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 Cast Wines Blanc de Noirs, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $34. 45% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay, 13% Pinot Meunier. The first glass of this bottle was dark, both on the nose and in the glass with a rich, layered, almost over-ripe ethos with hints of citrus and just the slightest touch of spice. While I was sent this bottle just a few years ago (2019), this really has the old Champagne vibe going on. Rich, even unctuous, with great tartness and touches of citrus on the palate. Really fantastic. Outstanding. 94 Points.

NV Guy de Chassey Champagne Grand Cru Brut Cuvée de Buretel, France: Retail $55. Paid $36 at Vivino. 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. I bought six bottles initially of this wine from Vivino and I have to say that it has been one of the more consistent champagnes that we have had in a while. That, along with its quality, of course, is why I am happy I bought another case when they went on sale for $30. Pale straw in the glass with Granny Smith and Golden apple bursting through the nose along with a touch of caramel and fresh baked croissant. Yowza. The palate is bright, tart, ebullient, and, well, fantastic. Great fruit, appropriate tartness, tons of the autolytic, yeasty goodness, and a lengthy finish. Whoa. Outstanding. 93 Points.

NV Baron Dauvergne Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Privilège, France: Retail $60. 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. Grower Champagne. Whoa on several levels. First, it has been almost six years since I last opened a bottle of this wine and it was fantastic then (92 points). Now? It’s even better, maybe more than that. Yeasty and maybe even slightly oxidized on the nose, this is particularly fantastic in the glass. Baked golden apple, tart, and holy cow. The palate is rich and unctuous, this is one of the richest champagnes I have had in a while. Great acidity, great balance, holy cow, fantastic. Outstanding. 94 Points.

NV Antoine Derigny Champagne Blanc de Noirs, France: Retail $50? 100%(?) Pinot Noir. So this second case we purchased from Last Bubbles continues to puzzle. This is the fourth bottle of that 2nd shipment of this wine and the first two bottles were great. The third? Not so much. This fourth bottle is somewhere in the middle. Honeyed pear and peach with plenty of yeasty goodness, the aromas jump out of the glass of this straw-colored wine. The palate is rich and voluptuous with a tartness that really tries to bring it together. However. There was something a bit weird going on. My wife thought it was corked, or off some way (I didn’t think so), but the dosage to me did seem to be a bit weird as the wine was overly liquoreux and even on the sweet side. What to think? Still Very Good, but not where the previous bottles had been. 89 Points.

2013 Domaine Dubost Moulin-à-Vent En Brenay, Beaujolais, France: Retail $25. 100% Gamay. I bought this almost a decade ago and the last time I cracked one? Nearly eight years ago. Well, all is fine in the state of Denmark, er, Beaujolais. This is fruity and rich, both on the nose and the palate. Fruity, fun, but also complex and layered. This is seriously what I hope for in a Beaujolais Cru. Fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2011 Soléna Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard. McMinnville, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $55. I purchased a case of this wine almost a decade ago from Last Bottle Wines and I can’t believe this is the actual last bottle and that I have written only a single note about it, back in 2015. Back then, I was not all that enthralled (87 points). Yeah, it was meh. Now? A completely different animal. Medium color with a slightly muted nose of tart cherry and earth. The palate is vibrant, with a lovely zinginess, wonderful tart cherry, and a healthy slice of depth. This is really close to a whoa. Excellent. 92 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: It is no secret that we drink a lot of sparkling wine in this house, with the vast majority of it being champagne. While I would never proclaim that American Sparkling Wine has “caught up” to its proverbial “big sibling” from France, the increases in quality over a rather short period of time have been remarkable. I have been doing my Annual Blind Tasting of American Sparkling Wine for six years now and even in that short amount of time, the quality of domestic sparklers has skyrocketed. This week’s Wine of the Week, the Cast Wines Blanc de Noirs is a case to my point. This was a holdover from the Second Annual tasting and I loved it back in 2019. Well, some four-plus years later? It has not missed a beat. Bravo Jack, bravo.

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