Two Italian wines made the list of the world's top ten wines drawn up by the prestigious American trade magazine Wine Spectator.
Both wines were 'super Tuscans' with Antinori's Tignanello 2004 coming in fourth and Tenuta dell Ornellaia's Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia 2004 ranked seventh.
First place went to the French wine Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 Clos des Papes, while the American Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountain Estate 2005 was second and Le Vieux Donnjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 placed third.
Last year Italy's Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2001 Casanova di Neri was number one on the American magazine's list.
In its description of the Antinori Tignanello, Wine Spectator wrote: ''this blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is arguably the original super Tuscan. The long, measured summer of 2004 produced a full, concentrated and velvety wine that matches the quality of the great 1997 and 1988 vintages''.
The magazine said that Ornellaia, ''a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, remains among the flagship wines from the rapidly developing Bolgheri area on the Tuscan coast. This is the best Ornellaia since the 1997 vintage''.
The Ornellaia 1998 Lodovico Antinori topped Wine Spectator's list in 2001, a year after Solaia 1997 Piero Antinori, produced in the Bolgheri area, received the same recognition.
Wine Spectator arranged blind tastings this year for more than 15,000 wines and then drew up a list of 100 wines based on four criteria: quality (represented by score); value (reflected by list price); availability (measured by case production or cases imported); and an X-factor defined as 'excitement'.
The top ten, however, ''reflect our editors' judgment and enthusiasm about the wines we tasted,'' the magazine explained.
