Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. This last week I travelled to Michigan with the boys to visit my family (my wife had to “work” so she did not join us, conveniently for her) and so I was not at home with access to my cellar. Don’t cry for me, however, as I did manage to get some wine samples sent to me in Michigan for the holiday (which was invaluable for my survival). Therefore, the list this week is a bit short, but I still managed to have a few good bottles, however.

1996 Château Bastor-Lamontagne: Retail $25 (375 ml). In the glass I picked up honey and a bit of astringency and is a rather dark amber color. Fantastic balance with the exact right amount of sweetness and acidity. This is pretty much balls to the walls from beginning to end. We have not been drinking a ton of dessert wine as of late, but with the weather getting colder, we need to pull a few more out. Outstanding. 91-93 Points.

2001 Tenuta Friggiali Brunello di Montalcino: Retail $55? I do not drink a lot of Italian wine, but I might need to start. This wine was fabulous. A bit of funk on the nose but on the palate, but this is incredible. After some time a bit more mocha came out of the glass. On the palate? Whoa. Adequate fruit but earth and a bit of earth. Whoa. That is two “Whoas” for those keeping score at home. Outstanding. 92-94 Points.

1991 Topolos Zinfandel Rossi Vineyard Sonoma County: Retail $25. I got a bunch of these a while ago because I really enjoy older Zins–for me, well-balanced Zins take on a Pinot characteristic when they get older. And I love me my Pinot. This wine is no exception. Still some fruit there, surprisingly I guess, with just the right amount of acidity. I popped this at a friend’s party and it was a big hit–I am not sure if the others knew what a treat it was, but I tried my best to let them know. I guess that it is the way I roll. Outstanding. 89-91 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK:  Choosing a Wine of the Week out of a total of three wines seems a bit, well, dumb, but I did have three really good wines this week and I might as well keep up the “tradition” of selecting a wine that stood above the others. I did not go back and check the veracity of the following statement, but I believe this is the first time that I have had an Italian wine as the Wine of the Week. Why is that significant? I am not entirely sure, but the 2001 Tenuta Friggiali Brunello di Montalcino was very impressive–great fruit, balance and finish, this wine really was firing on all cylinders and I kept going back for more. While I might be overstating it a bit, but this wine is causing me to change my paradigm a bit–the wine world is so vast that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to be familiar with it all. I have always “passed” on Italy since thinking about trying to tackle the boot from a relatively novice standpoint is daunting at best. I might have to rethink that….

What was your Wine of the Week?