper and brown spice. All in a beautifully balanced package with seamless, supple tannins. Rating: 91.

Tasting Notes

Henriot 1998 Brut Millesime Champagne, France ($95) — Absolutely one of the finest 1998 Champagnes I have tasted to date, this remarkable release from Henriot calls to mind all of the worn cliches you may have heard about the qualitative differences between Champagne and sparkling wines produced elsewhere. Nowhere else will you find the combination of power, delicacy, creaminess with firm structure, complexity of aroma, and longevity. Only in the chalky soils of Champagne. This vintage of Henriot is a masterpiece, very complex and long in the mouth, with a clean, lingering finish. It was aged six years on the lees before disgorgement, but will easily go another 10 to12 years on the cork. Rating: 95.

Etude 2006 Temblor Vineyard Pinot Noir, Carneros ($60) — Carneros pinot noir is famous for its lifted red-fruit aromas, and Etude's Temblor provides that in spades. This is a polished, seamless Carneros pinot that has enough weighty gravitas to compete with the top guns from Oregon, Russian River Valley and the emerging stars of the Central Coast. Aromas of raspberry and cherry are dominant, with a flattering note of spice on the nose and the palate, good balance and an exciting bit of minerality for added complexity. Rating: 93.

Etude 2006 Deer Camp Vineyard Pinot Noir, Carneros ($60) — Pure aromas of blueberry and black cherry, with good density and weight on the palate. Firm tannins, with a slight bite on the back end. Should open up completely in another year or so. Attractive savory dried herb notes, forest floor, good overall balance and a long finish that shows a touch of minerality. Rating: 91.

Domaine Faiveley 2006 Nuits-Saint-Georges, France ($60) — This important village in the Cotes de Nuits produces powerful, long-lived red Burgundies that are often difficult to approach at this stage. Not so Faiveley's '06, which signals a change in coopers for this well established domaine. Whether it is the barrel regimen or something else that has tamed the hard Nuits-Saint-Georges tannins, this new release from Faiveley is a stunning wine that expresses itself with the elegance and polish of a premier cru. The noses offers complex aromas of red and black fruits, spice and forest floor, supported by supple tannins and good balance between acidity and fruit. Drinkable now, but likely to improve if properly cellared over the next 10-15 years. Rating: 90.

Domaine Faiveley 2006 Montagny, France ($28) — Montagny is a little-known — in the U.S. — village in Burgundy's Cote Chalonnaise. Faiveley's '06 Montagny is brimming with yellow citrus fruit, pear and a stony minerality more closely associated with the wines of Chablis. It is well balanced, with modest alcohol of 12.8 percent, and elegant without sacrificing intensity. If you're of a mind to stock a house chardonnay that's a cut above, the price is very attractive. Rating: 89.

Domaine Faiveley 2006 Mercurey, France ($26) — Mercurey is often held out as a good option in red Burgundy for the bargain hunter. It seldom is because this village is famous for its coarse tannins, making most red Mercurey painful to drink when young. And generally not prestigious enough to take up valuable space in the cellar. Domaine Faiveley, which is no stranger to rough tannins, seems to have tamed the beast in this vintage. The tannins are firm but rather fine, allowing lovely red fruits and spice to emerge in this remarkably good village wine. Palate weight is exceptional for a Mercurey (these wines are often thin) and the silky tannins lend structure without muting the fruit. It finishes with length and elegance. And look at the price! Rating: 88.

To find out more about Robert Whitley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.