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).

1996 L. Aubry Fils Champagne Blanc de Blancs, France: Retail $110? 100% Chardonnay. It has been a minute since I have popped a bottle of this wine and well, I am not sorry that I waited. For a while, I was not a fan of the Blanc de Blancs style, but it is becoming increasingly clear that this is the style that ages well, if not “the best”. Close to golden in color with baked green apple, accented with hazelnut and verve. The palate is a continuation of the theme and this is simply gangbusters. Whoa Plus. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2015 Château de Birot, Cadillac, Bordeaux, France: Retail $18 (375ml). From 375ml. 88% Sémillon, 12% Sauvignon Blanc. Truth be told, I am not entirely sure how I came across this wine, but I am fairly certain that it was part of the Sweet Bordeaux Challenge in which I was supposed to partake. I grew fairly ill (pretty sure it was not COVID, but who knows?) during the series of online tastings, however, and well, here we are. I popped this to try with my beef and sausage enchilladas and while many would say that it was not a marriage made in Mexico, the pairing did work. The wine is near golden in the glass with honeyed lemon rind, golden pear, dried apricot, and just a hint of cinamon. The palate is sweet (but not cloying) and inviting with the aforementioned flavors as well as a delightful nutty aspect. I am far from an expert in Sauternes and its sattelites, but this wine strikes me as rather compelling. Excellent. 91 Points.

2014 Gilles Bouton Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly, Burgundy, France: Retail $65. 100% Chardonnay. A good friend from France was in town and he was jonesing for some French wine (yeah, I get it, why come to the US to drink French wine?) so I pulled this. It’s a wine that I “inherited” from my good friend who died almost two years ago. I imagine that he would approve the opening of this bottle tonight among friends. Of course, he would. Relatively light in color, but alive in aromas: lemon meringue, oak, celery. Plenty of tartness, but lacking a bit in fruit, this is what an older white Burgunday should be: mineral, reserved fruit, tart, gangbusters. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Gervais Gobillard Champagne Brut Authentique Rosé, France: Retail $50. 34% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier. In my seemingly never-ending quest to find a replacement for Mailly Grand Cru as our “house” champagne (Mailly has just become too expensive), I selected this to try out. At $40 (Total Wine), it is still a bit above the ideal price point of $30 but still well below Mailly’s $55+. A fairly dark salmon in hue with plenty of red berry fruit, rose petals, and a hint of minerality on the nose. The palate is fruity and tart but comes off just a shade sweet. Still, while perhaps not quite as “good” as Mailly, this could serve as a viable alternative. Very Good. 89 Points.

2006 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, Savennières, Loire Valley, France: Retail $120(?). 100% Chenin Blanc. A legend. A straight-out baller from the Loire Valley. Golden in the glass, even amber, with not much fruit and tons of nuttiness. No one I have ever met has a neutral opinion of Nicolas Joly and I will not pretend that I do now: he was a genious. Fruit (subdued), acidity (vibrant), and loaded with secondary and tertiary flavors and aromas. Whoa. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2020 Joost De Villebois Sancerre Rosé, Loire Valley, France: Retail $25. Restaurant $42. Under DIAM 5. 100% Pinot Noir. I am a bit surprised by the two reviews of this wine on Cellar Tracker, with scores of 80 and 75 points (75? Really?). I was at one of our favorite restaurants and I decided to go with this rosé from Sancerre. I thought it was a pretty safe bet, and it was. Sure, it is not a world-beater, but it is fruity, tart, and refreshing. What else does one want in a rosé? No, I am not going to mortgage my house or sell my car to buy futures of this wine, but tonight? On a still rather warm evening in Houston? You bet.
Very Good. 88 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This week’s Wine of the Week came down to just two choices. Sure, we had our normal slew of good to excellent wines, but two of the bottles I opened I have been clinging to for a while now. The first, the 2006 Holy Clos de La Coulée de Serrant is a wine that has reached legendary status around the world, one of those bucket list kind of wines. The second, and this week’s Wine of the Week, the 1996 L. Aubry Fils Champagne Blanc de Blancs, may not have the same caché as the Holy, but it had every bit as much the panache. Plus, we opened it with a good friend over oysters. I mean, come on.

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