Prunotto 2006 Barbera d'Asti Fiulot

Medium dark red color.

Plum/prune smell, some oak.

Slight petillance, tart plum and prune fruit flavors.

The next day it remains a high-acid juicy bowl of stone-fruit. Tangy!

This proved an excellent accompaniment to a festive holiday lasagna. While I'd hunt for a cheaper version that tasted as good, if none jumped up I'd pay $19.49 for another bottle. Quite nice.

Primaterra 2007 Puglia Primitivo

Inky-dark opaque purple/red color.

Plum and oak smell.

Plum, prune, black cherry fruit flavors. There's oak, but not solely new oak.

The next day same as it ever was.

Ampelographers have determined that Primitivo is the same grape as Zinfandel, though they are have usually been made into different styles of wine. This bottle is, I'm guessing, aware of California Zin. Not a slavish follower of it, but aware.

Tasty wine, a fair buy for $10.99, I'd buy it again to accompany a simple dinner of pasta and tomato. On reflection, if this is meant as an alternative to basic chianti, maybe it is a bit too expensive.

Gloria Ferrer non-vintage Blanc de Noirs

Medium pale amber / copper color, vigorous tiny bubbles.

Smell of cherries and bread dough.

Taste of red berries, sweet red cherries, toast.

As so often is true of New World sparklers, exuberant fruit is expressed in sound winemaking, but there's a finesse that's seen in good Champagne but missing here. Still, this is a remarkable expression of Pinot fruit, and I'd buy it again for $19.99. I still prefer my Bollinger, but the difference in price argues strongly for this.

And Merry Christmas!

Delas 2007 Cotes-du-Rhone Saint-Esprit

Dark red / purple color.

My first thought on opening the bottle was that this smells like Beaujolais, strawberry and red raspberry. A bit unusual for a Rhone wine, but I like Beaujolais, so it's not a disaster.

Flavor bears a resemblance to Beaujolais as well, red berries over a bit of oak.

The next day still the same.

Pleasant simple fruity wine, $10.99 seems an entirely fair price.

Rivola 2005 Sardon de Duero Abadia Retuerta

Inky dark near-opaque purple/red.

Cedar smell, a pencil box inside a hope chest. Can't name anything else in there.

Tannins and oak predominate. There's dark stone fruit under there, but it's well-hidden. I fear splinters.

The next day no noticeable improvement.

$15.49 for Spanish red wine the way I remember it. I didn't use to like Spanish wine. I wouldn't buy it again. It'd be interesting to know if it'll improve with time, but not on my own dime.

Fontanafredda 2005 Piemonte Barbera Briccotondo

Dark purple / red color.

Smell of leather, black raspberry, and plum.

Tastes of prune, plum, black cherry, blackberry, all balanced with tart acid.

The next day largely unchanged.

Simple and pleasant, fruity wine with a bit of complexity, an entirely reasonable buy at $11.99.

Mumm Napa non-vintage Rutherford Brut Prestige

Very pale straw color, tint of green. Vigorous bubbles.

Citrus and melon smells, a bit of just-popped toaster.

Canteloupe, grapefruit, fresh-baked bread, maybe cherry. Brut, for sure, but the end is a bit too sweet for my taste.

I'd buy again for $19.99, but I've got more New World sparklers to try first.

It's not champagne. Even if it's improved by the addition of well-aged reserve wine it's still not champagne but it's quite acceptable fizz all the same.

Jean-Luc Colombo 2006 Vin de Pays d'Oc Viognier La Violette

Pale straw color.

Wildflower smell. The name and the rear label advertise the scent of violets. There are pears and peaches as well.

Ripe pears, peaches, tastes the way wildflowers smell. Thick-seeming mouthfeel.

The next day largely unchanged: still a medium-weight wine worth some contemplation.

I think this $12.99 bottle is my favorite Viognier so far, exclusive of a long-ago-tasted Condrieu, and a serious bargain. I'll continue searching for budget Viognier, but I'll be quite happy even if I can't better this.

Oxford Landing 2005 South Australia GSM Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre

Dark clear garnet, tending towards purple.

Smell of leather, raspberry, black cherry, oak.

Tastes of blackberry, plum, black cherry, a bit of refreshing bitterness at the end.

The next day still very nice.

Think of it, perhaps, as an Australian interpretation of Cotes du Rhone. A juicy bowl of fruit.

I think it's a pretty fair bargain for $13.99 and can imagine buying it again, but there are a lot of nice $14 bottles.

Chandon non-vintage California Blanc de Noirs

I find my self-imposed restriction of blogging only bottles that don't exceed $20 forbids me to enjoy Champagne, or at least to do so with an audience. I shall, therefor, explore fine California sparkling wine and, that done, similar from other places.

Medium straw color, fine small bubbles.

Fruity fresh-baked smell, intriguing strawberry notes.

Toast and red fruits, fun and unserious: chewy Pinot goodness!

I don't think you'd likely mistake it for Champagne, for more than a few moments, but it's an entirely creditable sparkler all the same. I wonder if my reaction would be even more positive if I were tasting blind.

For $18.79, I'd buy it again, but there's a world of tasty California sparklers, with and without the names of reputable Champagne houses. My reference Champagne is Bollinger and they have no New World representation. Pity!

Castello Monaci 2006 Salice Salentino Liante

Near-opaque ruby color.

Cherry / plum smell, with some oak.

Cherries and prunes in the smooth flavor, with some oak, a bit of cleansing bitterness in the finish.

Pleasant full-bodied dry red, a good match for flavorful "peasant" food, this'll stand up pretty well to tomato sauce, which requires a fairly big red.

The next day still smooth and full of flavor.

I'd buy again for $11.99, this is a good bargain.

This map shows that Salice Salentino is grown in the "heel" or the Italian boot: Puglia.

Fairview 2006 Coastal Region Viognier

Very pale straw color.

Grapefruit / pear smell, and peach.

Ripe peach flavor, a bit of grapefruit.

The next day I can find no change.

More intense ripe fruit flavor than the California Viogniers I've recently tasted. Even so, the fruit is well-balanced with clean citrus-like acid.

I might buy this again for $18.79 but first I'd keep looking for even better less expensive examples. I'm also going to try the quite pricey Condrieu again to remind myself of the pinnacle this grape can reach and to see if these lesser expressions are really any bargain. I'm missing an apricot-like character that perhaps I'm misremembering.

Hugh Johnson's 2009 Pocket Wine Book says Fairview was South Africa's first Viognier maker.

Las Rocas de San Alejandro 2006 Calatayud Garnacha

Extremely dark purple color.

Plum and cherry smell, mild oak, perhaps the smell of the fruit pits, too.

Sweet plum / cherry flavor, trace of oak.

Fruity, restrained oak, good balance of fruit and acid. This wine doesn't prompt much contemplation, but it does provide plenty of simple enjoyment.

The next day largely unchanged: still a juicy bowl of ripe fruit! ("How much does a grecian urn?")

I don't think Grenache, even from old vines as this is said to be, is this dark-colored unless blended with at least a bit of a dark wine. I propose Malbec, (aka Cot "the Black Wine of Cahors") but I have no evidence that this is true.

I'd very cheerfully buy this again for $11.99.

Cline 2007 California Viognier

A few days ago I had the 2006 vintage. This is very similar.

Clear, extremely pale straw color.

Smell of grapefruit, maybe peach, clean, maybe a bit of wet flint.

Rich mouthfeel, grapefruit flavor, both in terms of fruit and of acid. Unlike last year's vintage, not a bit petillant.

Tart citrus-like acid makes this a nice foil for Thanksgiving leftovers.

The next day unchanged.

I think it's a tossup whether the 2006 is better or whether this is. They're both quite nice, but let me try a few more Viogniers I have bottles of before I declare which ones I'd buy more of.

Casa Castillo 2005 Jumilla Monastrell

Medium purple color, clear with red glints.

Plum / prune / black cherry smell, some leather. Some oak, but quite restrained, perhaps not primarily new barrels.

Roast beef and plum flavors, some black cherry and some oak. Tannic, with warm alcohol in the finish.

The next day it's much the same.

I'd buy this again for $10.99. This is a very nice wine and a hard-to-beat value.

Cline 2006 California Viognier

If you'd asked me a year ago to identify my favorite white wine I'd have unhesitatingly said "well-aged Riesling." While my esteem for that wine hasn't lessened, the recent ubiquitous nature of Viognier reminds me of how much I like that grape.

I told myself to drink this lightly-chilled rather than at the temperature of my refrigerator. This was a good choice.

Water-clear, pale straw color.

Grapefruit smell, peaches.

Rich honeyed mouth-feel, apricot, grapefruit, peach fruit flavors. It was petillant on opening, but that was short-lived. Ripe sweet fruit balanced with a bit of cleansing bitterness, call it citrus rind.

The next day it's unchanged as far as I can tell.

Seems a bit atypical, the grapefruit smell reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc a little bit more than it does of Viognier. (But not the offensive cat-pee smell that Sauv Blanc sometimes exhibits.)

I would buy again for $11.29 but I've got an $11.99 2007, so no hurry on repeating this.

Tait 2006 Barossa Valley 'The Ball Buster'

This is 78% Shiraz, 12% Caberrnet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. Even with a majority of a Rhone grape, the wine is in the style of Bordeaux, or an impression of one.

Opaque purple-red appearance.

Overwhelming smell of new oak, it's difficult to smell much else.

Taste of black cherry, plum, currant, with no shortage of spicy oak.

The next day the smell and taste are little changed.

This isn't a bad wine, if a bit oak-heavy, but a nice wine for $18.29 is easy to find and I see no need to repeat this one.

California's Jewel Collection 2005 California Viognier

The 1988 New Frank Schoonmaker Encyclopedia of Wine says, of Viognier, "There are fewer than 100 acres of this variety". The 2009 Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book instead calls the grape "ultra-fashionable". It's been an interesting 20 years, to watch a once rarely-seen grape become commonplace.

Golden straw color.

Floral / peach / citrus smells

Rich as honey in the mouth, tastes of apricot, peach, hints of grapefruit, substantial alcohol warmth in the finish.

The next day taste and smell are as they were yesterday. It occurs to me that refrigerator temperature is colder than this should be served. I do have a soft ice-bucket that may be more appropriate for this.

I'd buy this again for $14.99. As far as I can tell, though, there are no more recent California's Jewel wines after court disputes between the owners and grape growers.

Paringa 2004 South Australia Sparkling Shiraz

It's red. It's fizzy. It's impossible not to think about Cold Duck.

Unlike a recently-posted pair of wines which overcome the sometimes flabby nature of Shiraz/Syrah by blending in a bit of Viognier, this balances the perhaps too-ripe fruit with dilute carbonic acid.

Near opaque purple color, that it raises a Welch's-Grape-Juice-purple head is fun and exciting.

Plum and black cherry smell with a bit of oak.

Ripe plum and black cherry flavors, fruit sweetness, oak is there but only if you hunt for it.

There's never a moment's doubt, in every mouthful this is a red wine.
Even the richest Blanc de Noirs was never this luscious.

Don't tell my doctor, but tonight I open and finish a bottle, so no 'next day' comments. Sparkling wine, I admit, is my weakness. A $20.00 limit for blog posts was thus a curious choice.

I would will cheerfully buy this again for $10.29. This is fun and the hell with looking for flaws. This would put a new cast on my near-weekly sessions of enjoying WRC reruns with a bottle of fizz.

Thanksgiving wine

What to accompany a traditional Thanksgiving feast? A nice QmP Riesling works, as does an Alsatian Riesling, but I'm out of both, likewise a nice cru Beaujolais. Pinot Gris sounds reasonable. I think a Viognier would be good or a medium-weight Pinot Noir, but right now I'm remembering a 375ml bottle of Champagne downstairs that ought to be very nice; a non-vintage Brut Premier from Louis Roederer.

Innocent Bystander 2005 South Eastern Australia Shiraz - Viognier

Nearly opaque ruby color, not a bit cloudy like the Zonte's Footstep 2004 Langhorne Creek Shiraz Viognier.

Plum smell, do I smell (and taste) apricot or do I expect to because it says 3% Viognier on the label? Some oak, in good balance with the fruit.

Spicy oak in the plum flavor, a bit raisiny, fruit nicely matched with tart acid.

The next day maybe the smell of oak is a bit more forward, tangy fruit still the primary flavor.

$14.99 seems like a very reasonable price for this, I can see paying that again.

Zonte's Footstep 2004 Langhorne Creek Shiraz Viognier

1988's "The New Frank Schoonmaker Encyclopedia of Wine" by Alexis Bespaloff says, of Viognier

a rare but celebrated grape of the northern Rhone Valley ... There are fewer than 100 acres of this variety...

While much of this was vinified into the white wines of Condrieu and Chateau-Grillet, it was relatively common to blend a small amount of Viognier with Syrah for a flowery aroma and for lively acid, both of which Syrah can lack.

Viognier has since had quite a revival, in France and the US, and particularly in Australia. There are now rather more than 100 acres grown. This wine is 93% Shiraz, 7% Viognier.

On unscrewing the cap, I found a crust of sediment had formed just beneath that cap. This probably contributed to the slightly cloudy appearance of this dark ruby wine. It suggests, I think, too-cold storage with the bottle upside down.

Black cherry and plum scents, and blackberry.

Blackberry and stone fruit flavors with black pepper. Oak is noticeable in the background, but in no way does it dominate the ripe fruit but it compliments it well.

The next day it remains ripe, juicy, and delicious. I'm a fan.

The crust I saw worries me a little, mostly about how the bottle was kept, and I'd be slow to buy this again for $18.29, but I know the 2006 is available, and I may well try that.

Rodney Strong 2005 Russian River Valley Pinor Noir

Light-to-medium ruby color.

On opening, oak dominates the smell, with black cherry and berries.

Cherry/berry flavors under overriding oak.

The next day the fruit smell seems a little more assertive, but oak still is the primary flavor.

I'd refrain from buying again for $19.99, though I'm curious whether or not time would improve it. My experience, by no means conclusive, is that something this unbalanced between oak and fruit is always going to be unbalanced.

Caporale 1986 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

An odd orphan I found downstairs this week. I'd have guessed there were no more bottles I didn't know about down there.

I admit during the years in the basement this bottle lost its price label, so I'm only guessing it was under $20. I suspect it doesn't matter, really: I see no evidence in Google that Caporale wine is currently available outside the winery.

Because the wine has developed a significant amount of sediment and because the cork crumbled some while being extracted, I put this through a paper coffee filter.

Clear dark ruby with the sediment filtered out.

Unpleasant over-ripe fruit salad smell which doesn't seem to blow off after half an hour. Under the stink there are smells of currant, black cherry, plum.

Ripe stone fruit flavor, the fruit-salad-gone-bad is here, too.

The next day the smell and taste haven't improved. This isn't quite like anything I've encountered before in wine. I hesitated before posting it, but I think this has been like this since the day it was bottled, and is not some product of spoilage. My experience with too-old wine is that it just loses flavor, not that it develops weird bad ones.

If I found another bottle I'd open it, to see if it is this distasteful.

Chalone Vineyard 2006 Monterey County Pinot Noir

Bona fides: Some years ago, when I was a volunteer sysop on Jim Kronman's WINEFORUM on CompuServe, Chalone gave me six-bottle mini-cases of their second label Gavilan Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I've been kindly disposed towards them since.

First smell that meets the nose is oak, and plenty of it. It's difficult to smell anything underneath that, perhaps some cherry. Cherry flavor, bacon, plum. Oak flavor builds in the finish.

The next day it's still austere on the fruit, extravagant with the oak.

One thing that hasn't changed over the years, Chalone still pays homage to Burgundian wine, but with a Californian accent.

I'd buy again for $16.29, but not a full case of these, a few bottles. Interesting and fun. I believe it'd improve with a few years of cellaring, but I have no place to do that.

Sherwood Estate 2006 Marlborough Pinot Noir

My first red wine from New Zealand, but I've spent recent years drinking a basement full of older wines instead of buying much recent product, antipodean or otherwise. New Zealand Pinot Noirs have become common during those years.

The state of antipodean wine, though, is that they do love them some screwcaps. They've likewise become more common.

Medium-to-dark ruby color. Smell of leather, ripe cherry, some freshly-sharpened pencil. Cherry flavor, perhaps some plum, some dark berries.

The next day oak is a bit more evident in the flavor and ewspecially in the aroma. Because I drink a bottle over two days it makes sense to me to note differences over those days, but it's rare that a wine changes much.

I'm not in a hurry to buy this again at $15.79, but it's not an unfair price at all.

Joseph Drouhin 2007 Brouilly

I still have a couple of bottles of this old friend, my first post, the 2006 Brouilly from Joseph Drouhin. Now it's time to see about the latest vintage:

Clear medium red-purple. Doesn't seem to exhibit very much of the petilance I noted in the 2006.

Smell of strawberry, blackberry, spice notes. Fruity taste of berries, some cherry, some spice. Spicy finish. I suspect the spiciness is from some aging in oak, but I'm not certain. Not predominantly aged in new oak, I don't think.

The next day all seems little changed.

Would buy again at $17.29, but, as I said last year, I would probably look elsewhere. It's tasty, but I'm not convinced it's a $17.29 bottle.

Georges Duboeuf 2007 Morgon

Deep clear ruby color. Black cherry smell, some raspberry. Raspberry and cherry flavors, strawberry. Nice depth of flavor, long tart fruity finish.

The next day no pronounced differences.

I wouldn't buy this again for $19.79. It's nice wine, but not at this price.

Georges Duboeuf 2006 Julienas "La TrinQuee"

The Naked Vine tells us that "La Trinquée" is "the clinking glass." I think that's also known as drinky-drinky (with gesture).

Dark clear reddish purple. Spicy smell of raspberry and what is that?, hyacinth? Tart deep flavors of black cherry and raspberry. I don't get the smoky flavors that some reviews I've read note. The best way I can characterize the finish is (surprise!) fruity.

The next day maybe I can talk myself into imagining a hint of smoky smell. Still cherries and berries rule the flavor, though.

I'd happily buy this again for $13.79. I confer the Blog Ordinary thumbs-up mark of approval.

Joseph Drouhin 2005 Beaujolais-Villages

Fresh shipment of wine in, and some new-to-me Beaujolais with it. Yay!

Medium reddish-purple color. Smell of cherries and raspberries, smells grapey in a good way. Cherry-aid flavor, raspberry notes. The finish is clean but a bit short.

The next day I can sense no changes, except perhaps a bit more emphasis on the berries.

I'd buy Beaujolais-Villages again for $15.29 (Oh! for the days of the wine lake!), but this particular example suffers, however unfairly, because this is the wine I first tried to buy when the Joseph Drouhin 2005 Cote de Beaune-Villages was shipped instead. I can't help but judge this against that more expensive wine.

Beaujolais-Villages is generally thought a lesser wine than the Beaujolais crus I enjoy so much, but superior to those which can only be labeled Beaujolais.

Joseph Drouhin 2005 Cote de Beaune-Villages

Medium ruby color. Raspberry and rose smells, hints of leather. Flavors of raspberries and red cherries, trace of cranberry in the acid that well balances the fruit.

The next day I can detect no changes. I'll try to refrain from flights of organoleptic fantasy.

I ordered a $15.29 bottle of Drouhin 2005 Beaujolais-Villages. This was shipped by mistake. Lucky me! I'll treat this as the $15.29 wine it inadvertently is, in my case, and not the $24.99 wine the seller intends it to be. With that in mind, I’d gladly buy this again for $15.29, if anyone were offering.

While this isn't the product of one craftsman grower from one vineyard, demonstrating the qualities of that terroir, nor is it of awe-inspiring complexity, but this is a good honest Burgundy, and I like it very much.

Tintara 2005 McLaren Vale Shiraz

Near-opaque purple/red color. Dark stone fruit and oak smells. Ripe plum and tart black cherry fruit, black pepper, gentle tannins. Completely dry but with the sense of sweetness of fruit and vanillin oak around the edges of the tongue.

The next day it's largely unchanged but I'm tasting some blueberry that I didn't taste (or didn't write) yesterday.

I think this is a reasonable buy for $18.99, but I think it’d be easy to find other wines of similar quality for this price. As weaknesses in wine go, “some guy on the internet says it can be equaled” isn’t crushing.

MontGras 2006 Colchagua Valley Carmenere Reserva

Very deep clear ruby color. Leather, oak, cedar smells. Deep, full flavor of ripe plum with oak and cedar.

The next day the smell is much as it was, the flavor as well, but the flavor has developed a touch of green olive as well.

I would buy this again for $13.29. In a blind tasting, I think I’d mistake this for a unclassed Medoc. If I had good facilities for doing so, I'd buy more with an eye to aging it.

Carmenere is an old Bordeaux grape which was frequently misidentified as Merlot in Chile until quite recently^*. Possibly it was the source of Chilean Merlot you’re familiar with.

^* I stole this fact from Hugh Johnson and failed to credit him, I now realize.

Bitch 2007 South Australia Grenache

Light ruby color. Leather and oak smells predominate. Red raspberry jam flavor along with alcohol warmth and oak and petillance on the tongue.

The next day the smell includes red raspberry jam, the flavor is much as it was.

I would not buy this again for $12.29: overall my impressions are negative. I find this on the simple side, a high-alcohol poorly balanced fruit bomb.

Granrojo 2005 Garnacha

Deep purple / dark red color. Smell of leather and dark stone fruit. Tastes of plums and black cherries, oak and roast beef. Dark chocolate in the smooth-textured if tannic finish. Blueberry too?

The next day emphasizes the fruit in the smell and flavor, brings out an earthy quality in the smell that was less apparent yesterday.

I enjoyed this, but probably would look somewhere else to spend my $12.99. Would certainly look into subsequent vintages.

Big Red. Big Bad Red! ♭♮♯♪♪♫♬♪♫♪♩♪♩

Bodegas Castano 2004 Hecula Yecla Monastrell

Inky-dark purple color. Smell of oak and berries, black cherries and plum, leather. Flavor of plum, black cherry, slightly bitter tannins and bacon.

The next day the smell hasn’t changed greatly but the fruit is more apparent in the flavor.

Not only would I buy this again for $13.29, I intend to do so and let it breathe a bit next time.

Monastrell is probably the same grape as Mourvèdre. Whatever the ampelographers finally decide though, this is very much a Rhone-like wine.

La Valentina 2005 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Deep purple/ruby color. Berry/cherry smell. Black cherry flavor, some blueberry, some licorice. Adequate acid to balance the fruit, rich texture, some alcohol warmth in the finish and some cleansing bitterness. Restrained tannins.

The next day the smell of fruit is more apparent, as is the berry flavor.

I’d buy this again for $13.29.

Bell'agio 2007 Chianti

Deep ruby color. Unremarkable smell, alcohol and cherry, no apparent oak. Warm cherry fruit flavor, a bit thin, but in no way objectionable. Adequate acid to balance the fruit.

The next day no surprise, the wine renains open and fruit-forward. It’s not profound, but it is pleasant and rewarding.

I admit that nostalgia for the packaging (the fiasco) was a significant reason for deciding to buy this rather than some other Chianti for a like price. I wouldn’t buy this again for $13.79, but bring the price down under $10 and we’re talking.

Joseph Drouhin 2006 Moulin-a-Vent

Deep ruby color, strikes me as an unusually deep color for a Beaujolais. Smell of strawberry and raspberry, hint of vanilla oak. Tart taste of berry fruit, some alcohol warmth, just a hint of bitter tannins and oak. I read elsewhere that perhaps this will benefit from further cellaring. I find that believable.

The next day perhaps the wine had further opened and was displaying the fruit even more prominently..

I won’t buy this again for $19.99. It’s in no way a bad wine, but neither is it a good bye. I’d probably spend that much on a bottle of 2007, when it becomes available, though.

This is the last Beaujolais for now. A nice Beaujolais is always welcome, but I'll be looking at some other things in the next few weeks.

Chateau des Capitans 2004 Julienas

Deep purple red color. Full smell of raspberry, warm alcohol and some vinegary carbonic maceration character with a hint of vanilla. Full fruity flavor, raspberry and strawberry, well-balanced with crisp acid.

The next day the smell is still loaded with fruit, as is the flavor.

While this seems a relatively sturdy Beaujolais, I foresee no significant improvement from further age. I don’t think it’s going to deteriorate in the next few years, either.

I feel comfortable saying I’d buy this again for $15.99, and that I’ll certainly keep an eye out for future vintages.

Chateau de La Chaize 2005 Brouilly

Pale ruby color, lacks depth. Raspberry / strawberry smell, vinegary carbonic maceration character. Tart flavor, a mouthful of berries. If the color lacks depth, the flavor certainly doesn’t. Oak seems more in balance than it did in the ‘04. Perhaps I’m just more used to it.

The next day, the second half of the bottle and I’m still fascinated by how much oak is in this beaujolais. It’s still in balance with the exuberant fruit.

Beaujolais isn’t a wine that inspires much intellectual contemplation, but one that provides sensual enjoyment and satisfaction.

As was true for the 2004, while I’d buy this again for $19.79, I’d look first for something else for the money.

Chateau de La Chaize 2004 Brouilly

Mild tawny color, tending to orange. Smell of raspberry, strawberry. The heavy degree of oak seems a surprise in a Beaujolais. Fresh strawberry / raspberry taste, some vanillany oak. Trace of the vinegar characteristic of carbonic maceration. Petillance noticeable to the eye and the tongue.

Removing the stopper he next day, the room fills with the smell of strawberry fruit. Some cherry flavor develops along with berries, the oak remains distinct.

I’m not entirely convinced that the degree of oak is appropriate here, but I have learned that Chateau de La Chaize will readily tolerate ten or fifteen years of age, while Brouilly isn’t often thought of as a particularly age-worthy Beaujolais, so I accept this as what it is, and I move on. I’d happily buy this again for $19.79, but there’s a lot of good wine in that price range.

Mountain View 1989 Monterey / Napa Pinot Noir

I discovered a still-sealed case of this forgotten in the basement. It's been down there thru nearly 20 years in New England, without air-conditioning, and was never intended for long cellaring, so it's more a curiosity than anything else, but I'll try it and see. In the last two years I've drunk a lot of indifferently-stored wine.

Bright clear ruby color, brown tint, clear at edge. Smell of raspberry and leather. Berry / dark cherry flavor, richness of bitter chocolate. There’s an odd menthol thing happening at the finish. Past its prime, but it’s still rather pleasant.

The next day the stoppered bottle has collected a smell characteristic of pinot noir that immediately blows off, leaving just some raspberry and alcohol, hint of leather. The flavor is tart raspberry, hints of chocolate.

While I wouldn’t seek this out, with a case in my possession I can see no reason not to drink it.

Barton & Guestier 2005 Bistro Wine Pinot Noir

Bright clear red color. Smell of black cherry soda. Pleasant fruity cherry flavor. some plum at the end, bit of alcohol warmth. Would cheerfully buy again at $9.99.

A curious thing: the maker's front label declares alcohol by volume 13%, the rear importer's label 12.5%.

It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I need to buy wine and I post again. Clearly I'll need to modify my wine-buying procedure, adding more variety and reducing the incidence of full cases.

Joseph Drouhin 2006 Brouilly

Bright clear red-purple. Smell of strawberry, hint of vinegar. Fruity taste of berries, also a hint of vinegar, a bit of petilance discernible on the tongue. Would buy again at $17.99, but would probably look elsewhere.