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).

2008 Amelle Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $45. Responsible Bottle (579g; 20.4oz). Under cork. I am now under a case total left of Amelle wines and this is my last 2008 Keefer Pinot. In the last note, I opined that while the wine was still “excellent” it was showing its age with some stewed fruit. I said it was “tired”. And while I stand by that assessment at that time, this bottle is a completely different ball of wax. Whoa. Plenty of fruit, even, as crazy as it sounds, close to too fruity. Yeah, insane. Plenty of acidity to go with all of that fruit, however, rendering this wine pretty close to mind-blowing. Eric Buffington remains on my Mount Rushmore of Pinot winemakers. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2003 Weingut Ernst Bretz Riesling Eiswein, Rheinhessen, Germany: Retail $25 (375ml). Heavy Bottle (424g; 14.9oz). Under cork. So, I bought four bottles of this wine back in 2009 (from the abhorrent PLCB) and this is now the last bottle of those four. It is legitimately beyond Amber and well into brown in color with a nutty, caramel nose that certainly is enticing. Sweet, even really sweet with a bit of raisinization going on., We do not drink much dessert wine these days, but this is completely pleasant (even more so) with great acid and tons of character. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV Charles de Cazanove Champagne Vieille France, France: Retail $40? Costco price: $24. Stupidly Heavy Bottle (999g, 2lbs 3.4oz). Varietal composition? I have no idea whatsoever and I searched for a while on the inter webs. We have been buying this wine from Costco for a while now and at $24-ish? It is a steal, for sure. But the bottle is stupid. It is heavy and a ridiculous shape that will never fit in any wine rack, fridge, cellar, barrel. It is just dumb. So when I was doing inventory and found this bottle? I had to drink it and get it out of the cellar. Having said all of that? This is pretty good: yeasty, rich fruit, plenty of acidity, and more than an ounce of depth. Excellent. 90 Points.

2002 Marcel Deiss Altenberg de Bergheim, Alsace, France: Retail $75. Very Heavy Bottle (793g; 27.9oz). “All the traditional varieties of Alsace.” I bought three bottles of this wine waaay back in 2010 from the PLCB and this is the first that I have popped. And I likely waited too long. Amber, even close to “brown” in the glass with some citrus, yes, but also a nuttiness that is not at all off-putting, in fact, it was inviting. The palate is rather harmonious, in fact, but it is also off-dry, even close to sweet, but it seems to work. I am coming around on this wine (can you tell?). Yeah, I waited too long, but this is still pretty fantastic. So how to rate it? I have no idea. I’ll go with Excellent 91 Points.

NV Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Brut, France: Retail $45. Extremely Heavy Bottle (834g; 29.3oz). 50-55% Pinot Noir, 20-25% Pinot Meunier, 15-20% Chardonnay with 10-20% Reserve wines. I was doing a bit of inventory and rearranging of my cellar and I came across this bottle. It was not in my inventory, but as far as I can tell, I got this bottle back in 2018 when Terlato was still the importer. So it has a bit of age on it and I can tell; it’s delicious. Richer, deeper, and more serried than the more recent iterations of this wine, this i snot a champagne for those seeking freshness above all else. It is a bit oaky, a bit nutty, and certainly caramelized or sherried on its nose and palate. And me likey. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2008 Skewis Pinot Noir Lingenfelder, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $50. Heavy Bottle (663g; 23.3oz). Under cork. Whoa, it has been a solid five years since I popped the last bottle of this wine and now, this is, indeed, the last bottle (but not that Last Bottle). And Whoa. Incredible fruit, surprisingly, with more than ample to intense acidity and a finish that lasts well into the night. Sadly, this is my last of this vintage, but it is also clearly the best. Magnifique! Outstanding. 95 Points.

2023 Ken Wright Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $30. Very Heavy Bottle (705g; 24.8oz). Under synthetic stopper. Where to start? This has been on the wine list of our favorite local restaurant for some time, but I never made the call. Until tonight. Heavy bottle, even really heavy was an immediate turnoff. Then there was the synthetic stopper. Oy vey. They are really trying hard to make me hate this wine even before I take the first sip. Ugh. Once I finally was able to focus on the wine? It was OK. Maybe more than that. Plenty of fruit, mostly red berry, with just a touch of earth, and ample tartness. I taste a ton of Pinot. A ton. And while this is certainly true to the variety, and tasty, it is not mind-blowing and that’s OK from time to time. Very Good. 88 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: There were several solid candidates for this week’s Wine of the Week. It is always fantastic when you “find” a bottle of wine in the cellar that is not in inventory, particularly when it’s a bottle of champagne. We also popped two bottles of wine from producers who are no longer in the game, both had some age, and both showed beautifully. So how to choose? I ended up with the 2008 Skewis Pinot Noir Lingenfelder as this week’s top wine for the simple reason that I tasted it last. Yeah, sometimes it is as simple as that.

What was your Wine of the Week?