Pannonhalmi Apatsagi Pinceszet 2007 Pannonhalmi Tramini

Deep golden color. Petillant bubbles form on the glass.

Smell of lychee, geranium, tropical fruit, baked apple, roses, hints of citrus peel.

Apple flavor, black pepper, peach, some citrus peel bitterness at the end, expected in a quite dry Gewurztraminer. Warm alcohol finish that detracts from perfection, but not terribly.

An excellent bottle for $15.99, my first dry Hungarian wine. This strikes me as very much like an Alsace Gewurztraminer.

The winery's notes on this wine.

Terres Dorees Jean-Paul Brun 2007 l'Ancien Vin de Table

Here and here and here you can read that INAO declared that this is not eligible to be labeled Beaujolais but must instead be a mere Vin de Table. Quel scandale, quelle infamie!

Medium-dark ruby color.

Full blackberry smell with oak, Pinot Noir-like.

Juicy ripe blackberry flavor, fresh-stripped from the canes, red cherry. Tart peach finish. I detect no trace of rubber, of mushrooms, nor of volatile acidity. If anything is acharacteristic of Beaujolais, I suggest it's the lack of the last.

I cheerfully mock Brun's adherence to bio-organic techniques, but I stand in awe of the results.

An outstanding bargain for $18.99, this may well be the best Beaujolais I've ever had.

So INAO thinks this is flawed and not good enough for the Beaujolais AOC? With acknowledgments to Monty Python, I wave my private parts at INAO's and Georges DuBoeuf's aunties. This is dandy Beaujolais, I dare either of them to do better!

Pierre Peters non-vintage Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvee de Reserve

Pale straw color, vigorous pinpoint bubbles.

Smells of toast, wet stones, peach. The smell of some well-aged reserve wine in the cuvee is apparent.

Flavors of green apple, pear, citrus, toasty flavor of long contact with the lees.

I stand in awe after my first experience of Terry Theise-selected Champagne. I find this a bargain at $34.99 / 375 ml. Even though I know this exceeds my stated high-water-mark for posting, even though it's only a half-bottle, it's champagne and I'll pay for champagne. Soon, I think, I'll remove the whole paragraph at the bottom of the blog template about having a high-water-mark.

100% chardonnay.

Delamotte non-vintage Brut Champagne Blanc de Blancs

Golden color, small vigorous bubbles.

Smell of fresh-baked apple pie with a good crust, a bit of citrus peel.

Apple flavor, a bit bready, pineapple (which I can't help but think would be a good ingredient in the apple pie), grapefruit and toast in the lingering end.

Pricey bottle for $50.99, but Champagne can't be had cheaply.

Enrico Santini 2006 Bolgheri Campo Alla Casa

A blend of Vermentino 60% / Sauvignon Blanc 40 %.

Pale straw color, traces of petillance apparent.

Smells of citrus and honey, pine boughs.

Grapefruit taste, mineral flavors in the finish, petillance noticeable on the tongue. Mediium-to-full bodied.

Good bottle for $19.99. There were, I read, only 600 cases of this produced in 2006, but I see that as a rather dubious distinction but it does cause me to be impressed with my local wine-shop.

Bodegas Bernabe Navarro 2005 Alicante Beryna

Distinctly opaque, purple color.

Plum smell, bacon, oak.

Taste begins with big fruit, plum and black cherry and blackberry, roast beef, dark chocolate. Full-bodied, never over-oaky, with some alcohol warmth at the end, stays balanced. Profound.

Good bottle for $19.99. Some sediment becomes apparent at the bottom of the bottle.

Domaine Cheysson 2006 Chiroubles

Medium-to-dark ruby color. traces of petillance.

Smells of blackberry, sweet cherry, organic something.

Tastes of blackberry, strawberry, with an appealing earthy quality developing.

Good bottle for $21.99, juicy delicious appetizing wine.