TuaTea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2024

TuaTea is one of my favorite New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, and this 2024 vintage is, for my taste, perhaps the best of recent years.

Light straw. Passion fruit is particularly full and prominent this vintage. Also grapefruit, melon and lemon grass. Very smooth. Fruit and acid in good balance, although ripe fruit is most noticeable--which will suit drinkers who find Sauvignon Blanc a bit too tart.

For $6.99 at Trader Joe's, this is a very good wine for the money. I will go back for more.
 

Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco, 2012

Vietti's Perbacco is widely regarded as a reference point Langhe Nebbiolo, often called a "baby Barolo." This 2012 lives up to its promise, although I should warn you, if you have a bottle: even though it is now in its 13th year, it is still very young. When I first popped the cork, I met a concentrated wall of tannin; three hours later, it was drinking beautifully.

Bright ruby red with amber at the edges appropriate for a Nebbiolo. Red roses and red cherries emerge on the nose with swirling. Some black licorice on the palate. Gets better with each sip, hard to put it down. Red berry beauty now shining through. Barolo-like complexity.
 

Willakenzie Estate Willamette Valley Chardonnay, 2018

Willakenzie Estate ranks high on my list for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The winery is named after the Willakenzie soil which coveers the estate's vineyards. Not all of the grapes for this Chardonnay are estate fgrown but the rest  come from nearby Jory soil, which is also highly regarded  for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Medium deep yellow with some green glints. White peaches, flowers and spicy mint/coriander. Willamette Valley acidity keeps the wine fresh and lively at seven years of age. Clean finish that haunts the taste buds long sfter the meal is finished.
 

Chronicle Savoy Vineyard Alexander Valley Pinot Noir, 2009

I sstill have doubts about whether this wine comes from grapes grown in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County or the Alexander Valley of Sonoma. Chronicle winery is located in the Anderson Valley and frequently uses grapes from Mendocino's well respected Savoy Vineyard. Yet the label, which I believe to be mistaken,clearly says Alexander Valley, which, as far as I know, has no Savoy Vineyard. The quality, flavor profile and strength at age 16, tells me the fruit is Anderson Valley.

Bright ruby with significant amber tones. Red cherries, cranberries but also some darker fruit. Blood orange zest and spice. Acidity keeps it fresh and lively. Drinking beautifully right now.

Beringer Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2016

When I saw the huge $5 sticker on this wine at my local Crosstown grocery, I had to search a little deeper. And the answer was clear: the vintage date on the bottle was 2016; most white wines that age have passed their sell by dates  Unlike the California appellation Beringer Chardonnay beside it, however, the label indicated Napa Valley, and most Napa Chardonnays come from vineyards in the relatively cool Carneros area and are higher quality anyway because of their more specific appellation.

Very deep gold, dark enough to elicit a bit of doubt. One sniff, though, erased all of my worries. Lilting Carneros aromas and flavors of ripe pears, white peaches, caramel and spicy oak. Lively acidity, fresh flavors,  not at all oxidized or old. I bought both of the bottles on the shelf, though; didn't leave any for you. Sorry.
 

Languedoc Cabrieres Rouge Selected by Kermit Lynch, 2020

This wine is 50% Syrah (Shiraz) but, oh, what a difference from the Shoofly Shiraz that preceded it at the table. It is slimmer in body and texture, less sweet and more nuanced with red as well as black fruits plus floral and mineral tones.

Medium red with amber at the rim. Cherries, red and blue berries, flowers and licorice. Well balanced for easy, but not simple, drinking. Flavors that grow and expand. Although it is higher in alcohol (14.5%) than the Shoofly Shiraz (14.3%) it has less heat on the mid-palate and finish.

50% Syrah, 35% Grenache plus Cinsault and Carignan from high altitude vineyards. This is the last bottle of a half case I bought three years ago ($10 a bottle) from MegaBev in Grand Rapids, and it is by far the best.

 

Shoofly South Australia Shiraz, 2017

South Australia is a large, diverse wine growing area, and this wine apparently is made from warm as well as cool climate vineyards. Winemaker is Ben Riggs.

Deep and dark. Aroma has developed noticeably since the last bottle. Very forward black fruits, coffee and sweet oak. Jammy fruit from warmer areas plus some spice and black pepper from cooler ones. Tannins on mid-palate and some alcoholic heat on the finish. If you have any of this left in your cellar, I would recommend drinking it now.