1998 Cha^teau Couhins-Lurton, Pessac-Leognan, France.

The white wines of Graves (renamed Pessac-Leognan in 1987) are not as well known as they should be. Made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, the same grapes that (in inverse proportion) produce Bordeaux’s fabled Sauternes, these bone-dry wines are tremendously food-friendly. They age beautifully, too, developing layers of flavor and nuance with time.

Cha^teau Couhins-Lurton consistently produces excellent whites, but its 1998 is something else again--finely knit, with hints of honey and lime on the nose and a taste of minerals and the sea. It manages to be both powerful and graceful, no mean feat.

About $30. Available at Wine Exchange, 2368 N. Orange Mall, Orange, (714) 974-1454, and Hi-Time Wine Cellars, 250 Ogle St., Costa Mesa, (949) 650-8463. If you can’t find this wine, have your retailer contact the distributor, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies Inc., (805) 686-9153.