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.