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 Buena Vista Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard Series Ramal Vineyard: Retail $35.We have had quite a few of these now, and the first note rings true: I picked a couple of cases of these up from the PLCB for the insane price of $12 (plus tax). I wanted a case for myself and got another case for friends. I might keep both cases. Good fruit and enough complexity to keep you interested, this is a good deal at $20 and a complete steal at $12. Very Good.  87-89 Points.

2006 Campion Pinot Noir: Retail $25. This was our second bottle of this and I was less enamored than the first time around–some fruit, but not a lot. Some secondary flavors, but not a lot. This was OK, but not a whole lot more. Good. 84-86 Points.

NV Delamotte Champagne Brut Rosé: Retail $80. Not much pop on opening and a bit musty on the nose, but there was plenty of fizz on the pour. The bottle was way too cold to start with, but after warming up this was a subtle star. Not in your face, not over stated but refined and fantastic. And the finish. Wow. Outstanding. 92-94 Points.

2005 Faiveley Rully Les Villeranges: Retail $25. Not bad for a Tuesday night–it is certainly at or beyond its tasting window and there is not a lot of fruit, making it rather austere, but there is nice acidity and secondary flavors. Good to Very Good.  85-87 Points.

2010 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Carneros Selection: Retail $35? We have had a couple of these as well: Another wine that was on sale for $12 at the PLCB, So I picked up a case. Gary Farrell is a bit of a legend and even though he sold the winery, it remains one of my favorite spots in Sonoma. The wine was fantastic with my wife’s roast chicken–some tropical fruit and just the right amount of oak. Very Good. 88-90 Points.

NV Moët & Chandon Champagne Brut Impérial: (From a magnum) Retail $75. Moët is the world’s largest producer of champagne–by a lot–and this is their largest production wine. It is champagne, but it is not really all that interesting. Sure, there is some nice elements, but there is just not much depth. Good. 85-87 Points.

2002 Louis Latour Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Chaillots: (From a 375) Retail $20 (for a 375). Perhaps I waited too long–the wine is a bit austere and not much evidence of fruit, but good Burgundian secondary flavors of earth and a tiny bit of barnyard. Then again, after my wife sucked down most of the Chardonnay, I was Jonesing some more wine and this half bottle screamed my name. Really, I heard it. Swear. Very Good. 87-89 Points.

2009 Rafael Reverte Garnacha Cistum: Retail $35? I picked this up from the PLCB when it went on sale for $12. The store claimed that this received a 92 from the Advocate, which stated that its drinking window as 2014-2024. I am not so sure about the score, and certainly skeptical about the window, since this had more new world fruit and very little tannin on the back end. For $12? Not bad. For the $38 suggested retail claimed by the PLCB? Not a chance. Very Good. 86-88 Points.

2004 Viña Cobos Malbec Bramare Marchiori Vineyard: Retail $50? I know it is sacrilege, but I popped this on Global Champagne Day. I had grilled a huge slab of beef, though, and I needed some oomph. Boy, did this have oomph–great flavors of mocha and blackberry with plenty of depth and quite concentrated. The tannins are fairly well integrated and this wine faded a bit over the course of the bottle, though, so it might be best to get to the others soon. Outstanding. 91-93 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This was a bit of an odd week in that we tried a bunch of wines out of our normal spectrum. We also were out a bit, and I am still hesitant to go completely wine-geek and take notes on wines that we have away from home (the fact of the matter is that my wife has threatened to smack me if she catches me doing it–she has recently been taking a lot of “Body Pump” classes and since I really do not know what those are, I just do not want to risk it). Global Champagne Day was also this past Friday (although some claim it to be today) and we opened just an average bottle of bubbles that day. I made up for it the following night, though with a very nice bottle of Delamotte, the fifth oldest Champagne House, which is often referred to as the sister house of Salon (if you have never heard of Salon, you are certainly not a Champagne freak). We took it to a party and I sneaked away for a few moments to right some quick notes. Don’t tell my wife….

What was your wine of the week?