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).

2006 Château Carbonnieux Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France: Retail $65. 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon. 10 months in oak (25% new). One of the legendary whites of Bordeaux, I bought three bottles of this wine a while ago and this is the second bottle I have popped. Whoa. Golden. Intense nose of cashew and a bit of olive. The palate is luscious and full, nowhere near your typical Sauvignon Blanc. Whoa. The palate is, well, intriguing. Oily, rich, and engaging, sort of like some of the people we have met since moving to Houston. Outstanding. 94 Points

2019 Domaine Cherrier Père et Fils Sancerre Les 7 Hommes, Loire Valley, France: Retail $50. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. I bought a few of these from Wines Til Sold Out (WTSO) on a whim for $20. I have waxed (hopefully poetically) about my active disdain for Sauvignon Blanc and while that has not (and will not?) changed, I am holding on to my one significant exception: Sancerre. In my opinion, Sancerre is in a class by itself inside of the Sauvignon Blanc sphere, completely different. Lemon rind, nectarine, and a white floral aspect all mingle on the nose with tartness, fruit, depth, and roundness. Fantastic. Excellent. 92 Points.

NV André Clouet Champagne Rose No. 3, France: Retail $50. 100% Pinot Noir Grand Cru (10% Bouzy rouge added to the vin clair). This is the last bottle of this wine that I have on hand and despite the rather inconsistent nature of the wine, I am sure I will be buying more shortly. This is probably the best bottle of those that I have had thus far with rich, juicy, red fruit, a lovely level of tartness, and a finish that lasted all the way through Ted Lasso. Bravo. Outstanding. 93 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. The first two bottles of this case that I purchased from Last Bubbles were excellent, but this bottle is a bit of a step back. While many of the notes are similar (fresh strawberry and cherry, a delicate sparkle, plenty of tartness), there was a metallic aspect to this wine that had not been in the first two bottles. This did get better as it warmed, however. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV Michel Genet Champagne Grand Cru MG BB Brut Nature, France: Retail $65? 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay. Disgorged Feb. 2022. To find a Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs for under forty bucks is pretty unheard of, so when I saw this on Garagiste for about $38, I jumped (well, my fingers did kind of jump on the keyboard). I wish I had bought more as I think this has some pretty good aging potential. Medium straw in the glass with some golden delicious apple, fresh peach, some Asian pear, and a lovely “biscosity” (see what I did there?). The palate is equally impressive with great tartness and a lengthy finish. Very close to a whoa. I would buy more from Garagiste if it didn’t take so long to get the wines (these took over six months). Excellent. 92 Points. 

2017 B Kosuge Pinot Noir The Shop, Carneros, CA: Retail $35. 100% Pinot Noir. This has been my wife’s favorite Pinot for some time now and we usually buy it by the case so that she has something in the house she can drink without asking whenever I am out of town. As it turns out, this is the first bottle I have had of this wine in quite some time. Dark in the glass with considerable black cherry fruit, a touch of clove, and some black pepper. The palate is fruity (but nowhere near over-the-top), with some nice acidity for balance and structure. Above average finish. I have long been a fan of Byron’s wines, and this is a great reason why. Excellent. 91 Points.

2003 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvée Ste. Catherine, Alsace, France: Retail $45. Under cork. My wife was out of town, so I knew I was going to go “old” (my wife has asserted on several occasions that she does not like “old wine”). I also had a bit of an Alsatian itch; I studied there a thousand years ago and it had been a while since I had popped a cork from my adoptive home. 2003 was a tough year across France, but Alsace might have handled it as well as any other region and the last two bottles I had of this wine were aged but also fantastic. I popped the last one about six years ago and I should have opened this one shortly thereafter. Put simply, this wine is tired. I like to think that it was holding on, praying I would get to it any day now and while there are hints of what this once was, they are just that. Still, it was a great “trip” back to my French motherland. Good. 86 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: As a parent and a former high school teacher, I often have heard (and even said) that we should not have favorites. But that is simply not true. I did have favorite students and players on my basketball and baseball teams, and from time to time, I prefer one of my sons over the other (but that is certainly fluid). I also have favorite wines and regions and I am pretty open about that. This week, we polished off a number of bottles from my favorite wine region, Champagne, and I popped the Weinbach Pinot Gris hoping that I would love it enough to warrant Wine of the Week status. Alas, akin to when a favorite student totally tanks an exam, the Alsatian PG was a disappointment. Another wine, though, certainly took advantage and jumped into that void, the 2006 Château Carbonnieux Blanc, Pessac-Léognan was spectacular and very deserving of this week’s Wine of the Week honor. 

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