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.