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).

2012 Benovia Pinot Noir Tilton Hill, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $55. Responsible Bottle (554g; 19.5oz). Wow. We actually bought two bottles of this wine when we visited the winery way back in 2015. We were still living in Philly then with no intention of moving to Texas (at least I didn’t). a friend of mine was the GM of the winery at the time and we really fell in love with this Tilton Hill. Still fantastic red and blue fruit dominate the nose and the palate, with some spice coming through on the latter. There is also wonderful balance with a zingy acidity that helps keep all that fruit in line. This bottle was not quite as expressive and fresh as the previous (95 Points), though, so I am glad we got to it tonight. But we popped this after the stellar Tongue Dancer (below), which was simply not fair. Outstanding. 93 Points.

1988 Marc Brédif Vouvray Grande Année, Vouvray, Loire Valley, France: Retail $30(?). Responsible Bottle (567g; 20.0oz). 100% Chenin Blanc. Under cork. Wow, if not for the color, which is golden, one would never guess this had any age on it, much less close to forty years! Still tart, a bit fruity, and ever so tasty. Holy cow. Here is my note from a few years ago, which is still spot on: It is not all that often that you get to drink a wine that is about to have its 34th birthday but when my dear friend suggested I bring back some bottles from her recently deceased husband’s cellar in Paris, I knew this would be one. I knew Nicolas for nearly thirty years, but this wine still predates that by a half-dozen years. I had just graduated from college when the grapes for this wine had been harvested and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life (a double-major in French and Political Science is not exactly a formidable résumé builder). Little did I know that many years later, I would be riding my bike through Vouvray, leading bike tours for Nicolas’ company, even stopping by this winery on at least a couple of occasions. I could not hazard a guess as to how many bottles of Vouvray (both still and sparkling) we shared over the years, but I wish, as I sip this golden elixir, that this bottle would have been added to that list. Sure, he was a complicated person who left behind a bit of a troubled legacy for his wife and two daughters, but he was a boss, a mentor, a friend, a brother and I never got the opportunity to thank him for all the shared moments, the gleaned knowledge, the friendship that he so willfully provided. Yes, we had our arguments and there were times that I might have cursed his name, but in the end we always forgave one another since that is what brothers do. Not that it matters all that much, but I prefer to think that he’d be happy knowing that I was the one that pulled the cork on this memorable bottle and that all the while I thought of the town of Vouvray, along the Loire River, lined with its ancient troglodyte homes, and how Chenin Blanc, in my opinion (one I know that was shared by him) reaches its apogee in the Loire Valley. But mostly I thought about what it would be like to share one last bottle with him, have one last conversation (or argument) about politics, the French rail system, why he should wear a helmet while riding a bike (he never did), or how Texas (he never visited me here) was perhaps the worst manifestation of the American psyche. No. None of that transpired tonight. Instead, I made a simple yet tasty meal that would enable me to focus on the wine, which he taught me was paramount when opening a special bottle. The wine? While it might not be the best Chenin I have had in my life, it was still fantastic and doing quite well 34 years in. Golden color revealing its age, plenty of tartness, and just a hint of sweetness. Yes, a bit like our relationship. And I loved every drop of it. Outstanding. 96 Points.

2008 Cosentino Winery The Poet, Napa Valley, CA: Retail $65(?). Heavy Bottle (624g; 21.9oz). Under cork. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot. This is the next-to-last Poet in my possession, and we broke it out for some dear friends who were visiting. Sure, this might not have some of the oomph that previous vintages of this classic wine have had, but this still has the stuffing of a Mitch Cosentino wine. good fruit, fantastic acidity, and some of the verve that made me fall in love with this winery in the mid-90s. It is no longer the same animal since Vintage Wine Estates took over the brand in the early 2010s, but I still have a couple of bottles left from “back in the day” when Mitch was still in charge. Excellent. 92 Points.

2024 Stoller Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $25. Very Responsible Bottle (480g; 16.9oz). Screw Cap. I am doing a charity wine tasting this month, and I thought this would be a good addition to the lineup. While I love the folks at Stoller, I have always tried to maintain an element of impartiality with my tasting notes. Admittedly, it is not always easy, but here we are. Good to great fruit on the nose, with an initially cherry impression followed by plenty of menthol and earth. The palate is rich, even on the verge of “exceedingly so”. At around $25-30? Yeah, Giddy-up. Excellent. 91 Points.

2018 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $50. Extremely Heavy bottle (884g; 31.1oz). Under cork. Anyone who has visited this site more than once likely knows of my afinity for Tongue Dancer Wines. What they may not know is that is one of the few wineries from whom I regularly buy wine. Every once in a while, I will delve into that secret stash, like I did a few nights ago. This Pinot from James MacPhail is a blend of two Sonoma Coast Vineyards: Putnam and Sexton Road. Fairly dark in both color and aromas (dark cherry, eucalyptus, mint), but bright, tart, and fruity on the palate. Initially, this wine was a bit tense and nervous, but it was clear that the stuffing was there for an incredible wine. After a day open and a bit of rest, I revisited. Whoa. Sure, the fruit is front and center, but behind all that exuberance is balancing acidity, depth of flavors, and silky tannins. Yet another stellar effort from the Tongue Dancer team. Outstanding. 96 Points.

2006 Turley Petite Syrah Turley Estate, Napa Valley, CA: Retail $50. Heavy Bottle (694g; 24.4oz). 100%(?) Petite Sirah. As I have stated in every Petite Sirah tasting note I have ever written, I am no fan of the variety. They tend to be (at least to me) over-the-top, overly fruity, very jammy, too rich monstrosities. Yeah, not a fan. But this Turley? More than any other component, this is, surprisingly, driven by the…wait for it…acidity and I am a fan, maybe even a big fan. Inky dark in the glass with a rather muted, uneventful nose (but plenty of black pepper and spice, a touch of blackberry–so maybe not so “uneventful”?), but on the palate, this is pretty close to glorious with plenty of fruit but oodles of the aforementioned acidity. Ooodles. No real tannins on the backend, though, so this is one for near-term (3-5 years) consumption. Yeah. I had doubts. Many doubts. And more than a few prejudices. But this delivered. And then some. Outstanding. 93 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: There is no denying that I had some pretty stellar bottles of wine this week, as we took a bit of a deep dive into the cellar as we often do with friends from out of town. I knew, though, when I opened the 1988 Marc Brédif Grande Année, that it would be the Wine of the Week. Had it been oxidized, corked, or even just “over the hill”, it still would have been the top wine given the memories that it evoked. Luckily, the wine was fantastic, even better than the last bottle we opened. I love when that happens.

What was your Wine of the Week?