Aged Vino takes 2nd in Dauphine prologue.

Vino, sweet formerly red Vinokourov, continues to age like a fine Kazakh dessert wine.

In the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Vinokourov finished just two seconds behind winner Lars Boom (Rabobank) and amazingly beat an on-form Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) by three ticks.

It's also a small but nice psychological edge on the other GC contenders like Cadel Evans (BMC), Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and defending champion Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack).

The legs are turning over very well, I had some good sensations,” Vinokourov said. “It’s very good.” Drink enough wine and the sensations are always good, my Kazakh friend.

Kazakhstan does love their vino but acreage is limited so they import 80% of their wine. Some wine critics claim the local wines taste like horse urine but that's no reflection on Vinokourov.

Still Vino motors on at age 37, winning a Tour de France stage last year and a terrific (or exasperating, depending on point of view) win in Leige-Bastogne-Leige. This season he managed a 3rd place in the Tour of Romandie and put the pedal to the metal today in the Dauphiné prologue.

The Tour de France begins in less than a month and Vino will make his final assault on La Grande Boucle. Like a vintage Rkatsiteli Kazakhstan or an age dry Aligote wine, he still rides with a certain undeniable style.

Kazakhstan's master wine maker Leonid Jahangirov would appreciate that.