Hofer Gruner Veltliner, Frieberg 2005:

Very light straw color. Very aromatically complex and expressive nose; mercurial transitions through apple skin, some cherry, lime, white peach, bok choy, haricot verts, toasted bread, and gravel. Characteristic aromas of Old-world Rieslings, Chenin Blancs, and Sauv Blancs all seem to pop in and out of focus. Bone dry, with such an intense mineral-water/saline character it’s almost obnoxious. The finish is just a gravelly landslide that smooths out over a minute. Refreshing; begging for the next sip. This could stand up to hard-to-pair foods like Mexican and Japanese. For terroir-hounds like myself, this is a revelation - so much of the vineyard and the vintage is there to discover and taste. Fans of Sancerre, Poully-Fume, and  dry Rieslings owe themselfves a taste of this value monster.

Curatolo Grillo Tumoli, Sicilia 2006:

A little tighter on the nose, showing mysterious floral, citrus and peach-pit notes. Big, on the palate, but with a great linearity and focus. Clean and fresh. Acidity is very balanced - not sour but punchy enough to give structure and direction. Overall the fruit is restrained (it’s there, but not centerstage), but there is a great underlying river-rocks-and-flowers foundation that makes the wine real. Grilled shrimp or squid would love this.

Both can be found under $14US with little hunting . To my tastes, the Hofer had the edge (mainly in aromatics and overall complexity), but I feel more people might enjoy the Grillo as a patio-pounder-eay-drinking-weeknight-white.

~$12US, 100% Tempranillo, Granada Spain

Deep ruby with a purplish cast. Rich, ripe plums and blackberries on the nose…big fruit that smells of sunshine, with secondary leather and spicebox aromas emerging with time. Medium-full bodied on the palate and structurally well-constructed for this price. Just the right acidic lift to balance the fruit, taught but clean tannins (this has at least another 4-5 years of upswing), and very disciplined use of oak all add up to a wine you’d expect to be in the US$25-30 range. It’s tight but enjoyable at this point - but I detect some (nice) vegetal and spice complexities that need a little time to unwind. The finish revealed a soft decrescendo of fruit and a touch of rocky schiste-iness I usually attribute to Priorat and wines from Southwestern France. Welcome and versatile at the table - I imagine it standing up to strong sauces (garlicky/peppery) or with earthier vegetarian dishes.

A screaming value not only for what you get for $12, but what pitfalls it avoids among its price-peers (over-oaking, flabby tannins, funky brettyness, over-extraction, oxidation, etc). Easy to drink - the bottle just disappeared… I’d love to stock up on this and try it over the next few years to watch its evolution…and surprise friends when it upstages their latest California ‘cult’ wine for a fraction of the price. Seek out.

Leitz Dragonstone Reisling 2005: I kind of panned this last year, but it’s in a better place now. Toned down is the fierce minerality in lieu of better overall flavor integration and depth along with some petrol-licous secondary flavors. The fruit is still going strong, with lime, green apple, and white peaches. Great with jerk chicken and coconut red-beans-and-rice.

Jean Lallement Champagne Brut NV: Shockingly aromatic - Pinot Noir-driven strawberries are the first aromas, followed by Granny Smith apples, sweet cream and puffed pastries. Grippy and very dry on the palate but so fresh and friendly…After a bit of time it was just like having an fresh baked apple pie right there in front of me. Fun and very distinctive in that it walked the line between elegance and rusticity - the nose was giving 110% while the palate was more restrained. Sexy. Would buy again. Aperitif or with cheese.

Clos de Papes, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2001: This is not a wine to ponder, dissect, or taste - this is a wine to drink and enjoy with someone special over serious meat. Tremendous depth and lushness, but very well balanced with fresh acidity. Tannins almost imperceptibly fine and integrated. Decanted for hours - while not needed, it helped some of the earthy and herbal tones marry into the fruit. Cherries, spices galore, red raspberries, lavender, leather, cedar…etc. I could go on and on… This is world class stuff without any noticeable flaws, misgivings or shortcomings. Seek out.

Domaine les Haute Noelles: Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu 2006: Concentrated, zingy but weighty, fresh melon and citrus all day long. Fantastic chalkiness in the finish makes you want another sip. Why is Muscadet uncool? I have no idea, but I’m taking advantage of the fantastic value here and sacking away a few more bottles for seafood and roasted chicken.

Domaine de la Colombette Lledoner Pelut Vin de Pays des Côteaux du Libron, 2003: My new favorite grape is the Lledoner Pelut - Grenache’s “hairy-leafed” cousin. Too bad there are like 2 wines in the world that use it as a primary component. This is one of them. Garnet with brilliant translucency. Noses like a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but has palate characteristics of a mid-weight Burgundy. Cherries, spice, leather and licorice. Round and mouth-coating, but light and fresh with balance and poise. Savory. This wine is killing right now, and probably will for another 2-3 years as the tannins continue to integrate. Lovely.

~$32US, 50% Muscat / 50% Viognier, Cotes de Catalanes, SW France

Ok - I will start by saying that I’ve never tasted anything like this - wine or otherwise. Rich golden color. Popped and sniffed and was utterly confused. Cheap corn oil, sulfur, The Holland tunnel exhaust fans, and pears. I was prepared for some funkiness, but this was insane - very little here resembling a beverage made from fermented grapes. I decanted and came back an hour later. Still funky diesel and corn oil. After 2 hours, things starting fitting together better.

At 3 hours it really started singing. The funk blew off and integrated into a pleasant smoky undertone. Dried flowers and ginger with burned lemon components…like a lemon creme brulee, slightly over-torched. Weighty on the palate - the viognier component is oily and mouth-filling yet the impression is very fresh and vibrant. Well-balanced with a fresh bias towards acidity. Sipper-and-a-thinker. Fundamentally complex and multi-layered. Apple skins, mint, citrus explosions, fruit-wood smoke and lavender. The finish is where this really becomes Impressive $?*#! Wine in my opinion. It ties all the flavors into a lemony custard, with a defined chalky minerality and salinity. So long and smooth and effortless. Food matching might be difficult with this level of complexity - I suspect firm grilled fish and strong cheeses would pair well.

Truly unique - a bizarre transformation from something almost foul to something sublime. I think the decanting fast-forwarded what good honest cellar aging can do, so I hope to procure more of this - forget about it for a decade and see what happens. Not for the meek or the impatient. But for the rest, a gift, and a great example of old-school ‘zen winemaking’ yielding staggeringly complex wines. Less is more.

~$40US, 100% Chardonnay, Clos Pepe Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills, California

Extremely pale straw, nearly colorless. White peaches, green apples, mango, and a cold steeliness on the nose. Salty-silica maritime notes in the mix as well. Great aromatics, but the poise and elegance up front portents a very different wine than one might expect from a California chardonnay.

Razor laser focus on the palate. This is a ripping chardonnay with full-throttle acidity, serious vitality and vigor. No ‘oakiness’ evident, other than whatever it took to add some weight to the midpalate. So fresh, clean, and precise - This is extreme chardonnay. I’ve been drinking lots of Riesling and Chenin Blanc lately, and what struck me was the fruit ripeness is totally complete, but it’s so dry and acidic. No make-up, no stylization. I wouldn’t call it classically balanced, but it does have a great place at the table with firmer/fattier fish, Japanese cuisine, or cheeses.

Personally, I am a sucker for acidity, and really enjoyed the nearly palate-stripping power here. It’s fresh, true, and extreme - so you have to know what you are getting into. But if you get into the high-toned acidity of Chablis, bone-dry Rieslings and Loire whites, you’ll be surprised at what this new world Chardonnay can offer. I’d be curious to see what a few years of cellar-time would do - but unfortunately, my only bottle is gone. The price and rarity prohibit this from being a great value, but it is a unique wine and one to try at least once. Kudos Wes!

~$15US, Merlot/Cabernet Blend, Montravel (Eastern Bordeaux/ SW France)

Day 1: Too tight. Come back tomorrow.
Day 2: Fresh red cherries with secondary herbal, bramble, and leather notes.  Very refined on the palate - wonderfully  crisp acidity and fine but firm tannins. Refreshing and elegant. High-toned cherry fruits with a noticeable tartness reminding me of Sweet Tarts, without the candy-fied sweetness.  Overall finely balanced and super food friendly - the acidity and tannin structure could complement fattier beef cuts, and harmonize with more robust and tangy sauced white meats.  Ridiculous value - in a perfect world, wines like this should be restaurant house wines. Seek out.

~$22US, 100% Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Oregon

Brilliant and transparent deep rose red, with purplish tints. Very aromatically exciting and complex, with equal parts old- and new- world showing. Fresh strawberries, right from the patch, iron-like animal blood notes, warm rubber tires, secondary oriental spice box notes with clove and sandalwood. Strawberry and chocolate Quik Milk mix. Earthy and primal. Really some interesting-new-to-me flavors going on here…auspicious.

Lush and soft on the palate - really juicy and seductive. Perfect integration through the midpalate with silky tannins. The oak is fully married to the fruit, pulling through with spice elements. Strawberries and the whole strawberry patch for days. Definitely has an earthly old-world cloak around a core of perfectly ripened Oregon fruit. I applaud the fact that it is 13% ABV, but full of flavor and food friendly with medium-bodied. Some third tier floral notes arrive - chamomile. Medium-length finish. The acidity is good and balanced - only my personal preference for a tad more acidic bite would improve my overall impression.

This wine is absolutely is rocking right now, ready-to-drink, and I can see it staying strong for another 3-5 years. Very fine value to boot - in my opinion, more fun and easier to drink then my last Willamette Pinot. Kudos to the wine-maker for creating a striking, vibrant, and vital wine. Enjoy with roast duck.

~$30US, 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Cinsault, 5% Syrah, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, France
Deep crimson. Very tight on the nose and palate. WAY too young - this wine should be put away for at least 5-7 years, or opened at least 24 hours before you intend to drink it. I had this open for about 8 hours before it starting to put itself together. Red cherries, oregano, thyme, leather, and some interesting Mourvedre gameyness. A slightly unusual blend with a relatively high Cinsault component which may influence the overall taughtness.  Definitely on the elegant side of C-d-P, which I admire, but I felt that I had thrown the baby out with the bathwater opening this too soon. I think patience will be rewarded if you can sit on this one for awhile.

~$30US, 100% Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, California

Deep ruby in color. Mabe a hair darker than what I’d call “varietally correct”. Bursting with a signature Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir nose - Ripe raspberries, dried cherries and lychees, plus a little tomato skin. Some spiced vanilla notes eluding to some time in new oak barrels. Sexy mouthfeel - velvety, easy-drinking, and well-integrated for the most part, although a little aggressive oak and alcoholic heat peak out in the midpalate. Not the last word in complexity, but scrumptious fruit with fine tannins (ready-to-drink) and enough acidity to do well at the table with medium-bodied fare (veal, pork roasts and grilled white meats).

Overall, an exemplary Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, produced by the man who pioneered the grape in said AVA. While the providence must be respected,  this is a casual wine - fun to drink and I’m certain that it would make both old Pinot fans and novices equally happy. Considering the other wines being made in the area, this stands out at it’s price point as a pretty good value - but for a tad more, you move into single-vineyard designates that may offer more individuality.