Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. Over the last few weeks, we had been drinking some very good wines with some good friends that were visiting. This week could not have been more of a contrast. Here are some of the wines we tasted this last week that stood out:

N.V. Domaine St. Vincent Brut: Retail $10? This wine kind of ticks me off. It has little to do with the wine though–this is a sparkler that is really not bad, but it is not particularly good either. It’s just there. In fact, I do not have any tasting notes since we use this to make Kir Royales. No, the reason that this ticks me off is that I purchased a case of it from Wired for Wine (an online ‘flash’ site), who said it was a Gruet (and even had a picture of Gruet on the ad for this wine). Technically, it is made by Gruet, but it is their second wine, which retails usually below $10 (and Wired for Wine sold it for $12, saying it was the ‘real’ Gruet that normally goes for $18). When I called to complain, they offered me a credit of the cost of one bottle. Gee thanks. I have not bought anything from them since (nor should you).

2003 Francis Ford Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs: Retail ~$15. Hmmmm. I came across this on the internet and I am a sucker for sparkling wine and this one is made from Alsatian varieties (I’m a sucker for those as well). I thought this was a no brainer. I had a bottle of the 2010 the other day and it was interesting–a cross between a traditional sparking wine and moscato. This wine was interesting in another way–it was old, and it was not a good thing…. I had a second bottle which we cracked a few days later and it was better if only marginally. Average to Good. Not Rated.

2006 Inman Family Pinot Noir Olivet Grange Vineyard: Retail ~$45. This was my second bottle of this–the first was rather uninspiring, but this was certainly a different story. Great cherry fruit on the nose and palate–which also had some earthiness and depth. The finish accentuated a really fantastic wine. Excellent to Outstanding. 89-91 points.

1999 Sebastopol Vineyards Chardonnay Dutton Ranch: Retail ?? There are times that I am convinced that I am an idiot. This bottle of wine underscored this feeling. I bought it online because I thought it was actually a Pinot (but even then, a wine this old would be a reach). When it showed up as a chard I was ticked off, convinced that it was listed as a Pinot. I checked: it wasn’t. I just did not read the lot correctly. Thus, the idiot thing. I decided to crack it, hoping for the best. Idiot. Poured. Dark, dark, yellow. Still decided to try it. Idiot. Boy it was awful. Idiot. Not even sure this should be used to de-glaze pans. Good thing I spent 10 minutes getting the cork out. Idiot.

2000 Rutz Cellars Chardonnay Dutton Ranch: Retail ?? I decided to crack this after the unmitigated disaster that was the Sebastopol Chard. Perhaps that 1999 chard lowered my expectations, but this wine was really not that bad. It was a bit of the overblown, CA oaky style, but it has more or less held together over the last decade. The color was a bit on the dark side, but within reason and there were notes of lemon and vanilla.  Like I said, not bad, even Good to Very Good. 84-86 Points.

This week I conducted a wine tasting after one of my Spinning classes and the ‘theme’ (other than the normal ‘wines that will fit in the budget’) was ‘Thanksgiving Wines’:

2011 Hugl Grüner Veltliner: Retail $13 (One Liter Bottle). I really think that Grüner Veltliner is one of the better values in whites these days and while this is not, perhaps, a great pairing for Thanksgiving, its bright citrusy acidity make it a natural pairing for just about any seafood dish you could throw at it.  Very Good. 86-88 Points.

Deligeroy Crémant De Loire Brut: Retail $15. The Diligeroy Rosé is as close as we get to a ‘house’ wine–something we think about opening just about every night. While the standard brut might not have as much depth as the rosé, this wine rocks as well.  Creamy and tart at the same time, this is a phenomenally frugal fitting for any table, but particularly Thanksgiving. Very Good to Excellent. 88-90 Points.

Château de Nages Costières de Nîmes Rosé Reserve: Retail $10. A clean, honest rosé that will not necessarily turn any heads, but it will not cause any to wonder if there were any other choices available.  Strawberries and watermelon pair well with the ample acidity.  Very Good. 85-87 Points.

2012 Georges DuBœuf Beaujolais Nouveau: Retail $9 (‘On Sale’ for $10 at the PLCB). The PLCB is such a joke. This wine is selling for about $9 across the country, but after this weekend, the PLCB is going to jack it up to $13. No wonder they still have some Nouveau from 2009 in the system.  That should not deter you from this wine, though.  It will not cause you to contemplate the meaning of life, but it is a fun bottle of fruit that will hopefully allow you to forget about work for a bit. Talk-a-Vino has a great write-up HERE on this wine and Nouveau in general. Very Good. 85-87 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK:

As you can see above, the choices this week (with the noticeable exception of the Inman–which was excellent) were not in the same league of either the last two weeks (see those HERE and HERE).

But.

There is a notable exception. This week I got in a bunch of wine made by a truly
talented winemaker.  His name is Eric Buffington and he is the winemaker at Freeman Winery (yes, I know that Ed Kurtzman is listed as the winemaker at Freeman, but Eric is the guy who should really get the credit).  Well, Eric makes a bit of wine for his own label and that is what we got in this week.  I knew I should let it sit for a bit after the long trip from Sonoma, but I could not wait to get my hands (or I guess lips) on it so we cracked a bottle of his 2008 Amelle Buck Hill Zinfandel. Retail $24. Something rare happened that night–we did not finish the bottle!

Wait just a second–it was not because of the wine–it was fruity yet restrained, beautifully made with an exceptionally long finish. Outstanding and 90-92 Points. The reason we did not finish? Well, it was late by the time we pulled the cork and we were both exhausted (I had just returned from my Spinning class and my wife had been helping ‘control’ about 50 kids at the school for an event).  The next day, I went after the other half of the bottle during the Buckeye game and it had evolved considerably–the fruit really came out even more: blackberry and plum with vanilla, spice and earth. This is simply one of the best Zins I have ever had. Outstanding 93-95 Points.