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 this last week that stood out:

2006 Jean-Michel Gerin Condrieu La Loye: Retail ~$50. As expected, a bit softer and rounder than your typical Chardonnay. Great stone and tropical fruit with a bit of perhaps coconut.  Viognier often suffers from a lack of acidity, but this wine had it in spades as well as a very nice finish. Excellent. 90-92 Points.

2001 Domaine du Colombier Hermitage: Retail ~$50. As most of you know, I am a bit of a French wine snob. Except when it comes to Syrah. This might sound blasphemous, but I often think that the more ‘American’ style of Syrah is a better representation of the variety–when done in a more restrained style. Don’t get me wrong, this wine was very good, with stewed red fruit, a somewhat austere earthiness, and remarkable acidity. I just do not get it–if I want earthy, I grab a Burgundy.  If I want a steak I grab a Bordeaux. Still Very Good. 88-90 Points.

2010 Cosentino Winery Pinot Noir Reserve Selection: Retail ?? I believe this was a wine that is not sold from the winery, but a wine that was made for the flash site market. I was not quite sure how I felt about that–but I do know that this was a pretty good Pinot. Great cherry and cola with a bit of spice and earth. Medium finish. Very Good to Excellent. 89-91 Points.

N.V. Deligeroy Crémant de Loire Rosé Brut: Retail ~$15.(As previously reviewed) I had a conversation the other day about ‘house wines’. I proclaimed rather boastfully that there was no such thing as a house wine chez le drunken cyclist. Not really sure why I should boast about that, since it is a rather stupid thing about which to boast. Especially when it is not true. This is our sparkling rosé ‘house wine’. It is affordable (i.e., under $20), very good, and easy to get (although it does involve a trip to either New Jersey or Delaware–surprise, surprise there is not a great selection of crémants at the PLCB). Very Good to Excellent. 88-90 Points.

2002 Château Nairac: Retail ~$30. This wine comes from the Sauternes satellite of Barsac. A nose of apricot, roasted nuts and honey. On the palate, rich and full without being unctuous. While sweet, certainly, the sugar and acidity are in great balance. Very Good to Excellent. 88-90 Points.

2006 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Napa Valley: Retail ~$40. This started off way too cold and was not revealing much of anything. As it warmed up, though, things did not improve all that much, with some slight citrus and vanilla notes. All in all I was a bit disappointed with this wine as I expect big things from Patz & Hall. Good to Very Good. 86-88 Points.

N.V. Pommery Champagne Brut Royal: Retail ~$40. We have Pommery quite a bit and while it is certainly not one of the more complex Champagnes out there, it has nice citrus and a bit of the bready/doughy characteristics that typify Champagne.  The finish is a bit short and you would not mistake this for a vintage or grower Champagne, but you’re not paying for those either.  Very Good. 87-89 Points.

2010 Saintsbury Pinot Noir Vincent Vin Gris: Retail ~$12-15. I picked up a few of these from a sale at the PLCB and I figured that it would be better to get to them now instead of waiting–besides, I am a firm believer in drinking rosé year-round. The fruit seems to have faded just a bit, but still some notes of strawberry and even watermelon. A nice rosé even at two years out. Good to Very Good. 85-87 Points.

2008 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills: Retail ~$30. I was really surprised by this bottle–we have had tons of Siduri, but mostly the vineyard designate bottlings. I assumed that this would be a more scaled back version of those. While certainly not as complex as say, their Clos Pepe, this wine has incredible fruit and balance. I was certainly ‘wowed’ and glad that I have another two bottles. Excellent. 89-91 Points.

2001 Turley Zinfandel Estate: Retail ~$50. I do not have a lot of experience with Turley, whose wines certainly have reputations of being big and powerful, even blockbusters. So I was not really sure what to expect with this decade old wine. In the glass, it was darker than I expected, and had some wonderful fruit along with a bit of earth and complexity. I was expecting a bit more, though. Very Good. 88-90 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: As I have mentioned in this space before, the wine of the week is not necessarily the highest scoring wine of the week.  That is the case again this week–while the Condrieu was certainly the highest scoring wine this week, the Siduri was the biggest surprise. The fruit and balance were incredible. Perhaps most surprising was that in these days of single vineyard bottlings, the Siduri was a good old fashioned appellation blend and only $30.