Chapelle St. Amoux, Vacqueyras, 2005

Little Southern Rhone wine.  Given it's $12.99 price tag, I would say it is a pleasant everyday wine.  Quite drinkable, nice structure, not too fruity.  It does however lucks any distinction.  It pretty much could come from anywhere in Southern France if not from Bordeaux.  Enough said...

Chateau Cissac, Haut Medoc 2004

Very respectable cru bourgeois from a bad vintage.  It would be interesting to taste a different year.  The wine definitely suffers from a bad year yet it still delivers.  Nose is pretty much absent that is, most probably, yet again because of the quality of the fruit.  The wine is pretty lean: blackberry and leather o na a palate.  I found it in Arlington's Whole Foods on Sale for about $20.  It is worth the money.

La Rosine, Syrah 2003

I love this one.  It comes from Ogier family, a famous Northern Rhone producer.  This is as good as a simple table wine level Syrah gets. It comes from a village of d'Ampuis located towards the south end of the Northern Rhone region.   The wine is very well balanced and a notes of black currant on the palate.  While tasting in after being open for 24 hours I also picked some toffee flavors.  This is a steal at $19.99 (McArthur Liquors, Washington DC)

Casa D'Ambra, Ischia 2008

Here is a lovely wine coming from a tiny island off the cost of Napoli. www.dambravini.com wonderful lemon and quince, really great. value for $12.99.  It is mice as both an aperitif as well as a food wine, ecpecially for spicier food.  I found it at Stew's in Long Islanf

Chateau Le Pey, Medoc, 2004

Cru Bourgeois of a pretty bad 2004 vintage.  I did like the wine.  It has almost no nose, well, some tobacco yet the wine have a very nice structure.  It is pretty lean with leather and,yet again, tobacco notes on a palate.  I noticed very little fruit yet again, this is not surprising give how bad that vintage generally is.  I would be interested to try a different vintage.  The wine is a definite buy with its $14.99 price tag.  It was found at Stew's Farmingdale Long Island

Raphael, Savignion Blanc, Grand Cru, North Fork of Long Island, NY 2007

About 2 months ago I left Washington DC for a new job in Long Island NY.  To my pleasant surprise I found out that Long Island not only has a lot of great restaurants and wine shops but it also home for a number of wineries producing descent wines.  In my opinion, local whites are more interesting.  I especially like Savignion Blanc and Riesling.

Raphael's Sauvignion Blanc is made in a Loire Valley style. This particular wine is crisp, mineral and has a whiff of petrol that reminds me Pouilly Fume.  I found it very enjoyable.  I have to, however, note that it is fruitier than its French analogs

Last weekend I went to the North Fork to visit the wineries.  Although the area itself is very pleasant, I can't say that I enjoy an experience at the wineries..  All wineries are charging tasting way more than they should given a value of those wines and level of competency exhibuted by their staff.  All in all wine tasting in France and Italy is still much more fun.

Helfrich, Alsace Grand Cru, 2005

AN Alsacian Grand Cru made by someone named Steinklotz.  Not bad for $ 17.99 wine yet not that interesting.  Pretty fruity; minerality is sort of  there yet it doesn't rise to a level of truly interesting Riesling.  All in all, completely forgetable.  $17.99 at Stew's, Long Island