Robertson Winery, Gewurztraminer, Special Late Harvest, 2007 (South Africa) - This was in the dessert wine section of Best Cellars and only cost around $15 for a full size bottle.  I expected both sweet and exotic.  In my opinion it was far short of the sweetest Gewurz I've tried, plus it really didn't have much of the famous Gewurz spiciness and complexity.  All in all this is just a 5 out of 10 for lower average.

Leacock's Rainwater Madeira (Portugal) - Rainwater started by accident when barrels of full strength Madeira got wet in a rainfall on a ship and the merchants were surprised the New World clients actually liked it that way and ordered more.  So basically it's watered down Madeira.  I stalled a long time in trying it because I'm so fond of the full strength Madeiras.  Now that I did I know I really wasn't missing anything.  Sure it has some of the classic Madeira flavors, BUT it is lacking in the richness and complexity of the full strength Madeiras.  Personally I feel Rainwater is a rip-off, do yourself a favor and buy the real thing instead.  Just 5 out of 10 for lower average.

Santa Julia, Tardio, 2007 (Argentina) - This is a late harvest Torrontes which really had me curious because the last Torrontes we tried was soapy and didn't get a good review.  Well in this case the sweetness comes through fine but the wine itself seems like almost any other white and really doesn't have much complexity or flavor besides simply "sweet".  Nancy really liked this one but personally I was disappointed.  Probably I'd rather drink the soapy Torrontes than this sweet version, at least the soapy one had it's own character.  5 out of 10 for lower average.