Sonoma Cutrer Les Pierres Single Barrel Private Select Chardonnay, 2017

Sonoma Cutrer is one of the top producers of California Chardonnary; Les Pierres Vineyard (named for the large stones that cover the soil) is arguably the estate's  best offering; and this bottle was created from a single barrel chosen by the winemaker as the best representative of 2017 Les Pierres. I expected a lot from this wine, and I got it.

Bright, medium straw. Wow! Lemon creme, lime, honey dew melon, minerals. Tightly packed and focused fruit and mineral flavors. Savory rather than sweet. Citrus-laced acidity that the estate claims as a hallmark of its Chardonnay wines. In a blind tasting, I probably would have pegged this as coming from the Willamette Valley of Oregon--high praise from me.

Somehow I managed to secure this wine from WineBid last December for $15. I presume that most bidders worried that a 2017 California Chardonnay might be past its prime. My view: it has probably reached prime drinking but is holding well. Wish I had more.
 

Pertinace Barbera d'Alba, 2019

There are a lot of similarities between California Pinot Noir and Barbera d'Alba wines from Italy. This Barbera, tasted alongside the Hahn SLH Pinot Noir illustrated some of those similarities.

Dark ruby, more saturated color than the Pinot. Intense fruit flavors--blackberry, dark cherry, spice. Fuller bodied than the Pinot but has even greater acidity. Ripe, fresh and exciting with a medium long finish. Perfect with appetizers but has more tannin than the Pinot and overwhelms the subtle flavors of tilapia almondine.
 

Hahn Santa Lucia Highlands Monterey Pinot Noir, 2015

I ordinarily avoid Pinot Noirs from Monterey County, CA because so many of them have high levels of pyrazine, a green herbal element that some like but that I find highly offensive. This Pinot, though, is from the higher altitude Santa Lucia Highlands, and I find not a trace of pyrazine.

Medium light shading to amber at the rim. Looks and tastes fully mature. Ripe fruit, flowers and spice. Black raspberries, anise and subtle oak. Has enough acidity to keep the flavors fresh but probably less than I would expect from an Oregon Pinot Noir. I will keep SLH Pinots on my radar.
 

Vignerons du Mont Ventoux Cuvee des 3 Messes Basses, 2019

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, I bought nnd enjoyed four or five cases of Southern Rhone wines every year. But imes and wine-making practices have changed. Today, this is one of only two wines from that area that offer me the same fruity intensity anx excitment at an every day price. (The other is the Ventoux from Famille Perrin that is available exclusively from Plum Market in Ann Arbor)..

Deep and dark red. Black and red raspberries, minerals, spice and black pepper. 60% Grenache, 20% Carignan, 20% Syrah. Carignan seems to add some color, spice and tannic structure but does not detract from the traditional flavors. Lots of black pepper on the mid-palate and finish. Plenty of acidity to keep it fresh and exciting. 
 

Domaine Arnaud Lambert Clos de Midi Breze Saumur Blanc, 2018

I was impressed with this Saumur Chenin Blanc when I had it a wine tasting five years ago. I bought three bottles but felt sure that they would be even better with a few years in the cellar.. Tonight I was rewarded for my patience. It is a different wine from the one I had at the tasting but oh so much better.

Deep gold color. Lovely scents and flavors of fresh pears, flowers, spices and lemon peel. After an hour or so the pears take a back seat to ripe apricots, honey and damp hay. Full body (13.5% alcohol) and round texture but with Loire Valley acidity to keep it fresh and lively. Flavors evolve and expand. Very dry. Not a wine for drinking on the deck unless you are in a contemplative mood. We enjoyed it with Margharita pizza but it is a serious wine that will dress up any meal. 

Domaine Notre Dame des Pallieres Sablet L'Olivet, 2019

This Cotes du Rhone Villages is 60% Grenache, but the Syrah (40%) is showing most priominently right now.

Bright, medium deep ruby. Swirling reveals some lovely rose petal scents. Black as well as red berries, currants, cassis and black pepper. Suave and sophisticated. Drinking beautifully right now. 
 

Elyse Le Corbeau Hudson Vineyard Los Carneros Grenache Blend, 2005

I usually don't find much to like in California imitations of Chateauneuf du Pape. This wine is a major exception. It is 90% Grenache and  10% Syrah from the esteemed Hudson Vineyard. The label describes it as "echoing the great wines of Chateauneuf du Pape," and I tend to agree.

Light, brickish red whern poured as a taste. Grenache tends to develop oxidative notes, and this can be positive as well as negative if you like Southern Rhone reds. Darker crimson when poured as a glass. Also some oxidative notes on the nose, but these add to the depth and complexity of the wine. Dark cherries, black licorice and peppercorn. Savory rather than sweet. Sea salt and compact fruit cake flavors. At 19 years, this wine is well aged, but it holds up well over three days without any hint of decline.
 

Carpe Diem Anderson Valley Chardonnay, 2019

Made from grapes grown in the cool Anderson Valley of northern California, this wine has some of the qualities that I like in Oregon Chardonnays. I doubt, though, that the grapes are Dijon clone for it lacks some of the subtleties of aroma and flavor that characterize Dijon clone Chardonnays that I have had.

Medium deep yellow. Freshly squeezed lemon acidity. Lemons, butter, vanilla, honeydew melon. Medium bodied with some rich fruit on the mid-palate. Drinking beautifully now with plentiful acidity and tannin, but I am not sure I would like it at age 10.
 

Thomas Goss McLaren Vale Shiraz, 2016

This McLaren Vale Shiraz is coming along nicely at eight years of age, but it still may have a year or two of positive development ahead of it.

Deep and dark but not opaque. Red fruits emerging to go along with Shiraz black fruits and spice. Shows more acidity than it did a few years ago, but the tannins and alcohol (14.5%) still define this wine. Definitely an old style Australian Shiraz and a good buy at $15 or under.

Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir Reserve, 2012

Many Michigan wineries are obsessed with creating "big" red wines, similar to those in California, even though the climate in the state is more conducive to producing smaller red wines, similar to those of Germany and Austria. My favorite Michigan red is this Gamay Noir from Chateau Grand Traverse. To me, it is more like a Pinot Noir than the estate's own Pinot Noir.

Medium deep color, has not lightened as much you might expect 12 years after the vintage. Enticing scents of flowers and dark cherries. Same on the palate. If anything, this wine serems to be putting on, rather than losing, weight with advancing age. Big fruit on the finish, but it is clearly time to drink up for this 2012
 

Tour Saint Bonnet Cru Bourgeois Medoc, 1995

This is not a big-name Bordeaux, and it is 29 years past its vintage date. The price tag from the 1990s reads $14.95, but this wine still sells today for about that price. Yet tonight it is drinking as a beautiful example of mature Bordeaux.

Medium deep red, minimal bricking. Lovely bouquet of fresh berries and flowers. Cabernet (45%) /Merlot (45%) fruit in its prime. (Also has some Malbec and Petit Verdot in the blend.) Cherries, currants, cassis and a hint of black tea on the mid-palate. Tannins have faded away and there are no hard edges. Suave dinner wine. I think it has improved since my last bottle a year ago. It certainly has not declined.
 

Domaine Sainte-Anne Saint Gervais, 2005

This 2005 Saint Gervais is holding well for a Cotes du Rhone Villages. Now known as Les Rouvieres, this cuvee is 60 to 70% Mourvedre planted in the early to mid-1960s plus Syrah and Grenache. Current vintages sell for $25 to $30 a bottle. It has always been one of my favorite Southern Rhones.

Medium cherry red shading to garnet. Blue and black berry fruit with Mourvedre violets and touch of black pepper..Supple fruit on the mid-palate and finish well supported by acid. Drinks like a much younger wine.
 

Mount Langi Ghiran Heathcote Shiraz, 2019

This wine is not Langi Shiraz, the flagship wine of Mount Langi Ghiran that sells for $200 a bottle at the estate. Langi Shiraz comes from vineyards nurtured by the late, great Australian winemaker Trevor Mast, who owned this estate from the mid 1980s until 2002, establishing its sterling reputation. This Heathcote Shiraz, that I bought for $13 a bottle at LastBottleWines.com, is from purchased grapes, and, as a result, does not command the price of other wines from Mount Langi Ghiran. From personal experience, though, I know that Trevor Mast had great respect for Heathcote Shiraz. This 2019 bottling has had mixed reviews online, but my initial impression is positive.

Medium deep color. Does not appear to have had extensive oak treatment. Lovely lifted aromas, then flavors that are dry on entry and get increasingly ripe as they travel down the tongue. Blackberries, dark cherries, cassis. Lacks the strong black peppercorn smells that I remember from Langi Shiraz from the late 1980s and early 1990s, but there are some dark notes more like licorice or almond paste. Delightful to drink right now, but I suspect it will get more complex with a few years in the bottle.