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).

2005 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Hollerin, Wachau, Austria: Retail $55? Very Responsible Bottle (449g; 15.8 oz). The first bottle of this wine was not great; it was old, tired, and, well, not great (oh wait, I already said that). This bottle is decidedly better with plenty of petrol, some (but not a lot by any stretch of the imagination) fruit (citrus and green apple), and plenty of acidity. The problem, if there is one, is how to rate this wine? It is clear that these should have been consumed a while ago. It is also likely that it was a bit of an off-vintage to begin with (I purchased these for about twenty bucks from the PLCB which is known for buying questionable wines for cheap). So, I guess the question is: “Am I looking forward to the last bottle of this wine?” Um, maybe? If it is like the first bottle? No. More like this bottle? For sure. Excellent. 90 Points.

2014 Clos Pepe Estate Chardonnay Barrel Fermented, Sta Rita Hills, CA: Retail $42. Extremely Responsible Bottle (471g; 16.5oz). Under screw cap. It is getting down to the nitty-gritty with this wine, only two bottles left after this one and those might need to go soon as, at least with this bottle, it seems to be in a bit of decline. It is still fabulous, but it has taken on more color (yellow, well on its way to golden) and the fruit, while still plentiful, seems to have faded slightly. Getting a full decade out of a Sta Rita Hills Chardonnay? I will certainly take it. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV André Clouet Champagne Rosé No. 3, France: Retail $50. Ridiculously Heavy Bottle (882g; 31.1oz). 100% Pinot Noir Grand Cru (10% Bouzy rouge added to the vin clair). It was my birthday. I was getting over my first bout with COVID. I could not really smell anything. But. Once I popped this bottle, the olfactory sensors woke up (at least a bit) to take in all that luscious red fruit. The palate is also a joy, but certainly on the fruity side; I would offer that this is much more of a modern style of champagne, meant to be consumed in the short term. Fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.

NV Bernard Gaucher Champagne Henri Favier Brut Rosé, France: Retail $50(?). WTSO: $30. Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (869g; 30.6oz). 100% Pinot Noir. I picked a few bottles of this up from Wines Til Sold Out and it’s fine. Maybe even better than “fine” with plenty of red berry fruit, a nice sparkle, and a good zing. The dosage might be a tad high (I could not find the specs online), making it come off a bit sweet, but this is a solid everyday kinda champers. Very Good. 89 Points.

2014 Flowers Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $55. Heavy Bottle (653g; 23.0oz). Under cork. I picked this up a number of years ago for about forty bucks at Costco, of all places, and it has been sitting in my cellar since. I have been a fan of Flowers, particularly the Chards. Yellow, close to golden in the glass with a muted nose (although that might be the lingering vestiges of my first COVID infection) with mostly citrus coming through, but also some tart apple. The palate is tart, even very tart, particularly given its age. Layered, some intrigue, yeah, this is pretty darned good. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2021 Vignobles Paradis Claire-Voie, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, France: Retail $25. Responsible Bottle (581g; 1lb 4.5oz). From WTSO. 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache Noir, 10% Vermentino. Synthetic stopper. This is the last of three bottles that I purchased from WTSO and while none have been spectacular, they have all been serviceable. For $12? This scratches the “It’s Tuesday and I feel like a rosé” itch. Again. Fine. Good. Even Very Good. 88 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: Alright, I have a few confessions to make this week. First, all of the wines listed above were technically not consumed this past week, but rather from a couple of weeks ago. Not a big deal, I hope, and is usually the case in this space. Second, I was struggling getting over my first bout with COVID and thus my notes should be taken with a grain of salt (and plenty of Advil?). The third is perhaps the most egregious: the above photo is a bottle of Flowers Chardonnay, but it is not a picture of this week’s Wine of the Week, the 2014 Flowers Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast. I am sitting in a hotel lobby in Cleveland, Ohio trying to finish this post and I realized that I did not have a picture of the 2014 Flowers Chard. So, I scoured through my past posts and found a photo of the 2008 Flowers Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay and that will have to do. I hope you will afford me a modicum of pity. Did I mention I am in Cleveland? And I had COVID?

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