Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife.  Here are some of the wines we tasted over the past few weeks. These are wines that were not sent as samples—in most cases, I actually paid for these wines (although a few have been given as gifts).

2005 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Hollerin, Wachau, Austria: Retail $55? Very Responsible Bottle (450g; 15.8 oz). Quite dark with plenty of lemon and more than a hint of petrol. Well into golden and certainly with some oxidation (under cork). The palate has hints of fruit but only hints with an intense nuttiness and a healthy dash of petrol. Yeah. This is old, tired, and should have been consumed a while ago. Unless you like older Rieslings. Which I do, but still. Very Good. 88 Points.

2013 Château Carsin, Cadillac, France: Retail $??. From 375. Bottle weight: 318g (11.2oz). Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc. Not sure where I got this, but it was time to drink it. Past golden and way on its way to amber, with tons of honey and just a hint of citrus on the nose, while quite nutty on the palate. The tartness grabs hold on the mid-palate and does not relent. A bit of roasted coffee on the finish. Sure, it’s sweet. Even really sweet but it’s far from cloying and actually paired quite well with my sesame-encrusted tuna and fresh black bean salsa. Very Good. 89 Points.

NV Philippe Gonet Champagne Brut Grande Réserve, France: Retail $50. Really Heavy bottle (836; 1lb 13oz). 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier. I have had a few wines from this house, which is located on la Côte des Blancs in Le Mesnil sur Oger (a grand cru village), but I don’t think I have tried this Grande Résèrve. They offer a few different cuvées including the “Brut Résèrve” which only serves to confuse dumb Americans like me. This wine, the “Grande Résèrve” is not on the website, however, which makes me think that this might be intended only for the U.S. market, or perhaps an exclusive for the nice folks at Last Bubbles (which is where I purchased it). Slightly golden in the glass with a delicate yet fervent sparkle and lovely aromas of freshly baked apple pie. The palate is tart and precise with plenty of fruit, great acidity, and just a kiss of sweetness. Excellent. 92 Points.

NV Gruet Winery Brut Rosé, New Mexico: Retail $16. Very Heavy Bottle (887g; 1lb 15oz). 100% Pinot Noir. OK. I am not going to lie: we bought a ton of this wine to serve my father-in-law for when my wife’s parents come over for dinner. Since they live a mere 250 feet away (that is really close, in case you are distance-challenged), they come over often. Really often. Look, I love my in-laws, they really are fantastic, truly. But if I have the ball on my 20 yard-line, they are closer than a touchdown, and barely further than a couple of first downs. That is a bit daunting if I am going to be honest. As for the wine? Always solid, always a good value, and always “good enough” to convince my FIL that it is a more expensive champagne. Very Good. 87 Points.

NV Lanson Champagne Le Rosé Brut, France: Retail $75. 53% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier, 7% still Pinot Noir added for color. These were supposed to be 20% off at my local grocery store, but they would only give me 10% off. I protested, to no avail (I love my H-E-B a little bit less now). Similar notes to the last time I tried this wine: Lovely red berry fruit, minerality, and some yeastiness on the nose of what is, I believe, the top-selling champagne brand in France. Fruity, tart, and a bit yeasty on the palate as well, with an intense, fervent sparkle. Excellent, but there are certainly better values out there in this price range. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Damien Pinon Vouvray Le Brut de Brut, Loire Valley, France: Retail $25? Very Heavy Bottle (766g; 1lb 11oz). 100% Chenin Blanc. I picked these up from Last Bubbles, another site from Last Bottle Wines, my favorite online retailer. Yellow, close to golden in the glass with plenty of lemon and a touch of honey blossom. The palate is bright and concise with modest fruit and an ample amount of verve. Perfectly fine. Very Good. 88 Points.

2009 Roessler Pinot Noir La Brisa, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $35. Heavy Bottle (694g; 1lb 8.4oz). I bought four bottles of this wine for my father-in-law way back in 2013 when he lived in the Bay Area (kind of) and we lived in Philly. I purchased them from WTSO for about $20 and had them shipped to his house. Or so I thought; they ended up on our stoop in Philly. We popped a couple of the bottles while still on the East Coast and they were fine, but not much more. This bottle? Pretty fantastic: bright, fresh red fruit despite its age, lovely zing to balance the fruit, and even a touch of verve. This is really quite nice. My father-in-law lives right behind us now here in Houston. I don’t think I will mention to him that we still have another bottle, I might just have to keep it for myself. Excellent. 91 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: We had a bunch of very good to excellent wines this week, with no real stinkers, but also no real blockbusters either. My choice for Wine of the Week, the Philippe Gonet Champagne Brut Grande Réserve, is certainly a solid bottle of bubbles and worthy of the honor, but there are two main reasons that I chose it. The first is that I paired it with my wagyu beef fajitas, which I have to say were outstanding but not because I did anything remarkable or earth-shattering. No, for the sautéed peppers and onions that I made to top them off, I simply swapped out the green bell pepper with poblano pepper. Whoa, what a noticeable difference. So much so that I doubt I ever buy a green bell pepper again. Why did it take me so long to discover Poblano? I really have no good answer for that.

What was/were your Wine(s) of the Week?