Delas Saint Esprit Cotes du Rhone, 2007

Of all the highly publicized 2007 Cotes du Rhones, this is one that truly lives up to the hype. It's deep and dark, the color of Syrah more than Grenache but with no sign of new oak treatment. Again on the nose, it's very Syrah but with the openness and charm that you expect from a Grenache-based wine. I believe the blend is 75/25. Very open black and red fruits with peppercorns; ripe but with great structure. It coats the tongue and the roof of the mouth and leaves a strong impression of ripe plums and black peppercorn on the finish. With or without food, this wine will keep you coming back for glass after glass.

I bought the Delas Cotes du Rhone last Spring when D&W FreshMarkets was offering it for a case price under $100. It's still available there and at Village Corner in Ann Arbor. And I recently noticed a World Market ad offering the wine for $9.99/bottle. If you don't have any yet, I suggest you give it a try.

Agricole Vallone Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva Vereto, 2000

My last two bottles of this wine were showing a bit of excess volatility (maybe a sign of age or heat damage?), but this bottle is just right, drinking as beautifully as the bottles I had in 2008 and earlier. It's a deep ruby with some bricking at the rim. If there is any volatility on the nose, it is exactly what you expect from a good Italian red, and it accentuates the powerful bouquet of cherries, black licorice and rose petals. There is excellent acidity for a wine grown so far to the South; it's medium bodied with a modest 13% alcohol level. Fruit tannins from the peels provide a gutsy mid-palate and a lasting finish. This wine is singing right now, and so am I because I have another five bottles in the cellar.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I paid $4.79 for this wine on closeout from Hardings Markets. In the future, I would gladly pay the regular price of $12.99 for a Salice Salentino of this quality.

Vintellect South Eastern Australia Red Blend, 2007

This is an innovative blend designed for easy and early drinking: 30% Shiraz, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Grenache and 20% Mataro (Mourvedre). The color is dark, but there is no indication from the color or smell that the wine has had very much, if any, new oak treatment. The aromas blend nicely--Shiraz black fruit and spice, Cabernet blackcurrants, Grenache strawberries and nice hints of purple flowers from the Mourvedre. It's sweet and smooth on the palate--red cherries and berries. It's bold enough to be taken serious (almost) but has no hard edges. And it should go well with almost any food you put on the table.

This is an Australian version of a Cotes du Rhone, but for about the same price it doesn't tempt me away from the real thing. While enjoyable, it has less substance and depth.

Domaine Sainte-Anne Cotes du Rhone, 1998

At 11 years of age, this modestly labeled and priced Cotes du Rhone is finally showing signs that it intends to mature. And a very fine maturity it is going to be. The color has lightened a little but is still a deep, brilliant ruby nearly all the way to the rim. This wine was clearly exposed to a minimal amount of oxygen during the winemaking process. The developing maturity shows most in the nose, as the primary fruit aromas that were still there as recently as last Spring begin to merge into a more complex bouquet of red fruits, garrigue and spice. The wine has a satiny mouthfeel, and the bouquet repeats itself in the lush flavors. There is a just a touch of black peppercorn creeping in, but the overall impression is sweet and the finish, long. This wine is still very similar to the 2005 and 2004 Sainte-Anne Cotes du Rhones but with emerging complexity that should become increasingly apparent over the next year or two.

Sainte-Anne's Cotes du Rhone has the same blend as the estate's Cotes du Rhone Villages--60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 20% Cinsault. The only difference is that the simple CDR comes from young vines with an average age of 20 years. (In California, those "young" vines might be considered "ancient.") Domaine Sainte-Anne's wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel and concrete, seeing no new oak. They have a reputation for long aging, and several cuvees of the 1986 are still being sold at the winery.

I've been buying the domaine's wines since the early 1980s when they were recommended in the writings of Rhone expert Robert Mayberry. Only since the 1998 vintage have I tried cellaring them for longer than a decade, and so far I have not been disappointed.

Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio Classico dei Castelli di Jesi, 2004

Verdicchio is another white wine for those occasions when you're tired of the same old, same old Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs. It's a crisp high acid, low alcohol wine with intriguing aromas and flavors. And it comes in interesting hour-glass shaped bottles modeled after ancient Etruscan amphoras. Drink the wine; use the bottle as a vase.

At five years of age, Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio is a deeper yellow color than the Gruner Veltliner below, but it's still light and bright for a wine of its age. And the aromas and flavors are equally fresh--melon, white berries, green apples and a pleasing hint of bitter almond. It blends so well with the food (spinach/lemon pasta) that it's easy to lose track of this wine. But when you pay attention, there is plenty of flavor interest.

Ecker Niederosterreich Gruner Veltliner, NV

As one reviewer said, this is "a wine to drink, not to taste." Even the packaging is appealingly unpretentious: a simple liter bottle similar to that used for mineral water with a basic inexpensive screw cap. No ceremony here, but once you open the bottle the excitement begins. The color is very light; the aromas and flavors are as airy as a summer breeze. Delightful fragrance of spring flowers and green fruits. Actually, looking for descriptors lessens the delightful drinking experience this wine offers. It's fresh and brisk with penetrating flavors; perfect with vegetable oriented meals or spicy food. And I also like the size (25% more wine) and price ($8.99 at Village Corner in Ann Arbor).

The Ecker family have made wine at their 20 hectare estate near Krems in Austria for more than 300 years. The porous, sandy loess soil is ideal for Gruner Veltliner, and this area to the northwest of Vienna has the deepest deposits of loess soil in Europe. If you're not yet familiar with Gruner Veltliner (or "Gruve" for short), this wine is a good place to start.

Four Sisters Southeastern Australian Sauvignon Blanc, 2007

This is a very well made Sauvignon Blanc. I knew it would be when I bought it because it was made by Trevor Mast, former owner of Mount Langi Gihran and one of Australia's best winemakers. The four sisters who inspired the name (the eldest designed the beautiful label) were teenagers when our family visited Trevor and Sandra several times during the 1990s.

The screwcap has kept this Sauvignon Blanc fresh and lively. It has all the smells and flavors to be expected from a well made Sauvignon Blanc--fresh herbs, citrus and a touch of minty spice. The finish is clean and crisp with good acidity. It goes beautifully with Margharita pizza, thin-crusted, hot from the oven and brimming with fresh tomato, basil and abundant garlic.

Of course, this wine doesn't have the special qualities I get from my favorite Sauvignon Blancs of the moment--Domaine Daulny's Clos de Chaudenay Sancerre and Frenzy Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. And that is one of the premises of my blog: the best wines are made in the vineyard and not in the cellar. As the label states, Trevor Mast chose the "finest Southeastern Australian fruit available." And that fruit doesn't match the quality produced by the soil and climate of the Loire Valley in France or parts of the Marlborough region in New Zealand.