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:

2011 Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray Vouvray De Chanceny Tête de Cuvée, Brut Excellence: Retail $25. This seems to be getting better and better. Might have to go out and get some more (without having my wife find out–any suggestions?). My previous note: We had a bottle of this about a week ago and I was less than impressed. This bottle was noticeably better–more sparkle, more verve, more fruit. I will go out and get more at $14 a bottle at the PLCB. Very Good to Outstanding. 89-91 Points.

2011 Cosentino Winery Cabernet Sauvignon The Cab Lodi: Retail $25. I have not hidden the fact that I am more than a bit dismayed at the direction that Cosentino has taken since the re-organization. This wine is fine, I guess, not meant to be a blockbuster, but clearly has no soul. I will not be buying any more Cosentino. Period. Meh. 83-85 Points.

2010 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Carneros Selection: Retail $30. This continues to inch higher: This bottle was fantastic–the oak seems rounder and the fruit brighter. All-in-all  Outstanding and glad that we have another case to go through. 89-91 Points.

2006 Flowers Chardonnay Andreen-Gale Sonoma Coast: Retail $30? We are huge fans of Flowers, particularly the Chards. I bought this from the PLCB back in 2011 and it is holding up well. Not as deep and rich as a typical Andreen-Gale, but that makes it more in my style, perhaps. Outstanding. 90-92 Points.

2002 Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Mambourg: Retail $30? Hard to believe, but I had purchased 20 of these about seven years ago and this was the last of those 20. Not the best of the bottles, but not the worst either. The color was dark, the nose wonderful, but a bit overly sweet, masking much of the wine. I really liked it, but it is more dessert than “table” wine. Very Good. 88-90 Points.

2009 Torii Mor Pinot Gris: Retail $20. The difference between this wine and the last bottle of it we had was noticeable–there seems to be a bit of a drop off here. Still nice flavors, but the fruit was lacking, resulting in the wine coming off a bit flat. Still Good to Very Good, but drink soon. 85-87 Points.

1987 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Bates Ranch: Retail $35? Our third bottle of this wine and this one was a notch above the previous two, with ample fruit and very nice acidity. Particularly well-balanced and a very nice accompaniment for Downton Abbey. Yes, I watch Downton Abbey. No I am not particularly proud of that fact. Outstanding. 89-91 Points.

2000 Georges Vigouroux Cahors Château de Mercuès Cuvée Prestige 6666: Retail $25? I have had this Malbec for a while and never really knew when to pop it. Finally, with a bit of sausage pasta, I decided it was the time. Austere is a good word, as is “old world” or “food wine”. Really, this is right down my alley–not a blockbuster, not an earth-shatterer, but a solid wine. Very Good. 86-88 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This past weekend was Open That Bottle Night (post to follow soon, I hope) and I excluded those wines from the docket this week. That left us with some very good wines, but none stood out clearly above the rest. We certainly enjoyed the Flowers Chardonnay, but it was just a notch below previous bottles. The Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris was very good as well, and it was sad to see this last bottle thrown into the recycling bin, but it was a bit flabby. Then there was the Santa Cruz Mountain Cab, which got serious consideration, but the fact that we enjoyed it while watching a soap opera (listen—just because they have British accents and there might be an attempt for some historical accuracy, there is no denying that this is a prime-time soap), took it out of contention. In the end, I opted for the 2010 Gary Farrell Chardonnay Carneros Selection for Wine of the Week. We have already gone through a case of this wine (and have another case to go) and after initially not really sure what I thought of the wine, this last bottle was wonderful. It also helps that the people at Gary Farrell are very active in social media. (Before you get your underwear all in a bunch, this fact had no bearing on the review of the wine. Choosing the WOTW, however, involves much more than taking the top scoring wine of the week, it relies heavily on context–at least that is my position this week.)

What was your Wine of the Week?