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).

2019 Cattleya Sauvignon Blanc Alma de Cattleya, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $22. Under DIAM5. I have been sampling Bibiana’s wines for a few years now and I somehow ended up with a second bottle of this 2019 Sauvignon Blanc. And that is one happy occurrence. I loved this wine back when I first tasted it in 2020 and I might even like it more now. In fact, I do. A bit yellow in the glass with some green highlights, loaded with lemon, lime, grapefruit, a bit of acacia, and, well, verve. The palate follows suit to a tee; even (nearly) four years out, this wine is completely gangbusters with great fruit, a brilliant tartness, and, well, considerable verve (I think I may have mentioned that). Outstanding. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2012 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée, Carneros, CA: Retail $88. 54% Pinot Noir, 46% Chardonnay. I first tasted this not quite a year ago for the Fifth Annual Blind Tasting of American Sparkling Wine and it was fabulous. While many of the descriptors remain the same, I am bumping it up a notch; perhaps the additional time in the bottle added to its allure. “Straw to yellow in color with apple and pear coming through as well as a decided mineral note on the nose. The palate is driven by the acidity, with good fruit and the slightest touch of sweetness to balance out the considerable tartness. Whoa. Really fantastic.” Outstanding. 95 Points.

2021 Château Minuty Côtes de Provence M Rosé, France: Retail $22. Agglomerated stopper. Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, Tibouren. Minuty, at least in my opinion, is trying to become a ubiquitous brand, it seems it wants to be considered along with Châtea d’Esclans (maker of Whispering Angel) and Château Miraval (maker of disastrous marriages–sorry, couldn’t resist) as part of the “new wave” of Provençal rosés. Whether that is the goal or not, I have no idea. What I do know is that while this is a pleasant enough quaff, it falls just a bit short when compared to those other wines. Tart, fruity, even “fun” this is certainly a solid choice in this price range, but it comes up a bit short in depth and length. Still, for around fifteen bucks? Sure. If the store is out of Miraval, that is. Very Good. 89 Points.

2013 Roblar Pinot Noir, Sta Rita Hills, CA: Retail $28. I paid $17 from Wines Til Sold Out back in 2015 and this is the third bottle that I have cracked. My brief assessment? A perfectly fine Central Coast Pinot and probably fairly priced at $28. Therefore, as with many wines I have purchased from WTSO, at $17, this is a fairly good bargain. Light to medium color with plenty of cherry to go around, it comes off as a tad sweet with all of that fruit, in fact. But there is also considerable tartness and a touch of earth. As I said, no world beater, but for under twenty bucks? Certainly solid. Very Good. 89 Points.

2009 Skewis Pinot Noir Ridley Vineyard, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $50. Heavy bottle. My stash of Skewis wines is dwindling slowly, but dwindling nonetheless. I have two bottles of this wine left, and I have to say, I am looking forward to the second bottle. Fairly dark in the glass with plum, blackberry, and a bit of baked cherry. Equally dark on the palate with some anise introduced along with the aforementioned plum and baked cherry. More than ample acidity rounds out the fruit quite nicely along with a bit of earth and even some mocha. Whoa. Outstanding. 93 Points.

NV Taittinger Champagne Brut Prestige Rosé, France: Retail $70. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. We were in an empty restaurant. Literally, no one else in a place that could sit easily 70. No. One. We had one bottle of champers already and we didn’t want to go back to the hotel and we didn’t want to go for a stroll since it was 100° outside. The restaurant on Thursdays had champagne at half off. No brainer: order another bottle. Fairly dark in the glass, this has to be in the upper 10% of hue when it comes to rosé champagne. Dark cherry and even raspberry on the nose with perhaps some rhubarb. Yowza. Rich, even close to unctuous, which is odd for champagne. Yeah, this is a big boy, One of the “darker” champers I have had, much more vinous than just about any champagne and that is saying something. Outstanding. 93 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: While this is space is often used to shed a little more light onto the “best” wine I consumed over the course of the week, it is not necessarily a requirement. This week I was once again fortunate to open some wonderful wines and while the 2012 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée was likely the best wine of the week, I am awarding the prestigious Wine of the Week to the Taittinger Champagne Brut Prestige Rosé because of the context (as well as the wine). I was out of Houston, without kids or responsibility with all the time in the world to have a second bottle of wine with my lovely wife. How does it get better than that?

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