• Basic info: Louis Latour Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Cote D’Or, France – 2015
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: unknown
• Look: Garnet colored that is slightly translucent at the edges. Light legs evident in the glass.
• Smell: Raspberry and cola
• Taste: Raspberry, black cherry, tart with a little oak. Nice acidity. Mid palate has a little candy cola flavor (think bottle caps) and some chocolate. Long finish with a black forest cake taste (chocolate and cherry).
• Conclusions:Really good wine. Pleasantly surprised and I would have thought this was a new world pinot since the fruit is so present. It doesn’t have a lot of the earth I usually associate with French reds.
• Other notes: This wine was a gift from a family I worked with this year. I was surprised not only that they gave me wine, but that it hit all the right notes for me.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from the website, “This Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2015 has a bright ruby color. The nose reveals notes of Morello cherry, liquorice and moka. The mouth is round and supple with a delicate woody taste.”

• Basic info: Authentique Wine Cellars “The Corridor” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR – 2015
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $35 (Backcountry Wines)
• Look: Dark garnet in color. Good legs.
• Smell: Subtle alcohol with dark berry aromas.
• Taste: Raspberry, black cherry, caramel and a little milk chocolate. There is a black forest cake note in this wine and the finish is pretty good with the caramel and cherry flavors lingering.
• Conclusions: I liked this wine. It was really nice to drink, but it wasn’t one that blew me away. I’m not sure why, either. Looking at the description it should be something I’m ga-ga over, but it just wasn’t. It was good, very good, but not one I’m probably going to remember six months from now.
• Other notes: We had this when John came to town – I showed him the spreadsheet of wine and said, “pick.” It was nice to share a bottle with him and get another opinion on the wine.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from the winery, “Enigmatic. Pomegranate, bergamot and dusty raspberry.  The palate is bright with yellow raspberry and great tension lingering for a long baking spice finish.  16 months elevage in 40% new French Oak.” (I forgot to write down the abv and can’t find it on the website. Oops.)

• Basic info: Peterson “Old School Zinfandel” Dry Creek Valley, CA – 2013
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $20
• Look: Dark garnet in color. Opaque. Nice legs with a little time in the glass.
• Smell: Cherry, oak, fresh tobacco and strawberry.
• Taste: Tart cherry, dark fruit with a touch of vanilla and oak. Black cherry on the finish maybe a touch of chocolate in there.
• Conclusions: I loved this wine. This is what zinfandel should be for me. Lots of layers of flavor with none of the bitter notes that some reds can get. Deep cherry and a touch of chocolate with a hint of sweetness, but not a sweet wine by any stretch. Yeah … this one goes on the “get again” list.
• Other notes: I was nervous when I saw the bottle because I was a little afraid that the wine would match the art and I’d have an over-heavy punch-you-in-the-face wine. But it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, there is a ton of flavor in this wine, but it held back the punch. Just lots of great drinking here.
• From the bottle: The bottle itself doesn’t have any notes, but from the website, “Blended primarily from vineyards in the Northern Dry Creek Valley, Old School has a style that is full of flavor and character but not over the top. We want a wine that is refreshing and “highly drinkable” and satisfying; the type of Zin you can either open on a weeknight or take to a party without hesitation. As a bonus to an already great wine, each year our designer Chris Blum comes up with a new image and accompanying story to entertain and amuse, starting on the front and finishing on the back label.Robust dark-toned aromatics—briary berry, plum, spices and oak—fill the senses and lead into this easy-sipping wine.” 13.9% alcohol by volume.

Yes, I went heavy on the pour after tasting it. And I don’t regret it in the least.

• Basic info: White Rose Estate, “The Neo-Classical Objective” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR – 2011
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: (I honestly forget)
• Look: Prune colored, medium dark red with a tinge of brown at the edges
• Smell: oak, ash, bramble
• Taste:Raspberry, wine, oak. Medium finish with some dark berry.
• Conclusions: This wine was definitely past it’s prime and it may have been a little spoiled or oxidized. The color gave us some clues that it wasn’t going to be great, but the taste was just off.
• Other notes: When we went to the winery in 2016 we brought home two of these and the first was fantastic. Over the last two years, this one just did not hold up. I think it went “off” just enough to make it not pleasant to drink. It was ok with food, but really, the bottle was not good.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes and I forgot to check the abv numbers so …

• Basic info: 1692 Spier Discover Collection, Pilotage & Shiraz blend, South Africa – 2017
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $8
• Look: Opaque, dark ruby color with good legs that stain the glass a little
• Smell: oak, smoke, hot. Smells like wine.
• Taste: Dark berries and earth. Short finish. Berries are not discernible. Acid level is ok.
• Conclusions: Easy to drink and I don’t feel guilty for opening this one on a just because day. With a higher alcohol content, I can only have one glass, but it is fine for a wine with dinner as food does bring out some of the flavors. It is perfectly acceptable and pretty good for an everyday drinking wine, especially since it was under ten dollars.
• Other notes: I looked at my spreadsheet of wine (don’t judge) and realized that we have a number of bottles that are super good, but a little more expensive than I really want for an everyday wine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to drink them, but I thought sprinkling in a few less expensive wines would be appropriate. We plan to open the better bottles too, but I like having something under $20 so I don’t feel guilty. Pinotage is one of the varietals I really love and the blend with this one is good. It isn’t memorable or a wine I would break out if I was trying to impress someone, but it’s not bad for something a little different. I also don’t want my taste buds to get super use to the really good stuff.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes. 14.5% alcohol by volume.

• Basic info:Bedrock Wine Company, Weill a Way Vineyard, mixed red blend, Sonoma, CA – 2016
• Type: red
• Price estimate: $36 (from winery)
• Look: opaque, dark purple
• Smell: Wine. Not much on the nose on this.
• Taste: Blackberry, black cherry, raspberry with a little licorice and a bit of granite. Long finish with lots of dark fruit and some ripe plum flavors.
• Conclusions: I am so very happy that I have several bottles of this wine. Lots of flavor, super enjoyable and the wine changes a bit over the course of drinking it. It is a fantastic wine and hits all the rights notes for me.
• Other notes: I know I’ve gushed about wines from Bedrock over and over, but really there is a lot to gush about. Bob and I have not had a bad, or even mediocre bottle yet and we are now on shipment two from them. They have a range of prices for wine and I really like that since my wine budget can’t take over thirty dollar bottles every day. With this wine, however, it is worth every penny and it lasts multiple days because at almost 15% alcohol one glass (and a light pour at that) is all I can handle. The first day we had this is was a little tight, but after about 20 minutes in the glass, it opened beautifully. The next day – holy cow it was just about life changing. Super smooth and tons of flavor. I was pretty happy that Bob loved it about as much as I did. This one is one to share and to savor.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but I did find this on the Bedrock site after drinking it and taking all of my notes: “The 2016 Weill a Way Mixed Blacks emerges from younger vines in a relatively cool site for Zinfandel-based wines. There is lovely density to the inky blue/purplish fruit. Soft, plush fruit and silky tannins give the wine its considerable near term appeal and allure. This is one of the more approachable wines in the range. Zinfandel, Grenache, Mataro, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and Tempranillo are all feature in this distinctive, alluring wine from Bedrock. 92 points -Antonio Galloni” 14.8% alcohol by volume.

• Basic info: Hundred Suns “Old Eight Cut” Pinot Noir – Willamette Valley, Oregon – 2015
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $30 (Backcountry Wine)
• Look: Ruby red and slightly translucent at the edges
• Smell: Fresh berries especially strawberry and raspberry
• Taste: (I’m going with Bob’s description here because I had a hard time discerning anything.) Plum, hint of minerality with a lot of fruit. Good finish with a taste reminiscent of a Tootsie Roll.
• Conclusions: Incredibly good wine. Super smooth and fairly light without being thin. This isn’t a big, heavy wine, its subtle and clean. I thought it was very good, Bob was pretty gaga over it.
• Other notes: I think this is one of the first wines where Bob and I have greatly departed on our impression of it. (The Georgian rose was the only other one I can think of.) He really, really loved this wine and I thought it was good. It isn’t one I would seek out and try to order half a case of, but I think if I asked Bob, he would. (I’m not asking because I already have a bunch of wine that I need to work through in the house – there just isn’t a great place to store wine here outside of our two small wine fridges.) Don’t get me wrong, I liked this one a lot, just not as much as Bob did.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from Backcountry Wine notes, “100 Suns is a brand new label from Grant and Renee Coulter. … It drinks plush and flawlessly balanced with chocolate and savory notes that lead to a rich plummy finish complete with powdery tannins.” 14.4% alcohol by volume.

• Basic info: Setteanime Merlot, Marca Trevigiana IGT, Italy – No vintage
• Type:Red
• Price estimate: $21 (local wine store)
• Look: Dark red and opaque
• Smell: Wine. (Honestly, I could not distinguish a specific aroma here)
• Taste: Little effervescence on the first sip. Lots of dark fruit – some grape and plum notes. Light minerality, especially on the finish. Medium finish.
• Conclusions: This is a good drinking wine. It isn’t one that is super memorable, but the wine is smooth, clean and balanced. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to enjoy, which is pretty much a great weeknight wine.
• Other notes: When we talked with the rep for this winery at our local wine store, he mentioned that they don’t do specific vintages because the wine is crafted to drink young – within the year it is released. I’m still not certain why that would negate having a vintage on the bottle, but I’m sure it has to do with flexibility for blending or something like that. We’ve had the sparkling wines from this producer before and I love those.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from the wine store notes, “Ruby red with hints of garnet this wine has a wonderful bouquet of blackberry and black current. It is elegant yet velvety smooth with notes of natural softness. On the palate it has a youthful taste of fruit in bloom.” 12.5% alcohol by volume.

• Basic info: Domaine Calot – Morgan, Gamay – Beaujolais, Burgundy, France, 2016
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $28 (from Somm Select)
• Look: Dark ruby, almost purple in the glass. Opaque with significant legs.
• Smell: Fresh raspberry.
• Taste: Clean. Dark berries with some stone. A little thin texture, but not unpleasant. Bob called black cherry and granite. Medium finish with a nice, fresh berry flavor.
• Conclusions: Very nice wine. Easy to drink and probably the best Beaujolais I’ve had. (Full disclosure, I generally don’t like Beaujolais and often find them too earthy and “forest floor” for my taste.
• Other notes: I got super excited when my “build a case” of wine came in so there might be a few selections from Somm Select in the next few posts until my other wine comes in. Between our local wine store, a few wineries and now a few online places to buy wine, I’ve got a nice range of wines to try. Each place offers something a little different, which I think is just fantastic. Both Bob and I really liked this wine. It had a good flavor and was very soft and pleasant to drink. It didn’t blow us away, but it was better than expected.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from Somm Select, “Deep, nearly opaque ruby with slight hints of pink and purple at the rim. Aromatically, it’s a highly perfumed mix of wild red and black berries, cherry, cranberry, along with woodsy notes of underbrush, rose petals and crushed granite.” 12.5% alcohol by volume.