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).

2011 Amelle Pinot Noir Pratt Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $45. Responsible Bottle (578g; 20.3oz). Under cork. Sad day. Very sad day. This is officially the last bottle (no, not that Last Bottle Wines) of this wine, and this might be the best of the lot. A surprising amount of fruit left on this fairly translucent fourteen-year-old beauty, mostly cherry, but bright and lovely, with considerable spice and some earth. I have said this before, but Eric Buffington was a brilliant winemaker and this is testament to his genius. Bravo Eric, bravo. Outstanding. 96 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. I bought 18 total bottles of this wine and while the first I opened was a bit of a stinker (88 points), the next 10 (including this one) have been stellar, all receiving between 91-93 points. With each of the last ten opened, I have stated that I would seek this out to buy more but, alas, I have not been able to find it anywhere, including where I had originally purchased it, Vivino. Oh well, I will keep looking! Excellent. 92 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. Drappier has always been a favorite but it is more of a second-tier producer, I would say, which has more to do with quantity than quality. This Carte d’Or is their flagship, the largest production by far, and it is loaded with tree fruit: Golden Delicious, Bosc pear, and ripe peach on the nose. There is also a healthy dose of the classic champagne yeastiness. The palate is bright, fruity, and focused, yeah, this is a solid, everyday kind of champers. Excellent. 91 Points.

2011 Domaine de l’Oriel Gérard Weinzorn Pinot Gris Sommerberg Les Terrasses, Alsace Grand Cru, France: Retail $35. Under cork. Responsible bottle (459g; 1lb 0.1oz). This is one of the wines that I procured when my friend of a few decades died suddenly. We had discovered this producer together however many years ago and subsequently shared many a bottle from Domaine de l’Oriel. This Pinot Gris, a variety that I feel is severely underrated in Alsace, is golden in the glass with aromas of baked, bruised pear and honeysuckle. The palate is rich and full with a hint of oxidation and just a touch of sweetness. Grand Cru Pinot Gris is relatively tough to come by in this country and that’s too bad because this is pretty terrific. Excellent. 92 Points.

NV Val de Mer French Sparkling Non Dosé, Burgundy, France: Retail $26. Extremely Heavy Bottle (826g; 29.1oz). 100% Chardonnay from Chablis. Well, my aging father-in-law is not drinking wine anymore (not his choice), so I decided to plow through some of the inexpensive “champagne” that we bought for when he came over. This wine is fine, it has bubbles, acidity, and a bit of fruit, but is lacking in the verve department. I paid about twenty bucks for this but there are better values to be had at that price point. Very Good. 88 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: This was not an easy choice this week as I finished off two wines that had sentimental value to me. The first, the 2011 Amelle Pinot Noir, has been a favorite of mine since I purchased several cases of wine from the winemaker when he decided to get out of the business altogether. The second, the 2011 Domaine de l’Oriel Pinot Gris Sommerberg Les Terrasses, was, as I mentioned in the note, a wine that I “inherited” when a dear friend passed away. So how to choose? Well, said dear friend’s birthday was a couple of week ago and the anniversary of his death is fast approaching, so that made it an easy choice for Wine of the Week.

What was your Wine of the Week?