2010 Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) Réserve Spéciale (France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Contrôlée)

Good wine for the money. At $12, this delivers clean, fresh, unoaked Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon flavors. Not the most complex bottle of white wine one can buy, but a very good match for oysters, white fish, shrimp and other saefood. Not something to go and seek out but a wine can buy with good conscience if it avails itself and the occasion asks for an unpretentious white to go with a light lunch or dinner. 

2007 Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray Vouvray Tête de Cuvée Brut (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray)

This is so good it blows my mind. 100% Chenin Blanc from Vouvray. This has everything I expect from decent Champagne. Dry, check. Depth, check. Toasted brioche flavors, check. Apple and citrus, check. At $18, this is better than many Champagnes costing 2x or 3x as much. Finishes long and is a real pleasure to drink. At less than $18, this is worthy of multi-case buys and an incredible value.

2000 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

As much as I have been an outspoken dissident of other vintages of this wine, this 2000 Sixtine is really showing well. Although I still think it is rather "modern" in style, the 2000 shows roundness, softness, and red fruit. Earth, aromas and flavors of provencal herb, and red licorice on the palate. Nice length and good finish. No Pegau, but it has typicity and character. I like this one.

2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

I continue to be disappointed by this wine. It had so much promise in its youth, but time has not been kind to it. It still seems over-extracted and shrill to me. It lacks typicity for me. It, a little like the Usseglio from a few nights before, seems "modern" in style and devoid of the smells and flavors of CdP. No kirsch, no garrigue, no earth, no brett...just tons of blackberry and licorice (the black kind) which seems too one-dimensional. It is definitely still a good wine, but it isn't a great wine or great CdP/example of its appellation. 

2007 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Not bad. Entirely too young, too primary, and too much stuffing. The fruit is too massive to get a good idea of where this wine is headed. My inclination is to speculate that the stuffing of this wine borders on over-extraction, and that this may turn out to be a freak-show when the fruit recedes. It even has slightly bitter tannins. All blackberry bramble. I taste no earth, no garrigue, no red fruit...all about pure dark/black fruit. Very one-dimensional. Again...very drinkable and pleasant right now, but it does not seem destined for greatness. Some folks will laud the "purity of fruit" in this wine, but I think that purity of fruit is all it has...which is not enough for me.

2006 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Guettes (France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru)

Had this with sushi at Tomo on Saturday night. Just a wonderful bottle of wine. Intense, yet very elegant, precise, and well defined. Sappy and full of bright cherry, earth, leather, smoky and meaty flavors and spice. Finishes magnificently. In my opinion, Bize is the best affordable Burgundy anyone can buy these days. Highly recommended.

2003 Domaine des Rémizières Crozes-Hermitage l'Essential (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage)

I preface this review by saying that I have tasted this wine over the course of multiple days with plenty of aeration between tastings, but I simply am not coming to a materially different conclusion that I did when I first tasted it right out of the bottle. This wine may be a decent wine in the context of all wines in the world, but it has nothing to do with Crozes-Hermitage. Absolutely nada. Zero typicity, zero earth, zero terroir, zero pepperiness, zero meatiness that I like so much in my Crozes-Hermitage. This wine is simply the greatest Frankenstein wine I have ever tasted. Overripe, blowsy, sweet with seemingly noticeable residual sugar, dominated by pretentious fruit juice flavors and chalky, chunky, Tums-like texture. In the context on Crozes-Hermitage, this wine is a disaster of epic proportions. I actually think it tastes more like a CdP from an ultra-ripe vintage. This could pass for a non-descript new world Syrah experiment gone wrong. There is so much so wrong with this wine, that I don't even have the space to fully detail my disappointment.

If you like Crozes-Hermitage and own this wine...I recommend selling it if you can. If you can't, then cooking seems to be a great way to get rid of this stuff. And before someone says that the hot vintage must be to blame, allow me to say that I have tasted other Crozes-Hermitage from 2003 that have been very good to legendary such as Jaboulet's Thalabert. And other wines from the Northern Rhone have been inspiring, as well, as evidenced by my encounter with a Guigal 2003 Brune et Blonde. Vintage doesn't explain anything here...this is all winemaking-related. Truly offensive wine to bear the denomination Crozes-Hermitage.

2000 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

As anyone who really cellars wine knows, with older wine, the condition of an individual bottle can be as important as the wine itself, the winemaker, and vintage. I say this because of all the bottles of this wine I have had, this was by far the best one. This bottle was hauntingly good CdP. I have had the good fortune of tasting many 100-pointers over the years, and this one was right up there with all the legends I have tasted in the past. As a matter of fact, the wine this most closely reminded me of is the 1990 Pegau. The nose of this wine is perfumed with kirsch and garrigue, and the wine literally roars over the palate with layer upon layer of fruit, earth, and freshness. The fruit is plush and velvety, but at no point was it "too much". Perfect balance from front to finish. The best wine I have had in a long time, and certainly one of the best CdPs I have ever tasted (right up there with 1990 Pegau). I will never forget the taste of this wine.

1998 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage)

This one isn't going to win you over with its fruit forward-ness. That said, this wine has amazing finesse, elegance, freshness, and yet, it is able to pack impressive intensity of flavor. Silky texture that's more reminiscent of Pinot Noir than Syrah. The nose is soaring out of the glass and olive tapenade, black pepper, dried herbs and blackberry are the primary flavors. There's a sappiness in this wine that I don't traditionally associate with Syrah, especially US Syrah. Finishes tremendously well and just a stunning bottle of wine. Although it is certainly a terrific food wine, this is actually a bottle that one can drink and ponder...an "intellectual wine". The only regret I have is that I don't own a case full of this.

2004 Clos l'Église (Pomerol) (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

Bought 2 bottles of this during a weekend special sale for $35. And it was definitely a mistake to only buy 2 bottles. Nose shows dark berry fruit, tobacco, tar, earth and violets. On the palate, this retains its dark fruit profile, but the texture is lighter on its feet than the nose and color would make one believe. More silk than velvet. It has cherry and dark chocolate on the palate with an iodine and meaty flavor intermixed. Wonderful freshness with respect to the acidity. Finishes exceptionally well and it's just a terrific wine, especially with food. I drank this at the Austin neighborhood restaurant "Asti" tonight to accompany a dish of homemade Tagliatelle and Lamb al Sugo. Great pairing and I highly recommend this wine. Can be consumed now with some decanting, but it will be in its ideal window in 5 more years and keep for many years after that.

2006 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

I might be a cheap date tonight, but this is drinking wonderfully. Cold smoke, dried herbs and meaty aromas. Kirsch liqueur, garrigue, leather and a touch of chocolate powder on the palate. Finishes well. Has many years left in the tank and should become more interesting, still. Just a really nice wine to drink on a Monday night with a mediterranean-inspired dinner.

2003 Château Lascombes (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux)

This is really shockingly good. I pulled this out of the cellar to go with steak and I wan't expecting fireworks at all. This Lascombes really blew me away though. None of the massive oak I feared I might encounter. No overblown fruit, no elevated alcohol and hot finish. Instead, I found a rather classic Bordeaux that was round, loaded with black currant, leather, some cigar box and nice acidity. Really a lovely wine that would do equally well with fowl or pork as it did with the more flavorful beef.

2003 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage)

One of the best wines I've had all year. Yes, it doesn't aspire to the same heights and glory as the recent Bonneau or Lafite, but I bet I could serve this blind to any wine geek and they'd think I am serving them $100/bottle wine. The depth of the fruit in this wine, the freshness, the spiciness, and the perfect mix of velvety and silky textures are simply amazing. And it's even more astounding that I paid $24 for this years ago. I should have bought cases of this and even then, it still wouldn't be enough. If you can buy this well-stored, it's worth picking some up. This Crozes has many years of improvement ahead of it.

N.V. Pierre Peters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve (France, Champagne, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, Champagne)

I opened this to start off Christmas Eve just the right way. If you like good Blanc de Blancs Champagne, you will like Pierre Peters. This bottle was pure dynamite. Fresh, bubbly, citrus flavors and aromas, and a hint of doughy brioche. Of all the grower BdBs, this is by far the one that has been the most reliable and the most tasty in my experience. There has only been one really average disgorgement in the last few years. The remaining ones have all been stellar in my experience.

1998 Château La Fleur de Gay (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol)

Served this with Christmas Eve dinner. Prototypically German Christmas food of roasted goose, red cabbage, potato dumplings (Kloesse) and goose gravy. This wine has been burning a hole in the floor of my cellar for some time, and I'm glad I finally opened one. It is beginning to show mature flavors and aromas. A wine that is very animale on the nose in a good way, and its fine, elegant cherry and berry fruit is just lovely. Great freshness, silky texture, and some chocolate, earth, and tobacco. Again, I liked how the acidity in the wine balanced the fattiness of the goose. Bordeaux doesn't get much better than this for me, especially in this price range.

2001 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Not nearly as good as the 2000 Sixtine, I thought. Unlike the 2000 which has some nice balance, this wine seems a little off-kilter. The tannins were too pronounced and slightly drying, and although there is a bunch of dark blackberry fruit underneath, I don't think the fruit will outlive the tannins.

1996 Château Pontet-Canet (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac)

This was the wine that jolted me out of my rut. It was a reminder of what great wine is all about. At age 14, this is now beginning to soften and show pretty fruit, graphite, and leather. Some chocolate and tons of black currant. Layers and layers of flavor. Really a phenomenal wine that will only get better.

2000 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Another 2000 CdP that is beginning to drink well. I thought this was less generous and more closed up than the Lesec, but with some air time, it came around. A brooding, dark, and more modern version of CdP. Grilled meat, black licorice, and camphor. It lacks a little elegance, but it's still a very good wine. I would pair it with some heartier foods. 

2000 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Galets Blonds Tonneaux (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Very nice wine. It is beginning to show a very traditional aged CdP profile with kirsch liqueur, licorice, ripe berry, leather and earthiness. It actually needed some tie to come around, so I suspect it can last for many more years. This wine over-delivers massively for the $35 I bought it at. Recommended.

2003 E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage)

This one is beginning to show a little weird. I thought it nearly undrinkable right out of the bottle. Thin and weedy, acidic and angular, I left this in the cellar for a few days, and interestingly enough, the wine has filled out and plushed up. It's showing mostly black berries and black olive tapenade flavors. A tad simple, but drinkable. Yet, I don't see this ageing for too much longer. A wine that I am not sure how to assess its lifespan.