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 Domaine Cherrier Père et fils Sancerre Les 7 Hommes, Loire Valley, France: Retail $50. Responsible Bottle (559g; 19.7oz). DIAM3. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. I last popped this over a year ago and I have now had six of the eight bottles I purchased. As I have stated countless times, I do not like Sauvignon Blanc; Sancerre is 100% Sauvignon Blanc; I love Sancerre. As Yoda might say: “A conundrum indeed this is.” But, this is a conundrum easily solved: the Sauvignon from Sancerre is typically rich, layered, and creamy, far from the harsher, tarter, and more acerbic Sauvignons from almost everywhere else. This five-year-old iteration of the best Sauvignons on the planet is reserved, for sure, but also fantastic. Solid fruit, balancing acidity, rich, multi-faceted, and complex, this might not appeal to deep adherents to the variety, but for me? This is on a path to the best of the genre. Excellent. 92 Points.

2017 Georges Dubœuf Juliénas Château des Capitans, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France: Retail $20. Responsible Bottle (568g; 20oz). 100% Gamay. I was looking for a DuBœuf Chardonnay and I thought this was it. Wrong. Moron. Oh well, that should not distract from this wine, which is stellar. Since I thought this was a white, I chilled this for a bit and that was the absolute right call. Dark fruit, a bit of earth, a mineral note. Excellent. The palate is lovely, even fantastic with equal parts black fruit and tarty goodness. Very close to a whoa. Excellent. 92 Points.

2012 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibenberg, Wachau, Austria: Retail $55. Heavy Bottle (615g; 21.6oz). Under cork. I bought this over a decade ago on a trip to the Wachau with my wife (she really wanted to go to Vienna instead, but…). There was absolutely nothing open in the region on that day (everyone was closed in preparation for the upcoming festival), but Anja Knoll, (wife of winemaker Emmerich) welcomed us into her dining room for a “quick” tasting (it lasted almost three hours). Golden, for sure, in color with rich honeyed notes of ripe pear and lemon rind, this certainly comes off as an “older” white before even the first sip. And that is just fine with me. The palate is also rich, creamy, layered, and viscous–unlike any Grüner I have had previously. It’s not as tart as other wines made from the variety, but it is also much more complex, causing me to pause, reassess, and redefine my idea of “Grüner Veltliner”. I imagine for true devotees of the variety, this might verge on sacrilege, but for wine lovers and geeks like me, this is nothing short of revelatory. Whoa^2. Outstanding. 96 Points.

2017 Goulin Roualet Champagne Premier Cru Cuvée Sous Bois, France: Retail $130. Extremely Heavy Bottle (890g; 31.3oz). 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay. Vinified and aged in oak barrels. There was a time, not too terribly long ago when all wines made in champagne were vinified and aged in oak. The advent of the stainless steel, temperature-controlled tank changed all of that, however, as the vinification process could be more regulated and measured. There are a few outliers that remain, however, so when I saw this pop up on Last Bubbles for $65, I jumped even though it was quite a bit above my comfort zone price-wise. Well. No complaints here. At all. Past yellow and on to golden in color with a fine and fervent sparkle in the glass. The nose is shy, but mostly tree fruit, a touch of nutty oxidation, and plenty of yeasty autolytic goodness. Yowza. Tart, nutty, yeasty, and loaded with a baked apple vibe, this is pretty gangbusters. The palate is complex, layered, and loaded with depth, this wine lasts for close to ever on the palate and that is a good thing. A very good thing. Whoa. Outstanding. 95 Points.

NV Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Brut, France: Retail $45. Extremely Heavy Bottle (830g; 29.2oz). 50-55% Pinot Noir, 20-25% Pinot Meunier, 15-20% Chardonnay with 10-20% Reserve wines. When this went on sale at my local H-E-B for $32, I stocked up as this has always been a favorite. Yeasty, citrusy, lovely on the nose, with a straw color with a slightly golden hue, there are delicate, yet persistent streams of bubbles, looking to escape after their years of captivity. The palate is crisp, fresh, fruity, yeasty, and delicious. It is also a tad drier than previous iterations I have consumed with utter glee. I wonder if (relatively) new chef-de-cave Émilien Boutillat, when he replaced the legend Régis Camus in 2019, dialed back the dosage just a bit? I guess I will have to get some more and see (yes, I could do some online research, but where is the fun in that?). Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Villebois Crémant de Loire Brut, France: RRetail $20. Very Heavy Bottle (763g; 26.8oz). 60% Chenin Blanc, 35% Chardonnay, 5% Cabernet Franc. We have had a few bottles of this wine now, and I am really getting into it. Sure, the essential notes remain the same (light and lively with plenty of tree fruit and tartness, this is a fantastic go-to for when my wife’s parents drop in), but I think I am going to have to bump it up a notch. Very Good. 89 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This week, it came down to two wines in selecting the Wine of the Week: the 2012 Knoll Grüner Veltliner and the 2017 Goulin Roualet Champagne. I opted for the former for one simple reason: when I pulled the Goulin Roualet, I did not realize that it was a vintage champagne, let alone a relatively recent vintage at that. And I felt stupid as I should have held onto it for at least several more years. Selecting it would only underscore my stupidity. I think. Clearly, I am not smart enough to know. Don’t get me wrong, the 2012 Knoll Grüner Veltliner was an incredible wine (and I have another bottle), and it brought back a fond memory, one where I was not stupid and only angered my wife slightly. So yeah, a good thing.

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