The Zantho 2006 St. Laurent – vinified in a mixture of used barriques and tanks – offers, as it has in past vintages, a slightly leathery, gamey side of this Pinot Noir relative – along with ripe cherry fruit and a generous mouth feel. It will, I suspect, be best enjoyed by early 2010. The collaboration between Josef Umathum (many of whose recent wines are reported on in this issue) and the growers’ cooperative Andlau on the Hungarian border, Zantho has been offering some excellent values, and now includes small amounts of Gruner Veltliner, Mucat Ottonel, and nobly sweet wine from other Burgenland sources. But the concentration here is on red, and all three indigenous varieties are rendered in versions that represent very good values.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334 6700

Lively, perfumed, properly fresh and fruity as befits a juicy, ripe St. Laurent. There are no pretensions here, just pleasurable strawberry-and citrus-edged wine.——R.V.(10/1/2007)—— 88