What We Have Been Drinking—5/8/2023

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 over the past few weeks. These are wines that were not sent as samples—in most cases, I actually paid for these wines (although a few have been given as gifts).

NV Champagne Louis Armand Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut, France: Retail $50. 100% Chardonnay. I picked up a case of this wine from Vivino for $30/bottle. We have now had several bottles of this wine and at thirty bucks, this is a solid value. Fairly light in color with aromas of green apple, lemon rind, and freshly baked bread. The palate has a nice, fervent sparkle with more than ample acidity, but comes off as a tad sweet on the finish. But that is really nitpicking as this is very nice.
Excellent. 90 Points.

2017 DaMa Wines Sauvignon Blanc Cowgirl Blanc Two Mountains, Columbia Valley, WA: Retail $18. Under Screw-Top. I came across this last bottle of this wine while I was doing a little cellar maintenance and knew that it was not getting any better. So, a quick unscrew and it was in my glass. Most of the fruit has faded, but there is really nice acidity and good weight. Yeah, the wine is pretty much done, but it was well-made and still quite drinkable. Thus, I sat before the premier of my favorite show with glass and bottle in hand, in the middle of my couch. Sure, the wine could have been better, but that was not my focus and thus the wine was just fine. Very Good. 88 Points.

NV Antoine Derigny Champagne Brut Rosé, France: Retail $60. 60% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 5% Pinot Meunier, colored with 12% Bouzy red Pinot Noir. Gorgeous ruby-pink color with plenty of fresh berry fruit on the nose with just a touch of yeastiness. The palate is equally fantastic with loads of fresh strawberry and cherry, a delicate sparkle, plenty of tartness, and verve. At only $30 from Last Bottle Wines. Excellent and close to a whoa. Excellent. 92 Points.

2010 Del Carlo Cabernet Sauvignon Teldeschi Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, CA: Retail $30. I bought a case of this wine from Last Bottle Wines over eight years ago, and this is the first note I have written but it is also the last bottle I have in the cellar. What happened to the other 11 bottles? I have no idea. Even though this bottle probably should have been consumed a few years ago, it is delightful. Still vibrant fruit, nice acidity, and balance, just a wonderful quaff. But more than what is actually in the bottle, pulling the cork reminded me of Ray Taldeschi, truly a salt of the earth kind of guy and multi-generational farmer in Dry Creek Valley. I’ve written quite a bit about that encounter and it is a shame these wines are no longer being made. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV Gonet-Médeville Champagne Premier Cru Brut Blanc de Noirs, France: Retail $60. 100% Pinot Noir, 90% 1er Cru Bisseuil, 10% Grand Cru Ambonnay. Disgorged September 2022. I was in Sonoma for a little over a week and I stopped by Bottle Barn for some refreshments. I immediately was drawn to this bottle as I had just had a tasting with them in Houston a few days prior. Certainly pink (albeit light) in the glass with a bit of an orange hue and a boatload of red berry fruit: cherry, strawberry, and raspberry. There is also the characteristic yeasty component but the fruit is certainly at the fore. That theme carries over to the palate with a bowlful of berries, tangy tartness, and some baked croissant coming in on the mid-palate. Really fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2022 Louis Jadot Couvent des Jacobins Rosé, Burgundy, France: Retail $22. 100% Pinot Noir. Under screw cap. Louis Jadot is a huge négociant in Burgundy. So big, in fact, that practically no discussion of any region in Burgundy is complete without including at least a couple of wines from the Burgundian giant. Nonetheless, I was surprised to see this wine at my local H-E-B (I love my H-E-B). Why? I had no idea that they made this rosé; so of course I had to try it. And? Meh. It’s OK. Maybe even Very Good. Great color, a bit of fruit on the nose and palate, but for me? It lacks a bit of character. I bought it for $12 on sale and I figure that was about two bucks too much. Very Good. 88 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: A week with a handful of solid wines and then one that I considered “Outstanding” makes for liter deliberation when choosing the Wine of the Week. That is certainly the case here where the Gonet-Médeville Champagne Premier Cru Brut Blanc de Noirs was clearly “better” than the other wines we opened. It did not hurt that I purchased and opened the bottle while I was out in Sonoma County for the better part of two weeks visiting friends and tasting wine (I had wanted to spend some time riding out there as well, but the low-50° temperatures were just too chilly for this now Texan). As luck would have it, I had just attended a tasting with Theo Gonet, the son of the proprietors, Xavier Gonet and Julie Médeville, making the consumption of the wine even a bit more pleasant, if that were possible.

What was/were your Wine(s) of the Week?