In addition to the new releases from Artesa I tried last week, here are some wines enjoyed this past week with a few tasting notes recorded in my CellarTracker profile.  Buddie me up!  My handle is “ethralls”:

2008 Pine Ridge Pinot Noir Forefront - Nose is muted tonite and showing some heat from the 14.1 % alc. Some notes of cherry and strawberry but yearning for more.  Taste includes cherries and raspberries and light mouthfeel. Finish is nominal, but a decent weekday quaffer at $17.98.

2007 Toscolo Vernaccia di San Gimignano – Light golden color with pears and honey on the nose. Very bright. Taste of green apples, lemon, citrus and medium/high level of acid. Finish is moderate and counts as a new variety toward my century club.  Note that this was the first DOC in Italy back in 1966 which then became a DOCG in 1993.

2004 Michel-Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon Deux Terres – Forgot to jot down my notes as this wine was pulled from the cellar to wrap up a fun night pairing food with wines from the Loire earlier.  I do recall it was tasty.

2005 Huët Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg- This wine is 100% Chenin Blanc and had a golden straw color with pear, floral, perfume and honey nose.  The palate reveals citrus, honey, and significant level of acid.  Demi-sec means there is about 3.3-5% residual sugar so the sweetness is easily detectable, but was not overly sweet in my opinion in this particular wine.  This wine totally rocks and was the wine of the week, but it’s gonna cost you $50.

2006 Château d’Aqueria Tavel Rosé – Bright light red to peach hue. Nose of yeast and strawberries. Some blackberry on the palate crisp but not overly acidic. Short finish.

2007 Le Chene Marchand Sancerre- This racy and pungent Sauvignon Blanc had the color of light straw and I detected yeast and honey on the nose.  The taste brought on lemon, pineapple and medium to high level of acid.  The finish was medium to long.

2005 Chauveau Chinon- Wines from this area of the Loire are made mainly from Cabernet Franc.  This wine was very purple and inky in color.  The nose brought on herbs, black cherry, charcoal, green pepper and some slight horseyness (barnyard).  The taste was of mostly black fruit and was very jammy/chewy with high levels of tannin.

What did you have this week?

Cheers!