It has been another crazy week here in Houston following Hurricane Beryl, which devastated the area once again. In my opinion, it would have been much, much worse had it not been preceded by a couple months by the derecho (a uni-directional wind storm) when the destruction was incredible. This is now the fourth time this year that we have lost power for an extended period.

Luckily, we have had our power restored, but power is still out for over a million homes in the area. It has proven yet again that the Texas power grid is antiquated and tragically flawed, yet the power companies, who clearly have the politicians in their collective pockets, have no incentive other than to keep profits high at the expense of their customers. I keep hoping that customers (i.e., voters) would hold the politicians to account, but, as of yet, that has not happened.

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 Paul Berthelot Champagne Premier Cru Eminence, France: Retail $45. Really Heavy Bottle (834g; 1lb 13.4 oz). 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. Another bottle from the most recent purchase from Last Bottle Wines. Still doing well, with similar notes: Golden in the glass with an active sparkle, which faded fairly quickly. Not much fruit on the nose but plenty of rich tree fruit on the palate and plenty of yeastiness all the way through. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Camille Jacquet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, France: Retail $50. Ridiculously Heavy Bottle (826g; 29.1oz). 100% Chardonnay. Like I have said many times already, this is “fine” even “solid” but for the $35 I paid at Last Bubbles, there are definitely better options out there. And at the $50 suggested retail? Yeah, hard pass. Pale color, lively sparkle, notes of citrus and brioche and quite tart on the palate. I am going to age a few and see if this acidity settles down a bit. Very Good. 88 Points.

2017 B Kosuge Pinot Noir The Shop, Carneros, CA: Retail $35. Heavy Bottle (643g; 22.6oz). 100% Pinot Noir. We have long been fans of Byron Kosuge’s wines and I always try to have some of The Shop on hand for my wife to drink; it is one of her favorites. She opened this bottle while I was out of town and lamented that it “didn’t taste like The Shop.” As such, she saved me half of the bottle and upon my return the following day, I gave it a swirl, a sniff, and a sip. Sure enough, this wine seems to be in a bit of a dumb phase as there is not much going on here at all; there is just not much fruit on the nose or the palate. At all. Very Good. 88 Points.

2016 B Kosuge Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $40. Heavy Bottle (649g; 22.8oz). Applomerated cork. While the number of bottles consumed in recent years has declined, my interest in Byron’s wines has not. We bought a couple of cases of Chard and PInot and well, this is one of the last few bottles of the white. Similar notes: Byron does such a fantastic job across the board and this Chard is another perfect example. Great fruit, fantastic acidity, and a near impeccable balance. Holy cow. I need to get some more as I am down to the brass tacks on Byron wines…. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2018 Mettler Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, CA: Retail $25. Heavy Bottle (645g; 22.7oz). It has been close to four years since I have last had a bottle of this wine and it is doing quite well, thank you very much. I am going mostly on memory here since I took this to a party; it starts of with fantastic red and blue fruit, tons of plum. More depth than I remember and quite nuanced as well. Silky tannins are noticeable on the finish. I am going to nudge this up into Outstanding range. 93 Points.

2011 Charles Noellat Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru Blagny, Burgundy, France: Retail $75(?). Heavy bottle (650g; 1lb 6.9oz). 100% Chardonnay. I was not really sure what to think after I cracked the first bottle of this wine a few months ago. I had bought them in France, during a week that I was easily the sickest I have ever been (it was a solid three years plus before COVID, but holy cow…). That first bottle was beyond Very Good, and certainly worthy of the “Excellent” score (91 Points) that I gave it, but there was something a bit odd. I was not willing then (or now) to assert it was (is) “off” but it was (is) certainly “less than” I would have expected. The notes, now close to six months out, are similar, which makes me wonder if this is just an “average” bottle or Meursault Premier Cru? Really light in the glass, barely straw, with hints of lime and a touch of lemon. The palate is, well, very un-Meursault-like as it is rather lean, even quite lean, with more of a un-oaked Chard vibe. I am not really sure what to think as I would likely have guessed this was a Chablis before a Meursault. Excellent. 90 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This week, for the Wine of the Week, I decided to go off the beaten path a bit (those are code words for “I forgot to take a photo of any of the wines we popped this week.”) and opt for a wine for which there is no formal note. Yes, the Wine of the Week this go around is one of my all-time favorites: the 2022 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County. Quite simply, I have never been disappointed by a wine from the famed winery, and the Chardonnay is easily one of my favorites every vintage. Given that the wine is always reasonably priced, when I saw this on a wine list at a restaurant in San Diego (I was in town to judge a wine competition), it was a no-brainer.

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