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.

2006 Trenel CHIROUBLES (Beaujolais, France)

Not bad, but kind of disappointingly thin and straightforward for a wine from a highly-regarded negociant and imported by what used to be one of the most hoidy-toidy (sp.?) importers around (Robert Chadderdon)*

Eye: Dark ruby.

Nose: Nice, fairly exuberant nose of straightforward cherry, grapey fruit, sweet cream, and hard stony scents.

Mouth: A bit thin, but with nice, clean flavors of cherry pit and stony minerals.

Score: 84.

Cellar or drink? Due to its lack of concentration, I'd say drink up before years' end.

Price/store: $18.50 at Spec's on Smith.

* When I was working in the wine business in NYC in the early to mid 80s, restaurants and retailer shops had to beg this importers rep to come by and sell some of the wines it imported(to be fair, they were largely really good!) Unless you were Lutece or one of the City's most prominent retailers, you were lucky if they came by once a year and deigned to sell you a few cases. I have no idea whether that's still the case, but it was then.

2004 Sieber Rd. GSM (60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre) (Barossa Valley, Australia)

A terrific red with ripeness, complexity, weight, and balance. Even though it's a blend, it's a great example of Aussie Grenache, which clearly is the most prominent component.

Eye: Dark, rich black ruby.

Nose: Gorgeously rich nose of ripe, oozing raspberries and cherries, with significant notes of baking spices and hot stones.

Mouth: Round, soft, and full, with minerally, dry raspberry flavors and a soft, peppery finish.

Score: 91.

Cellar or drink? Drinking beautifully now, this wine can probably hold (although I don't think it will improve) for another 2 years or so.

Price/store: Was $23.40 at Spec's on Smith.

2004 Domaine du Dragon COTES DE PROVENCE "Cuvee Saint-Michel" (Southern France)

Another "spoofulated," but good, wine in the "international" style, this time from the south of France. It doesn't say on the label, but I'm willing to bet this is largely composed of small barrel-aged Cabernet.* The south of France, and Provence in particular, was, along with Tuscany, one of the first European areas to heavily experiment in the 1970s with planting Cabernet Sauvignon (not a traditional varietal in that area, but, at the time, was as popular with the uninitiated as Merlot is now) and seeing what would happen. Domaine de Trevallon, Chateau Vignelaure, and Mas de Dumas Gaussac are three of the earliest and best-known of the experimenters.

Eye: Rich, saturated dark black ruby/mulberry color.

Nose: Shy and linear at first, with air time this wine developed a very nice nose that reminded me of an Australian Cabernet -- roasted herbs, toasty oak, and gobs of ripe, inky cassis and blackberry.

Mouth: Soft and concentrated, with very good depth but avoiding the sweet, jammy flavors and texture that sometime characterize Aussie Cabs. Full-bodied, with broad cassis and smoke flavors. Some soft but noticeable tannin in the long finish.

Score: 89.

Cellar or Drink? Delicious now, this wine should keep nicely for another 2-3 years in a cool cellar.

Price/store: Was about $15 at Spec's on Westheimer.


*UPDATE: I found the domaine's website, and it lists the blend for the 2004 vintage as: Syrah 50% - Cabernet Sauvignon 35% - Grenache 15%.

2005 Tikal "PATRIOTA" (60% Bonarda, 40% Malbec) (Mendoza, Argentina)

This was a very interesting red. The nose promised great weight and ripeness, but in the mouth it was leaner and crisper than expected, although still quite flavorful. It would pair very well with very rich braised meat dishes such as oxtails, beef or lamb shanks, or tripe.

Eye: Saturated ruby purple color.

Nose: Rich, deeply fruity nose of sweet cassis and very ripe raspberries, with a prominent smoky, gravelly component.

Mouth: Ripe and full, yet somewhat lean, with good weight and broad flavors of dry, ripe, blackberry extract and crushed stones. Long, lean, crisp finish. Would have been amazing with just a tad less acidity and tad more flesh.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? This wine's concentration indicates that a few more years of ageing may improve this wine a bit, though I have found that wines with high (as opposed to moderate) acidity like this one really don't fare well with longer term ageing.

Price/store: Was $23.78 at Spec's on Westheimer.

2004 Felsina-Berardenga CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA "Rancia" (Tuscany, Italy)

This was a very classy, well-constructed red.

Eye: Dark black ruby with the barest hint of brick.

Nose: Medium-intense nose of minerally gravel, chokecherry liqueur, and wood.

Mouth: Medium full bodied, with very good concentration of minerally cherry pit and cherry liqueur. Not weighty, but with very good flavor concentration nonetheless. Good length and balance too, with some soft, unresolved tannin in the finish.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drinking well now, I think this could keep and soften for another 2-3 years. I'm concerned about ageing it beyond that, however, given its relatively advanced color and modest weight.

Price/store: Was $27 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2007 Pierre-Marie Chermette "Domaine du Vissoux" BEAUJOLAIS "Cuvee Vieilles Vignes" (France)

This was a very light, yet extraordinarily refreshing wine.

Eye: Dark crystalline ruby with magenta highlights.

Nose: Refreshing, ripe, crisp nose of freshly-crushed grapes, strawberries, and plums, with a background notes of stoney minerals and maple syrup.

Mouth: Ripe, crisp, and refreshing (sorry to repeat myself, but it is), with light body and crisp but unobtrusive acidity. Just want to keep quaffing this stuff down! Seems to whet and quench the thirst at the same time. Lots of fun.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink before 2009 gets here for maximum fun.

Price/store: Was $17 at Spec's on Holcombe.

2005 Domaine Charles Joguet CHINON "Cuvee Terroir" (Loire Valley, France)

This was a TERRIFIC Cabernet Franc red from the Loire. Lots of character, flavor, and ageing potential.

Eye: Extremely saturated black mulberry color.

Nose: Ripe, complex nose of blackberry, smoky embers, baking spices, and intense, stony minerality.

Mouth: Concentrated, ripe, and tannic, with surprisingly full body (for a wine from this northerly, cool region) and unsurprisingly good acidity. Youthful flavors of ripe cassis and blackberry, with, again, lots of stony minerality.

Score: 90+

Cellar or drink? Although enjoyable now, this wine will clearly be better in 2-4 years.

Price/store: Was $22.99 at Houston Wine Merchant (on South Shepherd).

2006 Colterenzio PINOT GRIGIO (Alto Adige, Italy)

This Pinot Grigio from one of Italy's northernmost wine-growing regions was crisp and refreshing, but not much more.

Eye: Very light gold.

Nose: This was the best part of the wine -- fairly fragrant, with scents of pear, earthy stones, and milk.

Mouth: Light and lively, but with a fairly linear, austere flavor profile of minerals, acidity, and Granny Smith apples. Medium length finish.

Score: 83.

Cellar or drink? This style of Italian whites is for early drinking. Bottoms up before 2009.

Price/store: About $13 at Spec's on Holcombe.

2002 Domaine Laleure-Piot PERNAND-VERGELESSES Blanc (Burgundy, France)

I bought this 6-year old white burgundy from the close-out bin at Richard's on South Shepherd, so it was a calculated risk. It paid off! This wine had lots of character, was balanced, and performing at its peak.

Eye: Ridiculously intense, bright gold, with a fain greenish glint (still!)

Nose: Mature white burgundy nose of earthy, salty minerals, stones, spiced pears, and artichokes.

Mouth: Concentrated in flavors and weighty, but with medium-full body, this wine had intensely minerally flavors together with very dry notes of buttered pear essence. Long, stony finish. Nice balance.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink now. This is fully mature, and will only start to decline if cellared any longer.

Price/store: Was reduced from the mid-$20s to $19.99 at Richard's on South Shepherd.

Note about buying wines from the close-out bin: (1) Make sure it's a wine that should still theoretically be in its zone of maturity -- white burgundies can age better than most whites, and the 2002s had both great extract and acidity, a rare combination of two components required for graceful ageing; (2) look for a bottle that is filled as close to the cork as possible -- the more oxygen in a bottle, the quicker it will age; the less, the slower.

2004 Domaine Saint-Martin MARSANNAY "Les Finottes" (Burgundy, France)

This was a very soft, fragrant, enjoyable Pinot Noir that--amazingly for a Burgundy--was a pretty good value! I may try some more 2004s to see if this vintage is better than the critics would lead you to believe (they mostly criticized 2004s in Burgundy for being too light).

Eye: Darkish ruby with some amber highlights.

Nose: Exuberant nose of tangy rhubarb and sappy cherries, along with a pungent but pleasant earthy-vegetal component.

Mouth: Soft, broad, but light in the mouth, with flavors of crushed stones, cherries, and toasty oak in the background. Not particularly concentrated, but nicely-balanced, lively, and fun! Pretty good length too.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? The light color and weight, together with the lack of any discernible tannin indicate that this should be enjoyed over the next 12 months.

Price/store: Was only $19.33 at Spec's on Smith.

NOTE: Photo of label is for the 2005 vintage -- I couldn't find a picture of the 2004.

2005 Chateau de Valcombe COSTIÈRES DE NÎMES (60% Syrah, 40% Grenache) (Rhone, France)

This was a very nice, cheap, everyday wine with a lot of chunkiness and character.

Eye: Totally saturated black ruby-purple.

Nose: Intense nose, with raw meat and earthy scents in the lead, lots of powdered stones, and some blackberry/black cherry scents coming in last.

Mouth: Ripe, extracted, fairly concentrated flavors of stony minerals and blackberry, together with brambly notes. Long, simple, but pure-tasting finish, with plenty of tannin. Chunky and four-square, but satisfying.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? This will certainly keep, and maybe soften and improve, for another 1-2 years.

Price/store: $9.29 at Richard's on South Shepherd.

2005 Bruno Giacosa NEBBIOLO D'ALBA (Piemonte, Italy)

This Nebbiolo, from a highly-regarded producer, was a bit disappointing given the reputation of the producer and the quality of the 2005 vintage in northern Italy.

Eye: Medium ruby-garnet color.

Nose: Medium intensity nose of eucalyptus, chokecherries, and stony minerals.

Mouth: Medium-bodied and quite tannic in the mouth, with intense minerality but only moderate intensity of chokecherry fruit, with a touch of old wine barrels scent. Long, fairly peppery and somewhat astringent finish. Identifiably Nebbiolo, but kind of bony and spare.

Score: 84.

Cellar or drink? While the astringency and tannin would seem to require a bit of ageing, the advanced color and lack of fruit concentration seem to indicate that ageing won't help much, if at all. Drink up.

Price/store: Was $25 at Spec's on Smith.

2005 Lolonis Redwood Valley ZINFANDEL (Mendocino County, California)

This organic winery consistently produces very good Zinfandels at very good prices, and the 2005 is yet another beauty. Ripe and vibrant, it's a beautifully balanced wine.

Eye: Nearly saturated, dark ruby with gem-like clarity.

Nose: Classic Zin -- ripe Zinfandel scents of wild, spicy berries, with brambly, maple-syrup undertones, and a hint of minerality.

Mouth: Ripe, yet lively and vibrant, with full body, good acidity, and a soft texture. Concentrated fruit in the mid-palate. Long, refreshing finish.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? Drink now and over the next year. I like my Zinfandels young. Don't listen to those wine guys who tell you it ages well. It doesn't improve with age. When they say it ages well, they mean that it maintains its fruit for a few years. But why tempt fate? Fruit is what a good Zin has when it's young, so drink it young!

Price/store: $17 at Spec's on Smith.

2005 Domaine Santa Duc CÔTES DU RHÔNE "Les Quatre Terres" (Southern France)

This was a pleasant enough, straightforward Rhône wine. Technically, it's fine; it just didn't light my fire.

Eye: Dark black ruby with faintly violet highlights.

Nose: Very straightforward, fruity scents of plum juice and berries, with some stony minerality in the background.

Mouth: Full-bodied, and with some soft tannins, it featured non-complex, low-toned berryish flavors and a decent dosage of stony minerality. Good, balanced finish.

Score: 83.

Cellar or drink? Drinkable now, this wine will keep for another year or two.

Price/store: Was $12 at Richard's on South Shepherd.

2005 Tablas Creek COTES DE TABLAS (43% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, 15% Counoise) (Paso Robles, Cal.)

This nicely-rendered Rhone varietal blend showed why it is important, particularly in the heat of the summer, to make sure reds are served, NOT at ACTUAL room temperature (which is invariably too hot), but at a temperature in the low to mid 60s.*

Eye: Dark, sultry black ruby.

Nose: When I popped the cork after taking the wine out of my wine closet (which is about 71 degrees in July and August), the nose was overwhelmingly dominated by peppery alcoholic scents. I could hardly smell anything else. Alcohol vaporizes quite readily as temperature increases. So I popped the wine in the fridge for about 20 - 30 minutes, and upon cooling down to the mid-60s, the alcohol receded and deep-toned scents of smoky earth, dark black berries, and pungent yet sweet balsa wood emerged.

Mouth: Rich, dark flavors of smoky, mineral-laced blackberry syrup, with good density and length, and lots of fairly soft tannic structure.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 2 years.

Price/store: I can't find my receipt, but I think this was about $21 at Spec's on Smith.



* The notion of reds being served at "room temperature" comes from a loose translation of the French word "chambre." But serving red wine "chambre" in the old days (when this truism was formed) referred to the temperature of a room in a typical French stone house, which were usually a lot cooler than modern American houses tend to be. So "room temperature" (chambre), as used in this rule, actually refers to temperatures between about 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

2005 Hubert Brochard SANCERRE (Loire Valley, France)

This is a good value. It would be a very nice, very typical introduction to Sancerre for those unfamiliar with the Sauvignon Blanc made in the upper Loire area (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, and Menetou-Salon).

Eye: Light, bright gold. No glints of anything else, just light, bright gold.

Nose: Classic Sancerre nose of light, fresh-picked herbs, crisp Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and stoney minerals.

Mouth: Round and refreshing, with excellent balance, this wine lacked only a bit of extra concentration and complexity to make it outstanding. As it is, it has decent concentration and a lively batch of herby, gooseberry and mineral flavors. Vibrant mouthfeel. Very nice.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 6 months.

Price/store: $18.94 at Spec's on Richmond.

2004 Poggio Salvi MORELLINO DI SCANSANO "I Butteri" (Tuscany, Italy)

This was a funky but not totally unpleasant Morellino.

Eye: Black ruby with some amber tones.

Nose: Big, earthy nose, with lots of old leathery, pruney, and old wine barrel scents.

Mouth: Very rustic in the mouth, and not showing a lot of Sangiovese varietal character: full bodied, with lots of peppery pruney flavors, and a finish that tapered into dried leather.

Score: 77.

Cellar or drink? Drink now if you've already got some, as this is probably going to get more disjointed and funky as time goes on. If you don't already have some, don't bother.

Price/store: Was $17.99 at Houston Wine Merchant.

2005 Rolf Binder "Halliwell" SHIRAZ (60%) / GRENACHE (40%) (Barossa Valley, Australia)

This was a terrific wine, with ripeness, balance, concentration, and complexity, all in good measure.

Eye: Saturated dark crystalline ruby.

Nose: Beautiful, ripe, rich scents of sweet blackberry and cassis, as well as smoky pencil lead. Makes you want to keep sticking your nose in the glass and keep sniffing.

Mouth: Rich, full, and smooth-textured. Complex flavors of ripe plum and cassis, as well as smoky oak and mineral-laced gravel. Decent balancing acidity in a long, pure finish.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? I would drink this over the next two years, as it is beautiful and soft right now.

Price/store: Was $23.88 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2006 Ponzi PINOT NOIR "Tavola" (Willamette Valley, Oregon)

This was a very nice Pinot with lots of straightforward character. More of a weekday P.N. rather than one to save for a special occasion, but that's not a criticism!

Eye: Dark ruby color.

Nose: Very fragrant, with snappy yet sappy cherry fruit, lots of resiny minerals, and sweet cream scents.

Mouth: Soft and medium-bodied, it had good concentration and loads of bright minerally cherry fruit, and a fairly long, balanced finish. Not particularly complex, but very enjoyable.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next two years.

Price/store: This was a gift, so I'm not sure where it was purchased, but a quick Google search indicates that most retailers sell it around $21 - $24, making it a pretty decent value in the Pinot Noir world.

2004 Verget CHABLIS 1er CRU "MONT DE MILIEU" (Burgundy, France)

Another terrific 2004 premier cru Chablis from Verget. This had crisp fruit, minerality, vibrancy, and length. Delicious. There's very little that ranks with a great Chablis in the white wine world.

Eye: Almost luminescent, light brassy gold with a slight lime glint.

Nose: Intense scents of lemon-lime fruit and slightly smoky, limestoney minerals.

Mouth: Soft yet focused and intense. Flavors change from moment-to-moment: crisp Chardonnay grapes with a squeeze of lemon and lime juice, intense and slightly salty, bright powdered stone flavors, and ultimately ending with a bone dry yet caramelly note. Longgggg finish.

Score: 92.

Cellar or drink? Like most classic Chablis, this could keep, and possibly even improve, in a cool cellar for a few more years.

Price/store: $44 at Spec's on Smith, and worth it.

(Sorry -- picture of 2002 vintage)

2006 Chateau Grande Cassagne COSTIÈRES DE NÎMES ROSÉ (Provence, France)

This had some nice flavor but was a bit lacking in the acidity needed to keep it fresh and vibrant, and so had a kind of dull mouthfeel.

Eye: Light bubblegum pink color.

Nose: Sweet strawberry/watermelon scents with a note of rhubarb and steely minerals.

Mouth: Very soft and round, with low-acid cherry/watermelon fruit and a cold stainless steel note. Long, but low-acid, somewhat meek finish.

Score: 85.


Cellar or drink? Drink up ASAP.

Price/store: This is about $9 at most Richard's stores.

2005 St. Cosme CÔTES DU RHÔNE "Les Deux Albion" (Rhône Valley, France)

This was a beautifully-rendered Côtes du Rhône, with excellent ripeness, concentration, and balance. I'd put this up against Chateauneufs and Gigondas's costing 2 to 3 times as much. I think I remember reading somewhere that this is a 50/50 Grenache/Syrah blend, though don't quote me on that.

Eye: Youthful and deep dark black ruby color.

Nose: Complex nose of crushed stones, crisp but ripe and spicy black raspberries, and some garrigue-like herbal-earthy scents in the background.

Mouth: Concentrated, full-bodied, and with loads of soft tannins, this wine had flavors of spicy, dark berries, stony minerals, and iodine-laced herbs. A very long finish with great tannins and acidity providing structure and balance.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? This wine's concentration, balance, and tannic structure augur well for another 2-4 years of aging in a cool cellar, although it's great right now.

Price/store: Was about $15 at Spec's on Smith.

2004 Rusden "Driftsand" (Barossa Valley, Australia)

This Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre blend was very ripe but kind of on the dull side.

Eye: Fairly advanced-looking medium black ruby.

Nose: Soft, sweet nose of very ripe. spicy blackberries and raspberries, augmented with carrot-cake spices.

Mouth: Very soft, round, and medium-full in the mouth. Almost sweet flavors of ripe raspberry and peach (the latter being a dead giveaway in a red that the fruit was too ripe), with a faintly minerally, balsa wood component. A bit flabby and lacking some focus, but with lots of flavor.

Score: 84.


Cellar or drink? Drink up, because this will only get more disjointed as time goes on.

Price/store: About $25 at Spec's on Smith (also available at the Spec's on Richmond).

Zinfandel! (The Dog)

Our dog, Zinfandel, or "Zinny" for short.

Eye(s): Brown.

Nose: Wet.

Mouth: Likes to bite Gus in half. (Gus is the cat across the street that Zinny views as an arch-enemy of Zinny's sister, Salty, the cat.)

Score: 100.

Walk or Ride? Walk.

Price/store: Free from the H.O.P.E. Shelter in Houston. Good value.

2005 "Venta la Ossa" (La Mancha, Spain)

This wine was done in what is euphemistically called the "international style" -- which some critics call "spoofulated." It usually signals a wine made in a very ripe style and aged in lots of new french oak. Almost invariably, regardless of the varietal, it ends up tasting to some degree like an oaky Merlot. Usually, I'm not crazy for this style. And although this wine was made in that style . . . it nevertheless was a very tasty and pleasurable Tempranillo.

Eye: Fully saturated impenetrable black color with ruby purple highlights.

Nose: Extremely rich, oaky nose with lots of fresh ground coffee notes, dark chocolate, fresh bread, and, oh yeah, some ripe fruit underneath all that.

Mouth: Huge, ripe, mouthfilling oaky flavors coat the palate. Not much, if any complexity, but doesn't skimp on flavor and has lots of "oomph." Long, oaky, peppery blackberry juice finish.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next year, as it is my experience that whatever fruit is there will be dwarfed by the oak pretty soon.

Price/store: $13 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Artezin ZINFANDEL (Mendocino County, Cal.)

A flabby, out-of-balance disappointment.

Eye: Medium plummy ruby color.

Nose: Nose of spicy, tart/sweet brambleberries, pine forest and anchovy paste.

Mouth: Very simple, flat, plummy/metallic-minerally flavors, with a toasty, resiny, low acid, almost cloying finish. Flabby and not very Zin-typical.

Score: 74.

Cellar or drink? Neither, really.

Price/store: $16.99 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2006 Mommessin BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES "Old Vines - Gamay" (France)

This is your cheap summer party/cookout wine for 2008. Tremendous value in a crowd-pleasing style.

Eye: Dark crystalline ruby.

Nose: Ripe fruity scents of hard chery candy and a bit of a minerally backdrop.

Mouth: Ripe, soft, and with beautiful balance, this wines has lots of straightforward cherry, grapey fruit with a touch of stones in the background. Not complex, but very fun to drink, particularly with a slight chill on it.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next few months.

Price/store: Was $8 and change at Spec's on Holcombe.

2005 Chateau Thivin Côte de Brouilly (Beaujolais, France)

This was a very good, large-scaled, structured Beaujolais. I used to sell this when I worked at Mosswood Wines in the early 1980s, and have seen it only rarely since. I was glad to see that Spec's had picked it up.

Eye: Saturated dark ruby with violet highlights.

Nose: Gorgeous, lively nose of crunchy, ripe plums and berries, with sweet cream and granite scents as well.

Mouth: Focused, lively, concentrated, and structured (for a Beaujolais), with crisp fruit, refreshing but not overdone acidity, and great balance. Very nice, and loaded with character.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? Drinking well now, this wine has the structure and depth to age 1-2 years.

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

2006 Frederic Mabileau ST. NICOLAS DE BOURGUEIL "La Boullieres" (Loire Valley, France)

I really like the 2005 version, reviewed previously, of this French Cabernet Franc, and the 2006, while good, was just short of the level of the 2005.

Eye: Medium dark crystalline ruby color.

Nose: Bright but still seemingly reductive aromas of minerally cherries and brambles, with a pungent mineral oil note.

Mouth: Light to medium bodied, with linear flavors of crisp, dry cherry syrup and pungent minerals. Fairly long finish, with a slightly bitterish note at the end. No real tannin to speak of.

Score: 85.

Cellar or drink? I would bet that another year or two in the cellar would result in a change in the flavor profile toward the more openly fruity and less pungent end of the spectrum.

Price/store: Was $16.99 at Central Market in Austin.

2005 Fattoria la Peschiera MORELLINO DI SCANSANO (Tuscany, Italy)

This wine was a bit of a disappointment, delivering some nice fragrance and nice, crisp acidity, but was hollow in the middle palate. When I was looking at the label at Central Market in Austin, one of the wine guys accosted me and started extolling the heck out of this one, so I gave it a shot, but alas.

Eye: Very bright, almost pulsating ruby-crimson color.

Nose: Spry aromas of winey cherries and sweat (in a kinda pleasant way).

Mouth: Flavors of minerals, sweat, and cherries flare quickly on the palate, then die, leaving a finish dominated by tannin and acidity.

Score: 80.

Cellar or drink? I'd drink this over the next year as it simply lacks the concentration of fruit needed to develop with age.

Price/store: Was $18.99 at Central Market in Austin.

2005 Domaine Talmard MÂCON-CHARDONNAY (Burgundy, France)

This very good value was a big, bruiser of an unoaked, flavorful French Chardonnay. In an interesting side note, the word "Chardonnay" in the name of this wine refers not to the grape, but to the village of Chardonnay in the Maconnias.

Eye: Medium dark brassy gold.

Nose: Intense Chardonnay fruit on the nose -- ripe apples, peach pit, and sweet stone-scented talcum powder.

Mouth: Rich, ripe, and full in the mouth, with lots of peach, peach pit, and dense minerally flavors. Not exactly elegant, but a big mouthful of ripe, unoaked virgin Chardonnay.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 6-12 months.

Price/store: Was $11.29 at Richard's on South Voss near San Felipe.

2005 Salentein MALBEC (Mendoza, Argentina)

This was a very nicely-crafted red. Soft, rich, and complex.

Eye: Completely saturated dark ruby-purple.

Nose: Intense and complex nose of minerally gravel, lemon juice, and ripe blackberries.

Mouth: Full-bodied, with complex flavors of coffee, cassis, blackberry, and peppery iodine. Lots of medium-soft tannins in the lengthy, minerally finish.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 3-5 years.

Price/store: This was a gift, but Spec's lists this for $19.

2005 Nigl GRÜNER VELTLINER "Kremser Freiheit" (Kremstal, Austria)

To my taste, Grüner Veltliner at its best displays beautiful pink grapefruit scents with lots of mineral undertones -- and that's what this one had.

Eye: Light gold with greenish glints.

Nose: Creamed minerals, lots of pink grapefruit and apply fruit, with some straw undertones.

Mouth: Soft-textured, yet with a crisp, zesty mouthfeel. Fresh stoniness with lots of dry bitter-apple and lemon-lime fruit. Long, refreshing finish. Very distinctive.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next year.

Price/store: $17 at Spec's on Smith.

2005 Hospices de Beaujeu MORGON "Cuvee Jean Gaudet" (Beaujolais, France)

I'm always excited to find additional Beaujolais producers besides the ubiquitous and bland Georges DeBoeuf offerings that monopolizes most retailers' shelves, so I grabbed a bottle of this one when it showed up at Spec's. Alas, it was pretty bland too.

Eye: Medium dark ruby color.

Nose: Lots of very straightforward plummy-grapey fruit and a bit of pungent stony scents in the background.

Mouth: Lots of simple, overly clean tasting plummy fruit. Very much in the DeBoeuf style of commercial Beaujolais.

Score: 83.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next few months.

Price/store: Was $14.20 at Spec's on Smith.

Vacation wines -- Day 7

2005 Herdade das Servas "Monte das Servas" (Alentejano, Portugal) -- This wine was extraordinarily soft and velvety textured, with nicely integrated red berry fruit and cigar box scents. I liked it a lot.

2006 Altos las Hormigas Malbec Reserva (Mendoza, Argentina) -- A dense, ripe, highly extracted and very tannic Malbec. My brother Angy liked it a lot more than I did, as I thought the level of tannins was a bit over the top.

Dinner: Beef Stew "in the Italian fashion" with lots of red wine and tomatoes.

Vacation wines -- Day 6

2006 Widmer Brickstone Cellars Semi-Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes, NY) -- This wine was a dead-ringer for a Kabinett from the Rheingau. Beautiful nose of bright green apples and slate-y minerals. Crisp, refreshing, and full of flavor, all in a wonderful, light-bodied frame.

2007 Cairnbrae "The Stones" Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand) -- This wine had a striking and unusual color -- pure pewtery silver. Crisp scents of herbs and grass, with a nice artichoke component to the flavors.

2006 "Montenovo" Godello (Valdeorras, Spain) -- This wine was similar to a simple Maconnais white. Not bad, but not distinguished.


2006 Alvarinho Primaz Vinho Verde (Portugal) -- I'm usually not a Vinho Verde fan, but this had great minerally flavors and a crisp, beautiful texture . . . in other words, it had FLAVOR! Very nice.

Dinner: grilled red snapper, flounder, and shrimp (Marche style)

Vacation Wines -- Day 5

2004 Saladini Pilastri "Pregio del Conte" Rosso (Marche, Italy) -- This Montepulciano/Aglianico blend had a wonderful tobacco-ey earthy nose. It was a bit clipped in the finish, however, but still was quite nice.

2006 Tenuta San Leone Bardolino Superiore "Montesalionze" -- The 2005 of this wine, which I previously reviewed, was phenomenal. This vintage had a lot in common with the 2005 on the nose (concentrated cherry and cinnamon scents), but was a little lighter and had crisper acidity. Still excellent, but not quite up to its older sibling's standards.

Dinner: Risotto with "salcheech" (wine marinated sausage); risotto with green onions and spinach.

Vacation wines -- Day 4

2007 Anakena Pinot Noir (Rapel Valley, Chile) -- This was a simple, yet varietally correct Pinot from Chile. Soft and fragrant, with a pine forest earthiness.

2005 Mazzocco Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel "West Dry Creek" -- This was an outstanding Zin. Large-boned, ripe, soft, with rich spicy blackberry fruit and nice underlying mineraliness.

2006 Bassermann-Jordan Estate Riesling Trocken (Rheinpfalz, Germany) -- This was a very refreshing off-dry Riesling with lots of crisp, appley-peachy fruit and nice underlying steely minerality. I'm usually not a Trocken fan, as the wines sometimes tend to suppress Riesling's beautiful fruitiness in favor of just getting the damn thing fermented dry, but this was an exception. Very nice.

Dinner: Grilled T-bones and Strips with fresh chimichurri; sauteed greens with salt pork, garlic, rosemary, and oil.

Vacation wines -- Day 3

2005 Vincent Arroyo Napa Valley Petite Sirah -- This is a small Calistoga winery that Liz and I visited in 1993, and that my brother and his wife visited last year. Usually the wines he makes are very soft, ripe, balanced, and drinkable upon release. This one was just bizarre. Everyone agreed it smelled like lemon-lime Gatorade powder.

2006 Edmeades Mendocino County Zinfandel -- Atypical, but very nice. Soft, berryish fruit, very fleshy and ripe. Won't age well, but nice for current drinking.

2006 Jean Albrecht Pinot Blanc (Alsace) -- This was very clean and fresh, with nice peachy fruit. Not complex or distinguished, but fun to drink.

2002 Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer "Vendages Tardives" (Alsace) -- This late harvest Gewurz was really nice. Lots of apricot and lychee nut fruit, long fresh finish. Not cloyingly sweet.

Dinner: Pasta with meat sauce; pasta with garlic, oil, and broccoli.

Vacation wines -- Day 2

2006 Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso "La Torrazza" -- This was a very refreshing, dry white. Stylistically like a good Sancerre or Chablis, this wine had great minerality and refreshing dry fruit.

2005 Tenuta San Leone Bardolino Superiore "Montesalionze" -- This wine, which I previously raved about, is still drinking wonderfully, and has lots of life left. An amazing Veronese wine.

2004 Edmunds St. John "Rocks and Gravel" -- This was a really French-styled Rhone blend from California. The label doesn't give info about the varietal(s), but from the spicy blackberry, olive, iodine, and gravelly-earthy scents and flavors, I'm guessing that this has lots of Grenache and a bit of Mourvedre and maybe some Carignane in it. Very elegant.

2005 Guigal Cotes du Rhone -- To see just how French the previous wine actually was, we opened this one next. Though tight upon opening opening, it developed a rich, spicy cassis fruitiness, with earthy, iodine, and herbal undertones. It was really good, and, if anything, it was even more Californian in style than the previous (California) wine.

Dinner: Pollo in potacchio Marchegiana

Vacation wines -- Day 1

We're on a huge extended family vacation at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's not avenue conducive to measured, objective note-taking, but I'll try, amidst the chaos, to write a few quick notes about the wines we're drinking. Here's the first day.

2004 Pillar Box Red -- I previously reviewed (and really liked) this Australian Shiraz-Cabernet blend. It's still drinking beautifully. Rich cassis fruit and a charcoally, smoky component. Full and soft.

2006 "Peace" -- This 1.5 liter Cabernet-Shiraz blend from southeast Australia was fruity, clean, and well-balanced.

Dinner: grilled hamburgers and hot dogs (hey, we'd just arrived at the beach house -- give me a break).

2007 Domaine de Corbillières PINOT NOIR ROSÉ (Touraine, France)

Another winner from this outstanding Loire Valley domaine. While not as amazing as the 2005 rosé, reviewed previously here, this was really enjoyable. And a GREAT value as well.
Eye: Beautiful light pinkish-cantaloupe color.

Nose: Really exuberant nose of strawberries, powdered stony minerals, and a tres leches-like, cream-laden angel cake component.

Mouth: Bright, fresh, and fruity, with medium-light body and loads of crisp fruit, and a nice "lift" and clarity to the long finish.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? It's a dang rosé, for Pete's sake. You know what to do: chill it and drink it this summer!

Price/store: Was $10.99 at Richard's on Voss (near San Felipe).

2004 Martinelli SYRAH "Terra Felices" (Russian River Valley, Cal.)

This was a ripe, rich, earthy Syrah for short-term enjoyment. I thought it was very enjoyable, despite being a little softer and lower in acidity than I usually expect Syrah to be.

Eye: Dark, saturated black ruby with violet at the rim.

Nose: Fairly intense nose of roasted red meat, spicy and oozingly ripe blackberries, and balsa wood.

Mouth: Luciously soft and full in the mouth. Remarkable texture. Very low acidity, however, which is surprising to me, given that the Russian River Valley is generally known as a relatively cool climate AVA. Fleshy, rich cassis flavors, with equal magnitude notes of iodine and irony-earth. Long, ripe, soft finish.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? I would drink this over the next year or two. It' seems just too soft and too ripe to gamble on cellaring.

Price/store: This was on the wine list at Reef, where, despite the name, my wife and I had it with non-fish dishes. (Did you know that you can re-cork and take home unfinished wine from restaurants in Texas? Despite living in Texas for the last 10 years, I didn't, until our waitress suggested it!)

2005 Pascual Toso CABERNET SAUVIGNON "Reserve" Las Barrancas Vineyards (Mendoza, Argentina)

A complex, generous, high-class, good-value Cabernet.

Eye: Fully saturated black/blood red color.

Nose: Incredibly rich nose of ripe cassis, blackberry, chocolate, roasted coffee beans, and crushed stones.

Mouth: Soft and very full-flavored, with rich blackberry fruit and lots of dark chocolatey notes, as well as loads of metallic minerals, particularly in the finish (which is long, long!) Substantial tannin, but it's soft, so it doesn't detract from immediate drinking pleasure.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? This will certainly last for another several years, although its flavors are so open and inviting now, I can't see it developing additional nuances.

Price/store: Was $15 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

Two great but very different Pinot Noirs

We had our friends -- at least I HOPE they're still our friends* -- the Finleys over last night for roast prime rib and Pinot Noir night. We enjoyed two tremendous but very very different renditions of the grape.


2004 Cristom "Louise Vineyard" Willamette Valley (Oregon) PINOT NOIR -- This relatively light-colored wine was unbelievably complex and fragrant, with earthy, smoky, minerally sappy cherry flavors, full body, and a long soft finish. (Robert Finley said something something about eating chocolate-dipped cherries in a log-cabin hunting lodge sitting in front of a peat fire). If I were scoring, this would have been in the 92-95 range. For drinking over the next year.







2002 Daniel Bocquenet ECHEZEAUX (Burgundy, France) -- This wine was densely colored and very tightly-wound, with substantial structure for ageing. The nose developed and opened slowly over time, initially revealing a prominent menthol/eucalyptus component that stayed with the wine throughout the evening. But as it sat, tight fruity aromas of hard plum and cherry candy, and well as smoky/minerally scents emerged. Nice acid balance as well, which, together with the plentiful tannic structure, indicated to me that this wine needs (yes, needs) 5 more years at least in a cool cellar. I probably would have scored this somewhere in the 90+ to 91+ range.



* I say "hope" because I was in full argumentative mode the latter half of the dinner, which, um, detracted from the usual level of collegiality.

2006 Ferraton CROZES-HERMITAGE (White) "La Matinière" (Rhone Valley, France)

This was a very full-flavored, weighty white wine. I believe it's made with 100% Marsanne grape, but I'm not sure.

Eye: Brassy gold color.

Nose: Shy nose at first, but as it warmed up and aired out, it developed a beautiful nose of crushed stones, tropical fruit, and melted butter.

Mouth: Broadly-flavored and with a pleasantly heavy mouthfeel, this wine spreads out on the palate with deep, low acid flavors of stony minerals, pears, and zucchini blossom. Long and full-bodied. Loads of character.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? White from Crozes-Hermitage can age a bit, but not for nearly as long as the white from its more prestigious sister appellation, Hermitage. However, the sheer weight and concentration of this wine suggest that it could last another year or two, if you insist on delaying gratification.

Price/store: Was $19.99 at Central Market.

UPDATE (6/10): Fixed the mistake in the heading . . . sorry.

2005 Louis Latour POUILLY-VINZELLES "En Paradis" (Burgundy, France)

This wine is almost always a sure bet for a good value, minerally, unoaked Chardonnay.

Eye: Very light silvery gold with greenish glints.

Nose: Lots of lemon-lime fruit, creamy marzipan, and lots of earthy stones.

Mouth: Earthy/minerally in the mouth, with some pear-like fruit. Full body and a very pleasant earthy, straw-like finish.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next few months.

Price/store: Was about $15 at Spec's on Holcombe, though I think most sizable Spec's stores stock this.

2006 Quinta do Penedo DÃO (Portugal)

This relatively inexpensive wine, which is produced by an estate in the stable of the large Portuguese wine concern, Messias, was very balanced, flavorful, and interesting.

Eye: Saturated black, black ruby color.

Nose: Very interesting nose -- smoky embers, sandstone, and sweet plums.

Mouth: Soft and broadly-flavored, but lacking just a tad of concentration in the mid-palate. Flavors of sweet cassis and plum fruit, with iodine and a pleasant, slightly bitter earthy component.

Was very nice with pasta in a rich sauce that included tomatoes, garlic, prosciutto, soppressata, fresh mozzarella, and lots of herbs.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next year or so.

Price/store: Was $13 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2006 Domaine de Colette REGNIÉ "Selection Vieilles Vignes" (Beaujolais, France)

This Beaujolais had loads of old-fashioned Beaujolais character. A great pick for summer drinking. As with most Beaujolais, it tastes best when it's a little cooler that normal room temperature (but not chilled). Pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so before drinking.

Eye: Beautiful, pure crystalline ruby, with a hint of violet at the rim.

Nose: Classic old-style Beaujolais scents of hard cherry candy, granite, and brambly earth.

Mouth: Very pure cherry/mineral flavors. Very good concentration and weight, yet with that sense of lightness and softness that good Beaujolais should possess. Long, pure-tasting finish.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? Drinking beautifully now, this wine has the concentration and balance to keep nicely for at least another year.

Price/store: Was $16.99 at Central Market.

2002 Charles Schleret RIESLING "Herrenweg" (Alsace, France)

This is a beautiful Alsace wine at its peak! And I am a sucker for a good Alsace Riesling, especially from the outstanding 2002 vintage. This wine would shine with seared tuna or any grilled or simply prepared fish.

Eye: Beautiful bright brassy gold.

Nose: Just after I pulled the cork, the nose was dominated by pungent mineral scents, but it quickly changed, and soon outrageously perfumed scents of sweet peach and pear, bergamot, and tea were wafting out.

Mouth: Bright, balanced acidity buoyed up the beautiful flavors of apple/pear fruit, with a subtle minerality and a hint of chalk dust in the very long finish.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? This is absolutely at its peak right now.

Price/score: Was $27 and change at Spec's on Smith (hurry, before they run out!)

2004 Alcance CARMENERE (Maule Valley, Chile)

I think that this wine -- which is virtual dead-ringer for a very ripe wine from the Pessac-Leognan region of Bordeaux -- is the reserve bottling of the Calina winery's Carmenere, the 2004 vintage of which I previously reviewed here. This was very rich and interesting, though I'm not sure I liked it any better than the regular bottling.

Eye: Fully saturated plasma-like ruby with violet highlights.

Nose: Almost over-the-top richness: melted baker's chocolate, chalk, moist tobacco-leaf, loamy gravel. Oh yeah, and there's some rich blackberry fruit lurking beneath all that.

Mouth: Rich and earthy, with lots of stony minerals at first, giving way to chocolately, port-like fruit, and long, long finish full of soft tannin. Almost too much on the earthy side as opposed to the fruity side of the flavor spectrum.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drinking well now, I think this wine could improve over the next 3 years.

Price/store: Got this for $14.99 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2004 Verget Chablis "Cuvee de la Butte" (Burgundy, France)

(Truncated notes from memory.)


I had this unusually earthy Chablis (I'll skip any pun relating to the name of this cuvee) last night at the house of some good friends, but couldn't actually put my finger in the most prominent component of its nose and flavors until I woke up this morning: chicken broth!


Despite this uncommon aspect, it was still pleasurable and well-made. Underneath the broth were classic scents of lemony minerals and dry straw. It was medium-full bodied, and in the longish finish there was a nice purity to the lemon-limey fruit and the chalky minerals that emerged.

I got this for about $21 at Spec's on Smith, but it looked to be the last bottle on the shelf. I think I would have scored this somewhere in the 84-86 range, had I been scoring.

(Picture of 2006 -- couldn't find one of the 2004).

2004 Querciabella CHIANTI CLASSICO (Tuscany, Italy)

This was an intense, old-school Chianti.

Eye: Almost fully saturated, deep black-ruby.

Nose: Intensely extracted nose too -- earthy, schisty-gravel scents, delicately smoky balsa wood notes, and chokecherry liqueur.

Mouth: Large-framed and full-bodied, with old-school flavors of minerally gravel and peppery chokecherry liqueur (again). Structured and intense, with a long finish.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? This is starting to drink well now, yet I'm sure this wine would benefit from 2-3 more years of bottle age.

Price/store: Was $27.59 at Richard's on Richmond a few months ago, but I think they're on to the 2005 vintage now (although that year is also supposed to be very good in Tuscany).

2004 Menguante GARNACHA "Seleccion" (Carinena, Spain)

This wine was seemingly made for stews, pot roasts, and meat sauces for pasta. Loaded with flavor, ripe, minerally, and with a great structural backbone of tannin and acid.

Eye: Bright, almost luminescent dark ruby with magenta highlights.


Nose: Very vivacious vapors vigorously vault vertically: tart raspberries and cherry liqueur, with lots of powdered stone and mineral scents, and a whiff of rising bread dough.

Mouth: Concentrated and athletic. Bright raspberry fruit, and lots of minerally brambly flavors as well. Long, minerally finish, with noticeable but well well-integrated tannin and bright acidity. We had this with pasta with a sauce that was essentially a leftover Italian pot roast and its gravy, pulsed in the food processor, and augmented with some diced tomatoes. This wine was an awesome complement to the dish.

Score: 90.

Cellar or drink? This will keep for another 2-3 years in a cool cellar, although I don't think it will improve.

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

2006 "Ninet" Rosé (Grenache/Syrah) (Southwest France)

As in almost every vintage, this consistent, flavorful rosé was an excellent value.

Eye: Disconcerting color -- not pink or salmon like most rosés, but a diluted but almost fluorescent ruby/garnet color. Not to worry, though. It gets better.

Nose: Beautifully fruity noise, with ripe, crisp scents of strawberries, grapes, and watermelon. Maybe even a hint of banana. Just a hint of faintly bitterish minerals in the background to balance out all that fruit.

Mouth: Good concentration, length, and balance, especially for a wine at this bargain price point. Not complex, but lots of dry, refreshing fruit.

Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? As with all rosés, drink now now now.

Price/store: $8 at Spec's on Westheimer.

2004 Ambra CARMIGNANO "Santa Cristina in Pilli" (Tuscany, Italy)

This wine was just too extracted for its own good, resulting in too much tannin and an astringent quality that masked its otherwise nice flavors.

Eye: Deep, nearly fully-saturated black ruby.

Nose: Very astringent at first, but the astringency waned to tolerable levels after several hours of airing, revealing scents of yeasty bread, chokecherry liqueur, and warm, minerally gravel.

Mouth: Full-bodied, but if its flavors were a stereo, I'd say there was good treble, good bass, but little mid-range. High-toned winey-cherry flavors, with lots of deep-toned peppery minerality in the back half of the palate. Substantial, not-so-soft tannin as well.

Score: 85+

Cellar or drink? If you've got some, I'd cellar it for 3 or 4 years and hope that it drops some of its tannin and softens a bit, but I'm not sure it ever will.

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

2006 Chateau du Donjon MINERVOIS "Grande Tradition" (Southwest France)

This was a nicely balanced red that would serve as a welcome accompaniment to a wide range of meat or fowl dishes. A quintessential "food wine" (which I mean in a good way). It's a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignane.


Eye: Bright, deep ruby with violet highlights at the rim.


Nose: Nice nose of sweet plummy/blackberry fruit, with slightly earthy, walnut oil-y scents.


Mouth: Soft, round, nicely-balanced, with flavors of dry blackberry extract, a walnut oil/brambly component, and minerals. Medium long, clean finish.


Score: 87.

Cellar or drink? Drink over the next 18 months.

Price/store: Was $11 at Spec's on Holcombe.

2005 Domaine de Corbillieres TOURAINE "Sauvignon" (Loire Valley, France)

This is the second excellent wine I've had from this estate. The first was their Pinot Noir rosé, which was the best rosé I've ever drunk. This white would be a terrific summer seafood wine.

Eye: Very light gold color.

Nose: Wonderfully fragrant nose of ripe pear, crushed seashells, and sweet grass.

Mouth: Intensely fruity, yet bone dry and refreshing. Long, crisp, and pure, with salty-stony, slightly herbal fruit.

Score: 89.

Cellar or drink? Drink this summer.

Price/store: I think this was around $12, at Richard's on South Shepherd.

2005 Chateau de Cary-Potet MONTAGNY "Les Bassets" (Burgundy, France)

This was a delicate, nicely textured white burgundy.

Eye: Bright, light, brassy-gold with greenish glints.

Nose: Terrific nose of earthy straw and fresh-crushed Chardonnay grapes, with a hint of candied apples.

Mouth: Soft and round, with a light texture, yet possessing concentrated, balanced flavors of apple, barely ripe peach, lemon, and flint. Long, clean, minerally finish.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink now. This wine is built for immediate pleasure.

Price/store: Was $18.93 at Spec's on Smith

2004 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley ZINFANDEL "Reserve" (Cal.)

This was a sultry, rather than vibrant or athletic, Zinfandel.

Eye: Dark mulberry/ruby color.

Nose: Rich, sultry nose of overripe mixed berries and spice, with earthy and balsa wood notes.

Mouth: Fat and soft in the mouth, with deep-toned juicy berry fruit and a velvety texture. Not particularly concentrated, however, and also kind of atypical from the tightly wound, densely fruited and minerally Zins I expect from the Dry Creek Valley. Still, I liked it.

Score: 88.

Cellar or drink? Drink now. I find that Zins don't age really well anyway, and this is a looser, less concentrated style than most anyway.

Price/store: Good question. I lost the receipt, but I think I got it either at Randall's on Weslayan or Whole Foods on Bellaire for about $16 on sale.

2006 Torbreck Barossa Valley "Woodcutters' SEMILLON" (Australia)

This was a full-flavored, gangly-limbed white, with prominent peppery elements.

Eye: Light brassy gold color.

Nose: Sharp nose at first, but with airing it develops a rich, waxy lanolin character with pepper, as well as buttery pear and banana fruit.

Mouth: Deeply flavored, full-bodied, but soft, with peppery pear, grass, and stone flavors. Long finish.

Score: 88.

Drink or cellar? My experience with full-bodied semillons is that they age pretty well for a white. This one may keep and improve for a year or two, but is pleasurable now.

Price/store: $14.59 at Spec's on Richmond.

2005 Elvio Cogno DOLCETTO D'ALBA "Vigna del Mandorlo" (Piemonte, Italy)

The acidity in this Dolcetto was too high, detracting from what other wise was a pretty good wine. Can't drink it by itself, but it might be a cleansing-type pairing with a rich, braised meat dish.

Eye: Deep ruby with magenta highlights.

Nose: Tart, pungent nose of lemons, berries, and lots of powdered chalk.

Mouth: Lean and crisp in the mouth, with mouthwatering acidity and some cherry/mountain berry fruit. High acidity in the medium-long, pure tasting finish.

Score: 81.

Drink or cellar? It may soften over the next year, but I wouldn't count on it.

Price/Store: Was about $18 at Spec's on Smith.

2004 William Fevre CHABLIS GRAND CRU BOUGROS "Cote Bouguerots" (Burgundy, France)

A great example of the barrel fermented school of Chablis winemaking.

Eye: Very light gold color.

Nose: This wines needed substantial airing before its nose opened up, but when it finally did, there were scents of smoke, ripe pears, and stony earth.

Mouth: Crisp, minerally, yet with a subtly earthy butteriness, this wine also featured pear and lemon oil fruit. It had a soft, rich texture as well, with a long, long finish.

Score: 91+

Drink or cellar? This wine felt much weightier in the mouth than its flavors would have seemed to indicate, which is a sign that lots of additional development will occur. Together with the inherent ability of great, barrel fermented Chablis to age, I'd say this one could easily improve for another 5 or more years in a cool cellar. If you drink it now, be sure to decant it (yes, I know it's a white. Decant it anyway!)


Price/store: Got this for $59 from Flickingerwines.com.