Over the course of a week, I taste a bunch of wine, usually with friends, and almost always with my wife. Here are some of the wines we tasted over the past few weeks. These are wines that were not sent as samples—in most cases, I actually paid for these wines (although a few may have been given as gifts).
2015 Acorn Sangiovese Alegría Vineyards, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $45. Responsible Bottle (537g; 18.9oz). After an ACORN Dolcetto was corked, I pulled another decade-old bottle from the now-defunct winery (I know Betsy and Bill sold it, but I am not sure if it will continue as ACORN, nor if they will continue to use all-caps in the name). I am fairly certain that there are other grape varieties in here (since the blend seemed to be Bill’s “thing” but I could not find the breakdown online). The back label states that this comes from “23 different clones of Sangiovese in a field blend with Canaiolo and Mammolo, two other Tuscan grapes.” So there you go. Medium to dark in color with still plenty of fruit on the nose–mostly blackberry and plum, but there was also a stewed aspect and some secondary leather and meaty notes. My wheelhouse. The palate is fantastic as there is fruit, but it is somewhat subdued as it is joined by those secondary and tertiary flavors. Wonderful. The tannins are soft and mostly integrated, which leads to an unabated and lengthy finish. As with most of the ACORN wines, I feel this Sangio needed a bit more time. Did I wait too long? Perhaps, but I am loving where this wine is right now. Outstanding. 93 Points.
NV L. Aubry Fils Champagne Premier Cru Brut, Champagne, France: Retail $60. Extremely Heavy Bottle (851g; 30.0oz). Paid $36 at Central Market. 31% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir, 31% Pinot Meunier, 7% Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau. 70% 2021, 30% reserve wine back to 1998. Disgorged December, 2025. This is a new “batch” of this wine, which I picked up at H-E-B for $43. Another fantastic bottle from this solid grower. I should have bought more. Excellent. 92 Points.
2017 Jean-Ernest Descombes Beaujolais Morgon Côte du Py, Beaujolais, France: Retail $30. Responsible Bottle (580g; 20.4oz). 100% Gamay. I visited the winery a while ago, and learned about the relationship with Georges Dubœuf, which is a partner with Descombes; Dubœuf has partnered with dozens of wineries in Beaujolais, elevating the wineries and the region at the same time. While this bottle might be on the downward slope, there is still plenty here. Sure, the fruit has faded and the focus is more on secondary and tertiary aromas (leather, dried blueberry, cardamom) and flavors (dried cranberry, dried herbs), but there is still driving acidity that really shapes and guides this wine. No, it is not perhaps what it used to be, but it is still quite the star, albeit fading. Excellent. 91 Points.
2023 Failla Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $35. Under agglomerated cork. We were out in Healdsburg for a spell and I went to the local liquor store (right across the street from Big John’s, IYKYK) to stock up on a few wines, including this Failla, one of our favorites from way back (BTB: before the blog). A bit reductive on the nose with some burnt matchstick and a medicinal aspect that really is not all that great. I looked for a hint of fruit, a floral note, even some oak, but it was all overpowered on the nose. Eventually, some honeysuckle and some candied fruit comes through in the end. The palate has some weight to it, but not overbearing with some rather intense candied Meyer lemon, very nice tartness, a creamy aspect that really works, and enough complexity to make me happy about the purchase. Excellent. 91 Points.
2003 Domaine Rolet Vin de Paille, Arbois, France: From 375ml. Retail $130(?). Extremely Heavy Bottle (473g; 16.7oz). Chardonnay, Savagnin, and Poulsard. Monsieur Rolet is sadly no longer with us, but his glorious creations remain, at least until we pop them, as we did tonight for a group of wine-loving friends. Dark, even really dark, a profound amber in the glass with an oxidized, port-like nose that still harbors some red-berry fruit if one makes the effort to look. The palate is rich and certainly oxidized in that port, passito style with an intense and lingering nuttiness (walnut), a subtle red fruit note, a hint of smokiness, a decided cola/mocha note, and layer upon layer of verve. And the finish? Whoa. Simply the longest finish I have experienced this year. Holy cow. We do not drink a ton of sweet wines these days, but we have amassed a few that we have really liked over the years and when we finally decided to pop one? We are usually rewarded with a gem like this. Outstanding. 95 Points.
2020 Tongue Dancer Chardonnay Pratt Vine Hill, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $65. Under cork. This is now the second time I have tried this wine, the first being upon release back in 2023, and I loved it then (97 Points). Now, I am once again out in Healdsburg, this time for a couple of celebrations and I found this wine in a case in our car after a party held more or less for me (it was my wife’s idea). Brilliant yellow, close to golden in the glass with plenty of tree fruit and honeysuckle on the nose, with a lovely white flower aspect than certainly evokes a Côte de Beaune kind of vibe. Gorgeous. Initially a bit too cold on the palate, but as it warmed both in the glass and en bouche this really started to shine. Whoa. And Holy cow. Viscous without being fat, tart without being aggressive, and rich without being over-the-top, this underscores what I have felt about James MacPhail for some time now–he is one of the top Chardonnay producers in California. I know I try to shy away from hyperbole and yes, I would consider James and Kerry friends, but holy mother of god, this is delicious. Outstanding. 96 Points.
WINE OF THE WEEK: OK, the best wine of the week was the 2020 Tongue Dancer Pratt-Vine Hill, but they already get plenty of love from me, so I thought I would change it up a bit. Unfortunately, the maker of this week’s Wine of the Week, the 2003 Domaine Rolet Vin de Paille, Monsieur Rolet (that is all I ever called him), died a few years ago, so he will not be reveling in this incredible honor (or maybe he will be, depending on your spiritual view). as I have said countless times, we used to drink a ton of sweet/dessert wine, but if I could drink this every night? Yeah, I probably would.
What was your Wine of the Week?
