2007 Menguante "Old Vines" GARNACHA (Carinena, Spain)

A great buy in a young, flavorful Grenache. Needs a little time in the bottle to settle down, though.

Eye: Vivid dark ruby purple.

Nose: Intensely youthful and unformed, fruity nose of crunchy raspberries and stones.

Mouth: Layers of pure, straight-up fruity. Very primary at present, but with excellent ripeness and depth. Good balance and some noticeable, youthful tannin in the back end of the palate.

Score: 87+

Cellar or drink? Pleasant enough now -- particularly with a any intensely flavored, rustic meat or pasta dish -- this wine really needs a year or two to settle down and soften up. It could be even nicer when it does.

Price/store: Was about $11 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Torbreck "Woodcutter's" SHIRAZ (Barossa Valley, Australia)

A very deep-toned, exceedingly full-bodied wine.

Eye: Nearly fully saturated black black ruby, with violet highlights.

Nose: Deep, inky cassis liqueur scents with smoky cedar, a prominent eucalyptus component, and graphite in the background.

Mouth: Deep-toned flavors of spicy cassis extract, black peppercorns, tar, and grilled Italian sausage flavors. Extremely full-bodies, with noticeable alcoholic warmth in the finish. Massive and inky. Needs a rich meat or game stew to really shine.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? My experience is that wines with this much alcohol showing in the finish usually don't hold up that well in the cellar. The alcohol tends to burn through the fruit more over time. Drink over the next year.

Price/store: Was $18 and change at Spec's on Richmond.

2005 Domaine Schlumberger PINOT BLANC "Les Princes Abbes" (Alsace, France)

A perennial good value, the 2005 iteration of this wine is a very satisfying, if not very complex, white.

Eye: Light, bright greenish gold.

Nose: Beautifully ripe fruit melange: peach skin, apples, and watermelon, with a hint of earthy gravel.

Mouth: Gobs of fruit on entry (like fruit salad with lemon juice squeezed on top), but then tapering quickly into a crisp finish. Average concentration and weight, but still lots of fun to drink. A very nice aperitif or party wine.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 6-8 months.

Price/store: $14 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2004 Domaine de Fenouillet BEAUMES DE VENISE "Terres Blanches" (Rhone Valley, France)

This Cotes du Rhone Villages was very elegant and flavorful.

Eye: Dark ruby garnet color.

Nose: Sultry nose of deep-toned ripe red and black berries, smoke, and lots of stony minerals.

Mouth: Broadly-flavored and mouthfilling, with lots of soft, mouth-coating tannins and long, rich flavors of cassis, blackberry, subtle iodine, and deep herbal notes. Long finish transitions from deep fruit to minerals. Very civilized, mature, and balanced.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? At its peak, drink this over the next year.

Price/store: $16 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Joel Gott ZINFANDEL (California)

Robert Parker rated this highly (giving it a 90), but I didn't think this was a particularly distinguished Zin.

Eye: Deep plummy violet color.

Nose: Rich nose of plum jam and sweet cream, with a hint of lemon juice and sweet cream.

Mouth: Big but simple fruity flavors (sweet plum and blackberry), with a flat mouthfeel. It lacked the vibrancy and minerality I love in top-flight Zin from, say, Mendocino County or Paso Robles. This wine was chunky but unexceptional.

Score: 85.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next year.

Price/store: Was about $18 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2004 Verget SAINT-VERAN "Terroirs de Davaye" (Burgundy, France)

This wine delivered lots of flavor in a big, galumphy (in a good way) style.

Eye: Very light gold with a slight lime green glint.

Nose: Loads of sweet pears and apples, with two scoops of minerally earthiness and a slight, almost cinnamony spice component.

Mouth: Big, rich, mouthfilling flavors of earth, pear and peach fruit, and a sweet minerality. Long finish with low-ish acidity. More chunky than crisp.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 8-12 months.

Price/store: Was $19 and change at Spec's on Smith.


(Sorry -- picture of 2002)

2007 Domaine Matignon CABERNET D'ANJOU (Rose) (Loire France)

YUK. Cloyingly sweet. Avoid.

Score: F.

2005 Les Heretiers du Comte Lafon MACON-MILLY-LAMARTINE (Burgundy, France)

This was the best wine I've ever had from a Macon-_____ appellation. If I had tasted this blind, I would have guessed that it was a top-flight Chablis Premier Cru.

Eye: Light gold with the barest glint of green.

Nose: Amazingly Chablis-like nose, with lots of lemony, gun-flinty scents, and some deep apply and pear fruit.

Mouth: Crisp and deeply flavorful, this featured lots of earthy, straw-tinged fruit, augmented with lemon/mineral streaks. Loooong finish with perfect balance. I could drink too much of this.

Score: 91.

Cellar or drink? Tough one. It's concentrated and balanced enough to sit a couple of years, but it is so delicious now I would get and drink this over the next few months. I mean, why risk it changing from its current delicious state?

Price/store: $27 at Spec's on Smith -- expensive for a Macon-based wine, but worth it!

(Label is wrong vintage -- sorry).

2006 Terredora DiPaulo AGLIANICO (Campania, Italy)

A while ago I implored Houston wine shops to start stocking Aglianico-based reds, and finally a few are showing up. This one is a broadly-flavored, weighty beauty.

Eye: Nearly saturated black ruby with a hint of brick.

Nose: Fantastic nose that changed over several hours. It started with a pungent, freshly-cracked black peppercorn, earthy character (which took me back to a couple of bottles of 1979 Cakebread Howell Mountain Zinfandel I drank a couple in the early 80s) dominating some deep-toned fruit that seemed almost overripe, but over several hours it morphed into an exotic perfume of spring flower nectar, plums, orange peel, talcum powder and dry rock dust.

Mouth: Dark, rich, mouth-coating flavors of sweet cassis, smoky charcoal/graphite, and sandstone. Nice balance, full body, and a long finish that I thought had a barely perceptible bit of residual sugar.

Score: 91.

Cellar or drink? This is drinking incredibly well now, but it's got the stuffing to last and possibly improve over the next 3 years.

Price/store: $22 at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Casa Castillo MONASTRELL (Jumilla, Spain)

A 100% Mourvedre (Monastrell), this wine was richly fruity and a great value.

Eye: Dark ruby with violet highlights.

Nose: Beautifully pure fruity nose -- ripe plums, grapes, and blackberries, with a subtle background note of stony minerals.

Mouth: Soft, broad entry, with good concentration and lots of body. Loads of fruit and soft tannin in the finish. Not complex, but very satisfying as an everyday red.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next two years.

Price/Store: $12 and change at Spec's on Holcombe.

2006 Inama SOAVE CLASSICO (Veneto, Italy)

This was the best Soave I've ever had. An appellation usually associated with industrially-produced, over-cropped wines that taste like water with a bit of alcohol and acidity added, this wine had lots of character! Actually, kind of a schizophrenic character, in that the nose and flavors didn't really match up. It was really good, though.

Eye: Very light gold color.

Nose: Great, pure fruit nose of ripe peaches, apple, and quince, with a subtle earthy-stony note in the far background.

Mouth: Softly-textured and round, but with very dry, intense stony/herbal flavors, with mouthwatering minerally salinity and acidity.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next several months.

Price/store: Was $14 at Spec's.

2005 Pierre Labet BEAUNE "Clos du Dessus des Marconnets" (Burgundy, France)

This Pinot Noir was tight and pretty good, although a bit on the tarter side than I like. Lots of the "terroirist" crowd seem to enjoy this style more than I do, however. It should have been a heck of a lot better for $33.

Eye: Vivid medium ruby color.

Nose: Medium intensity nose of cherry, with a hint of tart raspberry, as well as cinnamon, smoke, and powdered stones.

Mouth: Tight cherry and stone flavors, with crisp acidity but only medium concentration and length.

Score: 86+

Cellar or drink? The concentration and ripeness are marginal, but I'm guessing that there's just enough there to warrant 2 years or so to see if this softens up and broadens out a bit.

Price/store: Was $33 at Spec's on Smith, making it NOT a good value.

2005 Chateau Montroche COSTIERES DE NIMES (Rhone, France)

(Notes from memory, as this disappeared before I could take contemporaneous notes).

This is a great value. I think it was around $9 or $10 at Richard's on South Shepherd.

A big beefy wine with lots of "oomph." Earthy and tight at first, but with airing lots of deep, ripe fruit continues to emerge.

Pick some of this up soon. (I probably would have scored this around 87.)

UPDATE (10/4): I got the price wrong: Richard's at Bissonnet and Weslayan has this for $7.99, making it an unbeatable bargain.

2002 Chateau Souverain Alexander Vallet CABERNET SAUVIGNON (Cal.)

My last bottle of this excellent value, which I last reviewed 2 1/2 years ago here. It's still drinking very well and, I think, could still keep and maybe improve a few more years. In my view, Cabernets from the Alexander Valley tend to drink well earlier than Cabs from other Napa and Sonoma appellations, yet keep for several years.

Eye: Very dark black ruby.

Nose: Gorgeous and complex nose of sweet, smoky balsa wood, blackberry and cassis fruit, charcoal embers and dry gravel.

Mouth: Soft and round, yet concentrated and focused in the mouth. Lots of sweet, ripe blackberry fruit and smoky gravel flavors. A little heat and still some tannin to shed in the back end.

Score: 89+

Cellar or drink? Either one. Drinking well now, but could soften further over the next few years.

Price/store: I don't think this is available any longer, as I bought it three years ago.

2006 Dashe Dry Creek Valley ZINFANDEL (Cal.)

A very satisfying, if not complex, Zin.

Eye: Saturated dark ruby with purple highlights.

Nose: Ripe, fruity nose, with lots of friendly black raspberry fruit and some minerals lurking in the background.
Mouth: Soft, deep, and full-bodied, with ripe blackberry and mineral flavors, a long finish, and nice balance with no excess alcoholic heat. Some tannin to ensure another year or two's keeping.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 2 years.

Price/store: Was $22 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2005 Mas Donis Barrica (85% Garnacha, 15% Syrah) (Montsant, Spain)

A little on the lean side, but still good.

Eye: Dark, youthful black ruby.

Nose: Sophisticated nose of smoked meat, hot stones, and some subtle blackberry scents.

Mouth: Fairly weighty in the mouth, but on the austere side, with flavors tending more towards a strong minerally component rather than fruit, and with a fair amount of tannin and acidity to complete the lean personality profile. Is nice with food but not so friendly on its own as a sipper.

Score: 85.

Cellar or drink? I'd drink over the next year, as I don't think this has the concentration needed to improve with age.

Price/store: Was $12 at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Viu Manent CARMENERE Reserva (Colchagua Valley, Chile)

Like lots of other Carmeneres I've had, this wine really needs time to breathe before it starts to show its true colors. Once it airs out a bit, it's a beauty.

Eye: Completely saturated blood plasma color.

Nose: Before airing, it had a very pungent bakers' chocolate nose. After being opened a couple of hours, rich ripe cassis and plum scents wafted out, along with mocha-coffee notes and a smoky/sweet gravelly component.

Mouth: Rich, broadly-flavored, and soft, this wine has loads of ripe blackberry, gravel, and tobacco flavors. Long, lingering finish. Very nice.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? This is drinking really well now, but has the stuffing to hold another 2-3 years.

Price/store: Lost the receipt, but I think this was about $15 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2006 Chateau de Lancyre PIC ST. LOUP Rosé (Southern France)

This was a strangely-colored but beautifully fruity rosé.

Eye: Very interesting orangey-copper color.

Nose: Despite the advanced looking color, the nose is redolent of fresh fruit (valencia oranges and cherries) with powdered stones and sweet cream in the background.

Mouth: Soft, round, and fruity, with excellent balance and absolutely pure flavors of sweet grapes, watermelon, and strawberry. Long, fruity finish. Fruit! Fruit! Fruit!

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink before Thanksgiving.

Price/store: $12.88 at most Spec's stores.


Sorry -- I could find a picture only of the 2004.

2006 Castillo de Monseran GARNACHA (Carinena, Spain)

An outstanding buy in a flavorful, fun, soft red.

Eye: Dark ruby with a slight purple tinge at the rim.

Nose: Bright, ripe, fruity nose: raspberries and ripe cherries, along with a slight herbal, minerally component (but mostly it's about the fruit).

Mouth: Loads of crisp, minerally raspberry flavors, with good concentration and a soft texture. Nice balancing acidity too.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next year.

Price/store: Got this at Spec's for $6.83, but Whole Foods on Bellaire also has this for $7.99 (and still a very good buy at that price).

2005 Domaine Jean-Luc Dubois CHOREY-LES-BEAUNE "Clos Margot" (Burgundy, France)

A good (not great) Pinot Noir that is fairly priced, as PNs go. Features some bright, crisp Pinot fruit and good balance.

Eye: Medium dark ruby with purply highlights.

Nose: Bright, tart fruity nose of crisp cherries, crushed rock powder, and rhubarb.

Mouth: Tart cherry and stony mineral/graphite flavors. Very tightly-wound, but with decent concentration and length. The texture is quite light.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? I would cellar this one for 1 - 3 years, and it will likely soften and gain a little complexity.

Price/store: Was $21 and change at Spec's on Smith.