Although the world is chockablock with wine, coming across something deserving of the accolade “remarkable” is surprisingly rare. Most wines, like most people, are merely normal: They’re pleasant but forgettable. That may be uncharitable, but then, I’m a critic.

All of which is to say forthrightly that the wines recommended this week are remarkable. When you taste them you will sit up and take notice. (That’s always the giveaway to “remarkable”.) And you will remark that that they’re awfully good for the money, which they are. That’s always nice, too.

HERE’S THE DEAL

VOUVRAY LE HAUT-LIEU SEC 2004, DOMAINE HUET

One of the rarest wines in the world is a great Vouvray. It shouldn’t be, as the village of Vouvray in the Loire Valley is home to dozens of producers. Yet the number of great growers can be counted on the fingers of one hand: Huet, Foreau, Poniatowski, Allias, and Champalou. You could count another hand’s worth if you’re feeling generous. But that would be it by anybody’s reckoning. Arguably the best of the bunch is Domaine Huet.

Among Loire wine lovers, Domaine Huet releases are an anticipated event. Gaston Huet, who died in 2002, created a sterling reputation for Vouvrays both dry and rich. (He also served as the mayor of Vouvray.)

Huet’s son-in-law, Noel Pinguet, has made the wines for the last two decades and inherited the estate upon Huet’s death. Mr. Pinguet initiated the estate’s biodynamic practices, a form of extreme organic agriculture and ultra-naturalistic winemaking.

Mr. Pinguet sold Domaine Huet to New York investor Anthony Hwang, as Mr. Pinguet’s children are not interested in continuing in their father’s footsteps. Mr. Pinguet continues as winemaker and administrator with Mr. Hwang’s enthusiastic (but hands-off) backing. The wines are, if anything, better today than ever before.

Proof is beautifully demonstrated in this brand-new release of the 2004 Le Haut-Lieu Sec, which is Huet’s bone-dry Vouvray from its 22-acre Le Haut-Lieu (the upper site) vineyard. Like all great Vouvrays, this is a dry white wine that won’t fully flower for at least another five years. Then it will improve for another decade after that Top Vouvrays are nothing if not extremely long-lived.

But 2004 Le Haut-Lieu is already appealing. It’s dense, suffused with minerality (the vineyard is clay over limestone) and crisp without any acidic bite. Right now, it pairs beautifully with any simple fish dish. But if you’ve got a cool space and some patience, you will be rewarded with a far more dimensional dry white wine a few years hence.

The price is downright cheap for a dry white wine of this caliber and pedigree: $22.95. (Multiple merchants including Chambers Street Wines, 160 Chambers St., 212-227-1434.)

ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2003, IL POGGIONE

Many years ago, on one of my early forays to the Brunello di Montalcino zone in southern Tuscany, I arranged to visit the legendary Brunello producer Piero Talenti. I didn’t speak any Italian at that time and, it turned out, Talenti spoke no English.

After I arrived, our linguistic obstacle became immediately apparent. I was ready to excuse myself, with blushing apologies, but Talenti motioned me to sit in his living room. I did as instructed. Fifteen minutes passed and in walked an officer of the Italian state police. He was clearly no ordinary member of the caribinieri. The lower ranks of the organization, which is quasi-military, are filled with very young men fulfilling their obligations to Italy’s mandatory military draft. So you get, well, a pretty mixed bunch.

This caribiniero, however, was a magnificent-looking fellow in his late 30s.Well over 6 feet tall, he was resplendent in his (of course) well-tailored uniform. And he was movie-star handsome. I was already feeling pretty miserable about my linguistic limitations. Now this specimen of Italian manhood comes striding in, making me feel even more pathetic.

“How do you do,” he said in easy English. “I’m Roberto. Signore Talenti asked me to help with a bit of translating, which I’m happy to do.” With that, Talenti beamed. I beamed too. And the movie-star caribiniero flashed a dazzling smile that Marcello Mastroianni would have envied. (I later learned that the guy was a superstar in the caribinieri, having achieved a high officer rank faster than anyone in living memory.)

Anyway, it was a swell visit. We tasted numerous Brunello wines, many from off-vintages which, in the hands of the aptly named Talenti, were superior to most of his colleagues’ best-vintage bottlings. I came away convinced that Il Poggione was one of Brunello di Montalcino’s finest estates. I remain convinced to this day.

Rosso di Montalcino is a so-called “baby Brunello.” Made 100% from the local sangiovese clone called brunello, a Rosso di Montalcino can be anything from a slight red wine to something impressively close to its namesake big brother. This 2003 from Il Poggione falls decidedly in that latter category.

The 2003 vintage everywhere in Italy was unusually hot. Ripeness was no problem but excessive hard tannins were, along with a roasted quality to the fruit from the blazing heat. This was deftly sidestepped, however, at Il Poggione, proof that Talenti’s legacy remains vibrant. He left Il Poggione to start a nearby winery, called Talenti, which continues today after his recent death.

Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino 2003 is one of the best Rossos I’ve tasted in a long time. Rich, beautifully structured and unusually intense, this truly is remarkable red wine. It’s surely one of the triumphs of the vintage. And it will do nothing but improve for upward of a decade, although it’s mighty fine drinking even now. $26.