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).

2022 BP Provence Select Les Sarrins Rosé, Côtes de Provence, France: Retail $30. Really heavy bottle (712g; 25.1oz). Agglomerated stopper. I could not find the precise blend, but it contains Syrah, Rolle, and Mourvèdre. This is what I wrote six months ago: “STILL waiting on the 2023 to show up in my H-E-B (I love my H-E-B, although it is pushing my limits on this one).” Well, those 2022 bottles are still on the shelves at the H-E-B. I don’t want to tell you how to do your job(s), H-E-B, but here is how you should do your job: put these 2022 bottles on a massive discount and clear them off your shelves to make room for the 2024 (even though 2023 was a great vintage [I was sent a bottle of the 2023 last April]), time to get current for chrissakes. Still one of our favorite rosés, made by Bruno Paillard of Champagne fame. Excellent. 91 Points.

2023 Caves d’Esclans Whispering Angel, Côtes de Provence, France: Retail $25. Responsible Bottle (581g; 20.4oz). Grenache, Cinsault, Rolle. We crush the you-know-what out of this wine for good reason. It is perhaps the standard-bearer when it comes not just to Provençal wines, but rosés in general. Yeah, you can buy it at Wallgreens, but that does not make it inherently bad. As always, great fruit, tremendous tartness, and more than a healthy dose of verve. Are there better rosés out there? Sure. But how many of those are $15 and I can get them in the same place I buy milk? Looking forward to the 2024 vintage (although we still have plenty of this fabulous 2023 left). Excellent. 92 Points.

NV Fluteau Champagne 100% Pinot Noir Coeur de Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, France: Retail $55? Heavy Bottle (831g; 29.3oz). 100% Pinot Noir. Another champagne producer that seems to have a bit of bottle variation. The first bottle we tried was great, the second? Not so much. This third bottle? Right down the middle. While I am not sure I will be buying more of this wine, at the ~$35 I paid at H-E-B (I love my H-E-B), it is probably at the limit in the quality to price ratio (QPR) game that I always seem to be playing. Similar notes. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV Gallimard Père et Fils Champagne Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Noirs, France: Retail $50. Extremely Heavy Bottle (832g; 29.3oz). 100% Pinot Noir from l’Aube. I purchased this from Last Bottle Wines about a year ago. I’ve been looking for it to come up again and when it does, I will likely buy a case (or two). Really nice fruit and accompanying acidity, the balance here (as with all wines) is key. There is also a healthy dose of that autolytic component that all of us bubble-heads constantly seek. Excellent. 92 Points.

NV Camille Jacquet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Burgundy, France: Retail $50. Ridiculously Heavy Bottle (826g; 29.1oz). 100% Chardonnay. From Last Bubbles. This is the first bottle of this wine I have popped since June, and it seems as though the time in the bottle has served it well. I still think $50 is too much for this wine (I paid $35), and the first few bottles that we opened were fine (88-89 Points). But this bottle is clearly better with less of the harsh acidity that previous bottles exhibited. The fruit and depth is now more perceptible and this is actually quite good. So much so that I am going to bump it up a notch. Excellent. 90 Points.

2006 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese, Nahe, Germany: Retail $45. Very Responsible Bottle (498g; 17.6oz). Under cork. I got this a while ago, like-in-2009-kind-a-while-ago, and for some reason, I decided to pop it tonight. We don’t drink many sweet or off-dry wines these days, but this was a nice surprise. Near amber in the glass with plenty of bruised apple, a touch of lemon rind, and a hint of petrol on the nose. The palate is initially quite tart followed by some moderate sweetness, which balances out the acidity quite well. It still has impressive fruit and plenty of heft; this is really a fantastic spätlese. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2021 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile, California: Retail $30. Restaurant $55. Responsible Bottle (561g; 19.8oz). 100% Zinfandel from 27 vineyards and 11 counties in California. This is a huge production from Turley (at least by their standards) and regularly delivers a solid, juicy wine. This 2021 is no exception. Dark and a bit brooding in both color and aromas with oodles of black fruit, tons of spice, and an appealing herbal aspect on the nose. The palate is far less ominous with juicy (albeit black) fruit, a ton of tartness, some spice, and a touch of oak (95% “used” oak, 80% French). I don’t drink a ton of “commercial” Zin, but I have to say, this is particularly compelling. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut, France: Retail $60. 50-55% Pinot Noir, 28-33% Chardonnay, 15-20% Pinot Meunier. I do not buy much Veuve anymore since it is ridiculously over-priced, but when my local restaurant had this at $45/bottle, I indulged. Why? Because it is good. Yes, there is a ton of it made, and yes, it is ubiquitous, but neither of those points mean the wine itself it inherently bad (see my note on Whispering Angel above). And when is the last time anyone has seen it for $45 on a restaurant list (or even at retail)?? Excellent. 91 Points.

From esclans.com

WINE OF THE WEEK: I’ll be honest: the wines we consumed this week were not world-beaters (although the Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling came close, I guess), but they were all solid and, coincidentally, wines that we had previously tried (some multiple times). After some internal debate, my choice for Wine of the Week came down to two: the Veuve Clicquot and the 2023 Whispering Angel, with the latter eventually selected as my top wine this week. As I mentioned, we drink a ton of this wine and why wouldn’t we? At $15, this is really a steal and who cares if you can buy it at 7-11?

What was your Wine of the Week?