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 Baron Dauvergne Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Privilège, Champagne, France: Retail $60. Extremely Heavy Bottle (831g; 29.2oz). 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. Grower Champagne. Well, this is officially the last bottle (no, not that Last Bottle) and it is equally delightful as the previous one we popped almost two years ago. It certainly has some age on it, which is a great thing in my book. Yeasty and maybe even slightly oxidized on the nose, this is particularly fantastic in the glass. Baked golden apple, tart, and holy cow. The palate is rich and unctuous, this is one of the richest champagnes I have had in a while. Great acidity, great balance, holy cow, fantastic. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2004 Michele Chiarlo Tortoniano, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $40. Very Heavy Bottle (759g; 26.8oz). 100% Nebbiolo. This last bottle (no, not that Last Bottle) is certainly showing its age: muted fruit, quite earthy, overly acidic. Yeah, I liked the previous bottles of this wine, even a lot, but this one is at best tired, at worst? Over the hill, through the forest, and well past the glen. If you have any of this wine, drink. Now. Very Good. 87 Points.

NV Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut, Champagne, France: Retail $50. Extremely Heavy Bottle (860g; 30.2oz). 75% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier. When these went on sale at my local H-E-B (I love my H-E-B), I snatched up half a case. If this first bottle is any indication, the brand has not budged since the last time we popped one, but the bottle is marginally lighter… I have long preferred the Pinot Noir dominant styles, and this certainly falls into that category: more nutty than fruity, with plenty of baked-in yeastiness in the slightly golden wine, a fervent sparkle, and a muscular mouthfeel. The wine has depth as well as some length and is probably one of the more food-friendly champagnes I have had in a while. I would love to try this with a pork chop, roasted lamb, or even a full-blown Texas ribeye. Delicious. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Guy de Chassey Champagne Grand Cru Brut Cuvée de Buretel, Champagne. France: Retail $55. Exceedingly Heavy bottle (869g; 30.6oz). Paid $36 at Vivino. 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. For the past few tasting notes on this wine, I have stated “I will buy more” but funny thing–I can’t find it anywhere. Oh well. Pale straw in the glass with Granny Smith and Golden apple bursting through the nose along with a touch of caramel and fresh baked croissant. Yowza. The palate is bright, tart, ebullient, and, well, fantastic. Great fruit, appropriate tartness, tons of the autolytic, yeasty goodness, and a lengthy finish. Excellent. 92 Points.

2008 Henri Goutorbe Champagne Grand Cru Special Club, Champagne, France: Retail $115. Restaurant $145. Extremely Heavy Bottle (885g; 31.1oz). 70% Pinot Noir. 30% Chardonnay. We last had this wine at the same restaurant; then it was our anniversary, tonight, it was my birthday. I really liked the wine then and not much has changed. Except, I guess, we are both a year(ish) older. 2008 was an amazing year in Champagne and so when I saw this? Yeah. Giddy-up. Deep straw, on the verge of golden in the glass with a ton of brioche-like elements. Whoa. The palate is far richer than the nose did portend, with rich, baked apple, plenty of tartness, and a rich, slightly oxidived, oaken glass of Champagne loveliness. Whoa. Holy Cow. And load up. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2023 Château Miraval Rosé, Côtes de Provence. France: Retail $25. Heavy Bottle (604g; 21.3oz). Cinsault, Grenache, Rolle, Syrah. Under cork. When I went to grab one of these, which have to be on the top shelf in my cellar because of the stupid bottle, one went crashing to the floor of the cellar. Incredibly, it didn’t break. So I popped it. Similar notes. Once I get through my current stash of the 2023-2024 Miravals, I fear I won’t revisit for a while as the price at my local H-E-B (I love my H-E-B), which had hovered around $15-16/bottle, has now shot up to around $22. Thank you invoker of stupid tariffs. Say what you want about its ubiquity, Miraval consistently churns out wines of note. This 2023 certainly continues that progression. Sure, their divorce was a complete sheet show, but this wine has not suffered (yet?). Great fruit, balancing tartness, and a lengthy finish. Yes, this is fantastic and you would admit it too if you were not so hung up on being able to buy this at Walmart. Excellent. 92 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: As even the casual observer of this post can see, we drink more than our fair share of champagne. We do not drink a ton of vintage champagne, however, for two rather simple reasons. One, vintage champagne is roughly only about 10-20% of the region’s production, making it somewhat scarce; and two, since it is rather scarce, it also is rather expensive. Still, we make an exception every now and again as we did with this week’s Wine of the Week, the 2008 Henri Goutorbe Champagne Grand Cru Special Club. A lovely wine for a special occasion.

What was your Wine of the Week?