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).

2014 Axis Mundi Grenache/Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley, CA: Retail $22. Screw cap. 67% Grenache, 33% Syrah. This was the second label made by Wes Hagen while he was still at Clos Pepe. I bought several bottles shortly before the demise of the mother ship and this is now the fourth that I have opened and decidedly the best so far. I would imagine that this is fairly far from what most people consider to be “Grenache” or “Syrah” as it is quite light and translucent in the glass, with a perfumed nose of strawberry, black cherry, spice, and red rose. Lovely. I would characterize the palate as a “Pinot-lover’s Grenache” and I would venture to guess that the fruit comes from a cool climate (I could not find much info on the wine) as this is certainly acid-driven. Sure, there is fruit, even a lot of fruit given the age, but the tartness is driving the bus, and the spice is riding shotgun. I have long been a fan of Wes’ wines and this is no exception; much better than I remember the last bottle I cracked, way back in 2018. Excellent. 92 Points.

2016 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé, France: Retail $100. 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay. I have made no secret about my love of champagne. Nor have I hidden the fact that my preferred style of bubbly contains a majority of Pinot Noir (although that stance, honestly, might be evolving). Last? My adoration for the town of Bouzy (one of the 17 Grand Cru villages in Champagne, the most of which is Pinot Noir) is unabated (again, with a decided nod to Mailly). Thus, when I saw this on the list at our favorite restaurant for champagne in Houston? (For the curious, that would be a’Bouzy [don’t get me started on the apostophe.]) I was all in. But I wasn’t. I was not feeling great, so we took the unopened bottle (we had already paid the “reasonable” $136 for it at the restaurant) with the design to drink it at home. Well, that was delayed a night and we opened it during a binge performance of Jack Ryan. Whoa. Straw to golden in the glass with a delicate sparkle and a whole lotta verve. Golden delicious apple, a touch of lemon curd, and just a hint of vanilla on the nose. The palate is even more delectable, with an initial, intense sparkle, followed by the zippy acidity, and then the bushel load of fruit. Whoa. This is still very young and has to calm down considerably, but holy cow, this is wonderful now. In ten years? 96-98 potential. Now? Outstanding. 94 Points.

NV Colligny Père & Fils Champagne Brut, France: Retail $28. Blend? I searched, but could not find the blend. Straw, close to golden in the glass, with a somewhat subtle nose of lemon curd, golden delicious apple, that croissant component that characterizes the wines from the region, and a subtle salinity. The palate is, well, disjointed. The dosage, at least in my opinion, is too high for a Brut since it overwhelms the tartness which is, again, in my view, the key to any champagne. The wine finishes on a positive note, with the acidity finally coming through along with a mineral aspect. Very Good. 87 Points.

NV Gervais Gobillard Champagne Brut, France: Retail $40. 50% Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. We are in the midst of finding our new “house champagne” as the Mailly Grand Cru which has served in that role for decades, has simply become too expensive. Had I known this was 50% into Meunier, I would have passed as I find Meunier dominate champagnes too floral and fruity. While this wine certainly follows in that vein, I would stop short of saying it is excessively floral. Along with the floral and fruity notes, there is also a touch of caramel, curiously, on the nose. The palate is tart and angular, and while a solid champagne, this is not going to become “our wine.” Very Good. 88 Points.

2013 B Kosuge Pinot Noir The Shop, Carneros, CA: Retail $35. Heavy Bottle. Under cork. A rare occurrence: I get to try a bottle of the Shop. Usually, this is the go-to wine for my wife when I am out of town. Not tonight. We were binging on one of our shows and my wife wanted another glass and she went to the cellar and pulled one of her all-time favorites. This bottle, while still stellar, comes off as a bit stewed. The fruit is a shade tired but there is still plenty of spice and more than an ounce of verve. The palate follows that theme with good, albeit slightly stewed, fruit, nice acidity, and overall great balance. But it is time to drink up–ten years now and on the downward slope. Very Good. 89 Points.

2004 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon The Menzies, Coonawarra, South Australia: Retail $70. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. I do not drink much wine from Australia. In fact, if I pop even a dozen Aussie corks every year, I would be surprised. I acquired this bottle way back in 2009–it was supposed to be a different wine, but the seller sent me this instead. Whoa. Dark in color, in the glass, with plum, cassis, black licorice, and sage on the nose. The palate is rich but harmonious, meaty, but fruity, tart, but balanced. I am not a huge Cab guy, but this is particularly fantastic. . Outstanding. 94 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: The Wine of the Week this week. the 2004 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon The Menzies, represents a rarity on a couple of levels. First, as I mentioned in the note, I rarely taste Australian wines (last year I tried 10, this year only four out of nearly 1,000 each year). Few (any?) are sent to me as samples and it is even rarer still that I seek out any to buy. The reason for both is rather simple: the vast majority of Aussie wine that reaches this country is the inexpensive plonk that is often festooned with a colorful animal part. Hard pass. The other reason this Wine of the Week is somewhat odd? I really have no story to tell about it other than I purchased a bottle of wine on the internet, this was sent to me instead, it really wasn’t worth making a big fuss about the mistake, and it turned out to be an outstanding bottle of wine.

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