Pannonhalmi Apatsagi Pinceszet 2007 Pinot Noir

Clear medium-dark garnet color, some pinpoint bubbles form on the glass.

Oak and leather smells, very organic-seeming but clean with no bacterial problems evident.

Oak, cherry, a trace of menthol, ends with food-friendly acid.

This is, I think, my first red from Hungary, and I realize I'm forgiving an oak component that is prominent to a degree which I would not so forgive in a wine from another country, but I remain convinced that the wines of Hungary remain worth exploring and even supporting.

So, bottom-line, this is nice, a good match for a medium-bodied dinner, even if a bit oaky. I matched this with a baked ham dinner and I pronounce it a win!

Bodegas Pedro Escudor Fuente Elvira 2008 Rueda Verdejo

Medium yellow color with green tints.

Aromatic honey, lime, and peach smells.

Fruity dry melon and citrus flavors, honeyed texture. Sprightly and petillant on the tongue.

Excellent bottle for $16.99, this confirms my fondness for this Verdejo, an increasingly fashionable white grape that nearly went extinct.

Haut Marin 2008 Petit Manseng Gros Manseng Vin de Pays Cotes de Gascogne

55% Petit Manseng, 45% Gros Manseng.

Applesauce, pineapple smells.

Fruity sweet flavor, applesauce without cinnamon.

Adequate bottle for $14.99 The sweetness was unexpected and a bit disappointing.

Kendermanns 2007 Mosel Riesling Spatlese

Bright golden / yellow color, petillance forms on the glass.

Fruity enticing peach smell, floral quality.

Candy-sweet peach flavor, drinking the sugary syrup from a can of peaches. Petillant on the tongue

Tolerable bottle for $17.99, soda-pop (almost) without the fizz.

Kendermanns 2007 Gewurztraminer QbA

Very pale color, petillance forms on the glass.

Floral/fruity smell, gardenia and peach.

Off-dry peach, apple, floral flavors.

Very good bottle for $14.99.

Au Bon Climat 2008 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir

Medium clear garnet color.

Cherry soda smell, blackberry, black pepper.

Blackberry and oak flavors.

Acceptable bottle for $24.99, would be better for $5 less.

Felsina Berardenga 2007 Chianti Classico DOCG

Dark but transparent red color.

Cherry, berry, and leather smells, tar at the end. Am I imagining or is there just the least little whiff of wet dog brettanomyces?

Raspberry flavor, tart cherry, leather.

I think this very good $22.99 bottle would benefit from some vigorous aeration. Both the smell and the taste are a bit shy and they might be more likely to come out to play with some more oxygen.