2014 Domaine Chene MACON MILLY LAMARTINE (Southern Burgundy, France)

This vibrant, flavorful, unoaked Chardonnay should be every restaurants' house white.  Just a fantastic value.

Shimmering bright, light gold color.  Almost Riesling-like nose of ripe, juicy yellow peach, mouthwatering crisp apple, honey and wet stones.  Mouthfilling, yet extraordinarily light on its feet.  Peach, pear, and apple fruit mingles and leads to a stony, honeyed finish.  Very nice acids buoy the whole thing up.  Drink over the next year for its liveliness.  (Great value!)  A-.  Was $12.99 from WTSO.com.  Imported by MHW, Ltd., Manhasset, NY.

(Sorry, 2013 shown.)

2010 Garofoli ROSSO CONERO "Piancarda" (Marche, Italy)

Rosso Conero is the Montepulciano-based wine from the region where my grandparents were born.  It's always been somewhat hard to find in this country, but in recent years a few more have made it to the U.S.  Unfortunately, the ones that make it here tend to be of the new, "international" style,  which means harvesting riper than traditionally, blending in some damn Cabernet or Syrah (or something else that isn't from there) sometimes (which actually causes it to lose the authorization to be called Rosso Conero), and using small French oak barrels for ageing instead either large Slavonian oak casks or non-wood tanks.  And as a result, most of the new-fangled ones suck.  (Well, maybe not in a technical sense, but in the sense that they're inauthentic.)

This one is a spot-on, traditional styled Rosso Conero that tastes like it should.  Which means balanced, a tad rustic, and great with food.

Deep, plasma-like ruby (the Montepulciano is a deeply-colored varietal).  Intense nose of rich gravelly soil, smoke notes, and underneath it all, deep dark berries.  Mouthfilling and with a load of soft but noticeable tannin, this wine really packs a lot of rich flavor, mostly of earthy blackberry fruit and smoky minerally notes.  Decent acidity.  Really nicely done.  Not the most complex wine, but that's not what it's supposed to be.  It's supposed to be great with food, like the Pollo alla Romana I'm making tonight.  A-.  Imported by Grappoli Imports, Glenburnie, MD.  My brother gave this to me, and he said it was around $15, which would make it a great buy.

2012 Clos du Mont Olivet COTES DU RHONE "Vieilles Vignes" (Southern France)

This was a delicious, balanced, pure-tasting red.  Nice now, it will keep and improve for a couple of years easily.

Gorgeous, youthful dark ruby/magenta color.  Pure, deep, primary scents of pristine black raspberry juice and a with of an herbal/rhubarb note.  Soft, mouthfilling, and full-bodied, it sports a dense yet soft mouthfeel, and is redolent of dark cherry, iodine-tinged fruit.  Loads of fine-grained tannins and clingy minerally notes appear in the back half of the mouth-life.  Nice length.  This wine is made by one of the top Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers, and at $14.99 a bottle represents an excellent value.  Got this at the Whole Foods in the Clarendon section of Arlington VA.  Imported by Dionysis Imports, Manassas, VA.  A-.

2011 Thorn-Clarke "Shotfire" SHIRAZ (Barossa Valley, Australia)

This had everything in beautiful balance.  Nice body and concentration.  Velvety texture.  Nose had swirling mixture of smoke, gravelly minerals, gorgeous dark berry fruit, and a meaty element.  Deep flavors of iodiney/minerally blackberry extract.  A saline element in the finish, which is long.  Not overripe or hot, as many Aussie Shirazes can be.  Really fine.  A-.  Was about $15 at Total Wine in Fairfax.  Drink over the next two years.

(Sorry, 2009 shown.)

2009 Chateau Haut-Canteloup MEDOC (Bordeaux, France)

A very nicely-balanced, velvety-soft Merlot-dominated blend.  No oak showing at all, and that's a nice thing.

Very sultry black ruby.  On day 1, the nose showed next-to-nothing.  Day 2 (after being under a Vacu-Vin closure, it exhibited a medium-intensity nose of plummy, dark cherry/blackberryish fruit, along with a scorchy gravel component.  Medium full bodied in the mouth.  It's bone dry, but very soft, with lots of plummy fruit and a gravelly/graphitey note.  Clean, clingy finish.  While the lack of discernible tannin would normally lead me to think it should be drunk in the short term, the tight, closed nose and flavors, which opened only on day 2 definitely augur for 1-2 more years of cellaring.  This will drink well until 2018 or so.  B+.  Nice value at $14.99 from WTSO.com.  Imported  by Serge Dore Selections, Chappaqua, NY.

2012 Chateau Pesquie "Terrasses" VENTOUX (Rhone Valley, France)

As it usually is in most vintages, this wine is a solid, ripe, minerally Rhone that will go with lots of foods.  This wine fleshes out a grows on you as it airs out.

Dark, youthful ruby violet.  Nose features loads of minerally scents, ranging from crushed sandstone to very dark, iodiney rocks.  Almost, but not quite in equipoise is spicy blackberry fruit.  In the mouth, the flavors are clingy and long, but while the wine has a good attack and is very persistent, it's not heavy at all.  Decent acidity and loads of medium-soft tannin.  Imagine a Domaine Tempier regular cuvee Bandol, but with more Grenache influence (and at half the price).  B+/A-.  I got this for $14.99 from zachys.com.  Pretty good value at that price.  Imported by Eric Solomon/European Cellars, Charlotte, NC.

(Sorry, 2008 depicted.)

2012 Mockingbird Hill ZINFANDEL Reserve (Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California)

This wine is very young and, at present, needs a lot of time to breathe.  The first night I thought it was going to be mediocre, since it showed zero fruit and seemed to display nothing but vaguely oaky scents and alcohol.  Then I put it under a Vacu-Vin closure for two full nights and forgot about it.  I came back to it on the third day, and, in an Easter season miracle, it rose from the dead (i.e., it was a different wine altogether).  These notes are from day three.

Very dark, youthful-looking ruby.  Classic Dry Creek Valley scents of creamy, spicy black raspberry/blackberry fruit, augmented by some stony scents.  Soft, rich, and mouthfilling.  It's ripe, but not overripe, which seems to be a problem with Zins these days.  Loads of pure, ripe, dark berry fruit, and some darkly-minerally notes.  Full-bodied, and possessing loads of youthful but reasonably soft tannins.  Pure, long, juicy finish.  If you want to "pop-n-pour" this one, you're going to need to wait 2-3 years.  If you want to drink it before then, be sure to decant it (through a Vinturi) for several hours ahead of time.  B+(+).  Was $14.99 from WTSO.com, making it a pretty good value.

(Note:  Cabernet label shown, but the Zinfandel label has the same look.)

2012 Domaine de le Potine TOURAINE Blanc (Sauvignon Blanc) (Loire Valley, France)

A zesty, refreshing wine.  Not a lot of depth, but, boy, is it easy to gulp down.

Nose has scents of lemon-lime, green apple, tarragon, and chalk.  Crisp, zingy, and minerally in the mouth.  Light-bodied, with loads of crisp acids, it has a solid beam of lemony, green apply fruit, and a very clean, refreshing finish.  Drink over the next 18 months (particularly on hot summer days and nights).  B/B+.  Was $13.99 from wineaccess.com.  Imported by Fleet Street Wine Merchants.

2012 Michel Chapoutier "Bila-Haut" COTES DU ROUSSILLON VILLAGES (Southern France)

Not as extroverted as the 2011 or 2009 renditions, this blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignane is
very nicely proportioned and in nice balance.

Nearly saturated dark violet-ruby.  Subdued nose grudgingly yields scents of smoky, stony minerals and a shrinking note of ripe blackberry.  The mouth is a different story.  It aggressively leaps at and clings to the sides of your mouth with flavors of iodiney, dry blackberry extract and liquified dark stones.  Bone dry, with a significant amount of fine-grained tannin dustily coating the mouth.  This wine has decent acids and a reasonably long finish.  This wine wine likely be a little more aromatically expressive, and maybe a tad softer, in a year.  B.  Was $12.99 at Whole Foods in Arlington.  Imported by HB Wine Merchants, NYC.

2009 Baloiro BIERZO Mencia Reserva (Spain)

Totally overblown.  This wine is a caricature of a what the Anti-Parkerites think Parker advocates (he's not as bad as they make him seem, but you get the point).  Overripe, flabby, overoaked, tasting of nowhere.  Tasted blind, I would have no idea where this wine came from.  Given the extract level, this could have been a great wine if they had picked it earlier and skipped the new oak.

Completely saturated, plasma-like black ruby.  The nose is intense, displaying loads of liquid baker's chocolate and overripe blackberry extract.  Underneath there's some nice minerality trying to make its way out, it's struggling, giving it a game try, but it's no use . . . the chocolate is too strong . . . must get air . . . can't go on . . . can't . . . aaarrrggghhh!  [Strangling gasps].  Back to reality.  The texture is nice, not too much tannin despite the heavy-handed extraction.  There is a dense weightiness of sweet blackberry extract and dark chocolate in the mouth.  But the acids are nonexistent, so it just seems heavy and one-dimensional.  C-.  Was $14.99 from WTSO.com.  Imported by Classic Wines, Stamford, CT.

2010 Domaine Coudoulis LIRAC (Southern Rhone, France)

Liracs always seem to me to be the lazy sibling in the Cotes du Rhone family.  Never exuberant,  usually laid back.  Sometimes verging on boring.  This wine needs significant airing, but after it gets it, it's pretty nice in a typical Lirac-ian low-key sort of way.

Very dark, rich-looking black ruby.  The nose sucked on day one.  Nothing there but dark scents.  Like sniffing Darth Vader's helmet.  On day 2 (under a Vacu-vin enclosure), it exhibited low-toned, medium-intensity, rich, sweet dark crushed berry fruit, along with significant crushed stone minerality.  Soft, rich, and low-toned flavors of dark crushed berries and forest floor earthiness.  A little iodiney quality in the finish.  It's got loads of medium-grained tannin, but I wouldn't age it too much longer because as the second night wore on I detected some oxidation.  So give it some air and then kill the bottle.  B.  Was $14.99 from Total Wine in Fairfax.  Imported by Saranty Imports, White Plains, NY (which I think is Total Wine's importing arm . . .  because why not take the middle man's cut yourself?).

2010 Shingleback SHIRAZ "The Davey Estate" (McLaren Vale, Australia)

I don't buy many Aussie Shirazes, and I've had way too many oaky, liquid jam-jars, but this one was billed as a leaner, more minerally exhibition of the grape, and it actually is.  It's quite nice.  Still identifiably Aussie, but stripped down.

Impenetrable black ruby, with a violet tinge.  Loads of liquid, slightly saline dark minerals, cedar, and blackberry and cassis skins on the nose.  Bone dry, dark blackberry extract and a clingy, iodiney streak in the mouth initially.  Loads of soft tannin then announces itself, and the lean, concentrated flavor profile grows slightly riper and sweeter on the back end.  Full-bodied, but not nearly overbearingly huge like some of its Aussie cousins.  The finish is very long and linear.  There is a lot going on in this wine.  Really fine.  A-.  Was $14.99 from WTSO.com, making it a very good value.  Would be outstanding with a juicy, grilled prime porterhouse.  Imported by Precept Wine, Seattle, WA.

2009 Viticcio CHIANTI CLASSICO (Tuscany, Italy)

This is a textbook Chianti Classico.  And I got this for a song on sale (I bought a case for a price that netted out at $10.50/bottle, including shipping, from zachys.com on a close-out!).  I am an unabashed fan of the wines from this estate.

Very black-tinged ruby.  Lively nose of red berries, tangy rich cherries, and a whiff of dry, dusty gravel.  Smacks the mouth with ripe, zingy red fruits, wine-soaked gravel, and stony minerals.  Very nice acids and well-integrated soft tannin keep the mouthfeel interesting.  Nice length.  Just a pleasure to drink.  It's textbook Chianti Classico, which means not only is it fun to drink but it also will go well with a wide variety of foods.  B+/A-.  Will keep for at least another 2-3 years.  Imported by Massanois Imports, Washington DC.

2011 Cline Ancient Vines CARIGNANE (Contra Costa County, Cal.)

A big, deep, fruity, rich wine.  A bit more complexity and it would have been outstanding, but as is, it's really nice.

Saturated black ruby/violet.  Intense nose of ripe mixed berries and plums, along with wafts of sweet, high-toned smoke.  Intense and pure in the mouth.  Hits right away with weighty, dense ripe dark berry fruit and dark, gravelly minerals.  Lots of weight, but not overbearing, the flavors tenaciously cling to the mouth.  Very full bodied and moderately tannic.  This wine does not skimp on flavor.  A-/B+.  Was $14.99 at Total Wine in Fairfax, VA.

2010 Romain Parisis "Cuvee Signee" CHINON (Loire Valley, France)

A straightforward, zesty, bone dry Cab Franc.  Not a lot of depth, and just barely ripe enough, but it's got a lot of vivacity.  It seemed thin and underripe on night one, but the second night it filled out a bit and was much more pleasurable.

Youthful medium ruby still with a hint of violet.  The nose has classic Chinon scents of machine oil, dried fall leaves, and tart black cherry.  You can smell the acidity that's about to hit you.  Lots of barely ripe cherry fruit in the mouth, with a substantial streak of dried underbrush and minerals.  Clean, medium-long finish with loads of acids, keeping it very fresh.  I had it with fried chicken and it went very well.  B, though if it had bit more depth I'd rank it higher.  This was $12.99 at Total Wine in Fairfax, making it a pretty decent value.

2008 "DFJ" Touriga Nacional/Touriga Franga (Lisboa, Portugal)

This was inexpensive, but I had reasonably high hopes for it, since it's from a relatively cool climate area.  But it was like any typical overripe "international style" red you can get from some industrial Argentina Malbec or Chilean Carmenere.  (I've never met a Malbec I really liked, though I have had a Carmenere or two that were quite good, though most are overripe fruit bombs.)  Plus it's at the end of its life.  The second day, it was flatness and showed a bit of oxidation, even though I had stored it under a Vacu-Vin.  Not a good sign.  C-.  Was $10.99 from the European Import Store on Pershing and Washington in Arlington.

2012 Altes Herencia GARNATXA NEGRA (Tierra Alta, Spain)

This was a fantastic value, but it needs a lot of air to hit its stride.

Vibrant, dark, violet-tinged ruby.  The first night, the nose was almost reduced, showing a little of that tank stink.  Nights two and three it really started to shine.  Loads of ripe, lively dark raspberry and dark cherry fruit, augmented by loads of stony minerality.  Straightforward flavors of lightly spicy, very pure tasting dark raspberry extract.  Fairly full-bodied but with really nice balance.  Hard to stop drinking.  A fantastic weeknight dinner wine.  Decant this a few hours ahead of time, and use a Vinturi type aerator if you have one.  B+.  This was $10.99 from Zachys.com, making it, as mentioned above, a great value.

2010 Rutherford Ranch Old Vine ZINFANDEL (Napa Valley, CA)

A unique style of Zinfandel.  But it's pretty good and not very expensive.

Startling light color for a Zin.  Basically a medium light ruby.  The first night, the nose was kind of funky, throwing off some stewed prune and acetate notes.  But the next night was much better.  There was a melange of superripe blackberry, fragrant baking spices, and warm sandstone.  Full-bodied and loose-jointed in the mouth, maybe lacking a bit of focus and concentration, but with lots of minerally blackberry fruit swimming around.  A bit of heat shows through in the finish (it's 15% for Pete's sake), but it's not out of balance.  Drink over the next year.  This would be very nice with winey beef stews and pot roasts.  B/B+.  Was $14.99 at Total Wine in Fairfax.

2010 I Giusti & Zanza "Nemorino" (Tuscany, Italy)

I usually don't buy non-DOC Italian wines, especially from Tuscany, because they're usually non-indigenous varietals and tend to be heavily oaked and "international" in style.  I hate that shit on principle.  But my research indicated that this 60% Syrah, 20% Sangiovese, 20% (f*cking) Merlot is aged only in large casks for a short period, and was grown organically near Pisa.  So I gave it a shot.  I like it.

The first night it was very tight and unyielding.  I got nothing out of it.  Good thing I didn't review it then.  But I put it under Vacu-Vin for two days and came back to on night 3.  Much better.

Very dark, black ruby with violet highlights.  On night 3 the nose showed very precise dark cherry fruit, framed nicely by slightly smoky, rock dusty- minerals.  Concentrated, focused fruit in the mouth, with nice persistence and texture.  Medium-full body and great acids.  Finishes just a tad shorter than I'd like, but is very pleasurable.  The fact that it took so long to show itself tells me this wine will age nicely for a few years.  If you're going to drink it in the next 12 months, be sure to decant it in a huge decanter several hours ahead of time.  This wine will go well with a wide range of dishes. B+.  Was $14.99 from WTSO.com.  Imported by Superior Wines, Cranford, NJ.

PS -- I have to say, the label just sucks.  Really stupid.

2010 Mas de Gourgonnier LES BAUX DE PROVENCE (Southern France)

A disappointing rendition of this usually outstanding value. I expected a lot more, especially from the terrific 2010 vintage.

Dark, blackish ruby.  The first night, the nose gave up nothing, and the flavors gave up nothing either.  There was some weight, but that was it.  The second night, after being re-opened a few hours, the nose showed some tangy berries and some high-pitched rock dust.  It was clean and minerally in the mouth, with good acids, showing some simple berry fruit and some underbrush notes.  Decent finish.   C+.  Was $14.99 from Table and Vine in West Springfield, MA. Imported by Ideal Wine & Spirits, Medford, MA.  Decent quaffing material, but not nearly the standard this domaine usually puts out.

(Sorry, 2007 depicted.)

Update:  Oddly, I just realized I previously reviewed this over a year ago and gave it a much better review then.  It was a different importer, which leads me to think there might be different cuvees for different buyers.  Or maybe it just got worse, but the notes are so different that it seems like a totally different wine.  Very odd.