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 Paul Berthelot Champagne Blason d’Or Brut, Champagne, France: Retail $65. Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (896g; 31.5oz). 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay all from the Grand Cru Village of Aÿ. Aÿ is simply one of the greatest villages in Champagne, situated just 6 kilometers outside of Épernay. While there is not a whole lot to the village itself, riding through the home of Bollinger and Gosset (among others) gives me goosebumps every time. Rich and opulent both on the nose and the palate, this wine is a treat. Lemon curd and peach, brioche and lightly grilled toast, this is fantastic. I bought four bottles of this wine from Last Bottle Wines way back at the beginning of 2018 and this is now the last bottle. I have been keeping an eye out for this champagne, but as far as I know, it has not resurfaced again on the site, and certainly not for $35. Oh well, next producer up! Outstanding. 94 Points.

2019 Fullerton Wines Chardonnay Five Faces, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $36. Very Responsible Bottle (474g; 16.7oz). Under screw cap. I saw this on Wineslash for fifteen bucks, and I decided to take a flyer. Fifteen bucks? Screw top? You betcha! While this wine might not change your life, it certainly is a solid effort with plenty of fruit and minerality on the nose, a delightful entry into the wine. There is a healthy tartness from the jump, and the subtle citrus fruit comes in shortly thereafter. The oak/buttery aspect is minimal, making this a wonderful choice for the ABC (anything But Chardonnay) crowd. Very Good. 89 Points.

2019 Georges Dubœuf Beaujolais-Villages, Beaujolais, France: Retail $14. Responsible Bottle (568g; 20.0oz). 100% Gamay. Back in the haze that was the pandemic, I was sent a slew of wines from Georges Dubœuf, the King of Beaujolais. He had passed about a year earlier and much of the Zoom call was spent reminiscing about his life and impact. This Villages was fabulous then, and it is pretty darned tasty now. It is habitually under-rated, in my opinion, and is simply delightful: fresh, fruity, with plenty of acidity, this is perhaps the most versatile wine in the Dubœuf portfolio. From apéritif to dinner table, this is fantastic. Excellent. 90 Points.

NV Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Essentiel Extra Brut, Champagne, France: Retail $65. Extremely Heavy Bottle (861g; 30.3oz). Based on 2016 vintage. 45% Pinot Noir, 36% Pinot Meunier, 19% Chardonnay. 23% reserve wine. Disgorged 2022. 6g/l dosage. This is the third(?) bottle of this wine of the case that I purchased from WineSlash for the fantastic price of $40/bottle. This is another good to great bottle, so much so that I was contemplating buying another case, that was until they sold out. Bummer. This is based on an older vintage than what is currently available in the market, but it is no less spectacular; great fruit, plenty of brioche, and zingy tartness. What else could you possibly want? Other than more wineries in Champagne being more open (like Piper) on their labels? And perhaps being smart enough to have purchased another case while you had the chance? Yeah, not much. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2020 Paola Sordo, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy: Retail $45. Extremely Responsible Bottle (403g; 14.2oz). 100% Nebbiolo. Agglomerated stopper. On a random Thursday afternoon, I was sitting at my desk, working dutifully, when my wife walked in and asked “Do you want some Barolo?” I am pretty sure she had never uttered that phrase before, so I was intrigued. It turns out, she had been to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch and the owner, knowing I was a bit of a wino, offered up a nearly empty bottle of this wine, suggesting she take it home for me to taste (I would guess that he is thinking of adding it to the wine list?). So here we are. I have no idea when this bottle was opened, but it is a decent, modern approach to the genre. Fairly dark ruby in color, with plenty of red and black fruit on the nose (blackberry, black raspberry, black cherry). There is also a healthy dose of earth and a hint of oak. All positives. The palate is rich and fruity, much more so than just about any Barolo I have tried recently. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is also not what comes to mind when I hear “Barolo”. Don’t get me wrong, I like this wine, even a lot, but this seems more like a Californian interpretation of the variety. Again, not a negative, just an observation. So how to rate? Good question. I’ll go with: Excellent. 92 Points.

2017 Tongue Dancer Chardonnay, Bacigalupi Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA:
Retail $50. Extremely Heavy Bottle (880g; 31oz). I had run into a bit of bad luck with my older Tongue Dancer wines recently as a couple of them had been oxidized. Concerned (and more than a bit stressed), I grabbed this 2017 Baci Chard and held my breath. Well, at least tonight? Fantasmagorical (technical wine term). Dark straw, close to yellow at this point with oodles of lemon curd, oak (subtle), a hint of candied apricot, touches of salinity and vanilla, and just a smidge of pistachio. Whoa. The palate is equally invigorating with plenty of luscious citrus (albeit mellow), some marzipan, that nuttiness, and a flinty, wet-rock aspect that is fantastic. Yeah. And whoa. This is why you hold onto great Chardonnay: it evolves into a better, less nervous version of itself and challenges what “wine” should and could be. Incredible. Outstanding. 98 Points.

WINE OF THE WEEK: Well, I really had no choice but to opt for the 2017 Tongue Dancer Chardonnay, Bacigalupi Vineyard as this week’s Wine of the Week. Don’t get me wrong, it is a phenomenal wine and will likely be one of my top white wines of the year come December. But last week’s WotW was also a Chardonnay, by Tongue Dancer, from the Bacigalupi Vineyard (albeit the 2018 version). I try not to be repetitive by rule, but, well, this was so clearly the best wine of the week, I had no choice?

What was your Wine of the Week?