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 Gardet Champagne Dosage Zéro, Champagne, France: Retail $60. Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (837g; 1lb 13.5oz). 34% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier. It has been another year and a half, surprisingly, since I last popped one of these, and I love it. My wife was less enthralled. That’s OK, she doesn’t get a vote. At least tonight. Pale straw in color with a fairly active sparkle, with apricot, peach, and a touch of green apple. The palate is fruity, but also extremely dry (as one would expect with a Brut Zero) with loads of green apple and under-ripe pear. I typically love zero-dosage wines, and this is no exception. Fantastically dry and fruity with an active sparkle and tremendous verve. Excellent. 92 Points.

2012 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $42. Very Responsible Bottle (467g; 16.5oz). Under screw cap. This is my last bottle of Loring, and I really need to get some more. I only met Brian Loring once, and it was a brief encounter, but I imagine he would be surprised (horrified?) that I have held onto these wines for so long; I have heard he likes his wines fruity and young. But this is absolutely singing tonight. Sure, the fruit is a bit mellow and reserved, but it is still certainly present and tasty with a still crisp acidity and plenty of depth; had I tasted this blind, I’d be hard-pressed to put a 2012 vintage on it. I liked the last bottle of this wine (91 Points), I *love* this one. Outstanding. 93 Points.

NV Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Brut Réserve, Champagne, France: Retail $55. Ridiculously Heavy Bottle (889g; 31.3oz). 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. 100% Grand Cru. Like I mentioned in the last note, I really have no idea how much of this we have left. I do know it just went on sale again at Total Wine, and my wife bought another case (yeah, she’s a keeper). On top of my list of New Year’s Resolutions is to do a thorough inventory of the cellar. That would likely take several days. Wait, what’s #2 on the list of resolutions? Maybe I’ll do that one first…. Excellent. 92 Points.

2018 de Négoce Pinot Noir OG N.48, Russian River Valley, CA: Cost $13. Retail $40? Heavy Bottle (616g; 21.6oz). I might have to get some more de Négoce wines this year. They are clearly quite good, inexpensive, and hold up in the cellar. What’s not to like? A brilliant translucent ruby in the glass with dark cherry fruit, considerable spice (including clove), and a minty/eucalyptus aspect on the nose. The palate is fruity, rich, fairly big, but also nuanced–this is much more of a sipping Pinot than it is a food wine, but damn, is it tasty. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2024 Patient Cottat Sancerre Anciennes Vignes, Loire Valley, France: Retail $36. Responsible Bottle (585g; 20.6oz). 100% Sauvignon Blanc. I returned home from a rather arduous journey (I took 16 adolescents to Orlando for a basketball tournament; 3 of those “adolescents” were my fellow coaches–no time to go into that here) to find that my wife had not only popped this wine while I was gone, but she managed to polish it off with no help (I did not ask if it was in one night since I really did not want to know). Me: “How was it?” Her: “Pretty Good!” So there you have it, I hope that helps.

2016 Tongue Dancer Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $50. Extremely Heavy Bottle (872g; 30.7oz). I find it hard to believe, but this is only the second time I have written a note for this wine. The first was over six years ago, and I loved it then (93 Points), and as has been my experience with all of James MacPhail’s wines (at least those that I have been able to sequester away), this Bacigalupi Chard has improved with the additional time in the cellar. Considerably. Yellow, close to golden, in the glass with a wonderful nose of lemon curd, subtle white hyacinth, and more than a hint of oak. The palate is even more alluring, enchanting even, rich, layered, and even unctuous on the palate with oodles of that lemon curd, which is buoyed by a generous, zingy acidity that not only balances the ample fruit, but also weaves through the mid palate, carries onto the finish, and lingers, married with the fruit, for minutes. I realize that comparing American Chardonnay to Burgundy has a long and complicated history in wine writing, but this Tongue Dancer Bacigalupi is as close to a Meursault that I have ever seen in the US. It is divine. Perhaps even more. Outstanding Plus. 97 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: A few months ago, I received a press release about a wine and contacted the PR firm that issued the release and asked if there were any media samples available. The response? “Sure, as long as you make it your Wine of the Week.” At this point, I no longer remember what wine it was, and I didn’t even bother to respond with “Yeah, no thanks.” While there are no hard and fast rules, the top wine of the week is reserved for wines that I have actually purchased and are, well, chosen by me. That’s it. Two “rules”. Having said all of that, I may have broken one of those rules this week. I am not sure if I actually purchased the 2016 Tongue Dancer Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard (although I have purchased a bunch of wine from them), but I do know I have had it for a minute. It is also in the running for top White Wine of 2026. And we are not even a full three weeks in….

What was your Wine of the Week?