Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. This past week I was wrapped up as a juror in a criminal trial here in Philadelphia, but I still managed to have a bit of wine. Here are some of the wines we tasted this last week that stood out:

2009 CapaBlanca Pinot Noir Reserve Sueno Profondo: Retail $25. This bottle was a bit better than the last, but this wine has been less than impressive. Sure there was some good fruit up front, but there was not much in the middle or at the end to support it. Serviceable, but not a whole lot more here. Good 84-86.

2005 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir: Retail $50. This bottle did not have any of the barnyard characteristics of our previous bottle of ’05 Clos Pepe and was loaded with some very nice fruit. There was an initial astringency on the tip of the tongue initially which seemed like a bit of effervescence, but this eventually calmed down. The result? A classic Clos Pepe. Outstanding. 91-93 Points.

1986 Inglenook Merlot Reserve: Retail ??? This is the second of these that we have had over the last few weeks, and both have been good. My note from the first bottle is still appropriate: The wine was actually quite good, hints of red berry fruit, a hint of mint, and some well placed acidity. No doubt this should have been consumed a while ago, but alas…. Very Good 87-89 Points.

2006 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard: Retail $45. Loring is known for rather big and bombastic wines. Starting with ripe Clos Pepe fruit getting such a wine is not a stretch. Since I generally eschew those blockbusters, I held on to this for a while. I think Brian Loring would agree that he thinks his wines should be consumed young, but this really held up. Sure the fruit was more muted, sure it was not over the top. But it was good. Outstanding even. My type of Pinot. 90-92 Points.

2010 Melini Chianti Borghi d’Elsa: Getting to the last few bottles of this, which is a good thing. Not offensive, but boring. Meh. 81-83 Points.

2009 Red Truck Wines Pink Truck: Retail $10? I bought these on sale at the PLCB since I have liked the Red Truck wines that I have had in the past. Sure, they are cheap and mass produced, but I don’t get as hung up on that as others seem to. I did not expect this wine to be as sweet as it was. Think white zinfandel sweet. This is also at least a couple years past its prime (if it ever even had one). Good thing I still have two more bottles. Ugh. Average (at best). 70-72 Points.

2006 Sans Permis Chardonnay La Chanson Argentee De Cuillere: Retail $40 (?). Still my QPR wine of the year. My previous note: Wow. I paid just over $10 for this. Last Bottle claimed it was a $40 (+) wine. As far as I can tell, they were pretty much right. This was a wonderful wine that reminded me of a rich Meursault: creamy and rich with lemon curd and a bit of pineapple. The balance was spot on as was the finish. QPR off the charts. Excellent. 90-92 Points.

2001 Schmid Gruner Veltliner (Austria): Retail??? I pulled out this wine for a guy’s night out with a bunch of other winos. The main reason was that I thought the wine was likely not very good, but other alcoholics like me might find it interesting. Also, my wife would most certainly turn her nose up at it, presenting me the dilemma of either drinking the whole bottle by myself or pouring it all down the drain.  Well, it turned out to be quite a surprise. Sure, it was a golden color, but it was not at all oxidized and there was a really nice unctuous honey texture with just a hint of petroleum that I usually associate with German Riesling. Overall, very interesting and Very Good. 87-89 Points.

2010 Spy Valley Riesling: Retail $16: Exactly what I expected. A tart, bright, fruity New Zealand Riesling that had a bit of earth and petrol. This was very refreshing albeit not all that complex. Still, Very Good. 86-88 Points.

2006 Vista Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir TreeHouse: Retail $30 (?). There was a mixed assessment of this wine in the household–my wife was not all that thrilled, but I thought it was a solid effort. Good Oregon red berry fruit and balance, the wine was short of “elegant” but certainly a fine quaff. Short to medium finish. Very Good. 87-89 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This was not a very tough choice this week since I had a Clos Pepe. Actually, I had two (one was made by Brian Loring). Clos Pepe is my favorite vineyard in this country, so it wins. Choosing between the two is a little tougher, but I have met Wes Hagen (the wine maker/vineyard manager at Clos Pepe) a couple of times and he is perhaps the person the most passionate about making wine that I have ever met. So the 2005 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir wins. Perhaps not the most objective criteria, but, well, it is my blog.