2007 Castano Monastrell

From Spain. Damn fine at this price and a real bargain. Smells captivating, something like stewed fruits and charcoal. This tastes like a $20+ bottle. Full, spicy, juicy, and sexy, this has dark, ripe plums and a tremendously long finish. Perfect party wine. Excellent balance. Pair with hearty foods. Retail $8, grade: A

2005 Anton Bauer Wagram Pinot Noir

From Austria. The aromas have no fruit, but show a dirty, stinky side. This is the opposite of a California pinot. It is lightly colored, astringent, with a mineral drive. Due to the acids, it could almost work in place of a crisp white wine. Still, interesting pinot, especially at this price. Retail $18, grade: B+

2006 Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon

Thick, syrupy and jammy, this has some decent cab flavor but is mostly an overripe, unbalanced mess of a wine. OK to quaff, not to contemplate. However, this is very inexpensive for cabernet sauvignon, which makes it a reasonable choice at this price. Retail $13, grade: B.

2005 Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vielle Vigne

This is a villages wine, the second lowest (behind the most generic bourgogne) classification. It transcends. It is a wine of class, breed, and subtlety. Compelling anise, cardamon, and forest pine aromas. Then silky smooth and somewhat shy on entry. Very long finish with a nice copper minerality. Fourrier is an excellent, still under the radar red burgundy producer. I especially recommend any of his Gevrey Chambertin bottles. Retail $60, grade: A.

2005 Martinelli Pinot Noir Three Sisters Vineyard

Open, lively, full and dark. This is a burst of fresh fruit surrounded by mushrooms and pine trees. It has a strong, sweet attack, full body and a long, persistent finish. I like this more than the list Martinelli pinot I drank. Certainly a high quality pinot with guts and poise, but not a great value. Retail $70, Grade: B+.

2003 Musella Amarone

Wow. A burst of syrupy fun. Deep, dark, thick and jammy, this is a delightfully rich wine. Like a thumping bass, it has an incredibly long resonance. Good raw, true raspberry. Jill says a big pow POW of bursting fruit, with interesting pine needles. Smells like a lot of alcohol. This is all power, and although a very good value, loses something on score, because it doesn't continually change. Retail $40, Grade: A-

2005 Penny's Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz

Teeth-stainingly purple, this is a big, but well balanced, hearty, complex shiraz. Full bodied and chewy, with ripe jammy blackberry and plums, crushed black pepper, and an outstanding, long finish. Delicious. Plus a good value- certainly worth a try in this price range. Retail $30, grade: A-.

2004 Kistler Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard

An absolutely stunning wine. Lemon syrup, toast, very full mouth. Excessive finish. Awesome balance. Stones, amazing bright light. A world-class chardonnay and a work of art. For a special occasion. I can taste the sunshine and salty ocean air. Lisa says at least A++. Dan says this is a wine that can make people come up with phrases like lemon syrup. Retail $100 grade A.

2006 Silverado Vineyards Chardonnay

Pale golden. Musty aromas. Simple pure flavors, running from lemon to a steely floral flavor. Clinging finish. Made in a ripe Californian style. Not much oak though. Good value. Retail $17, grade: B+

2006 Turley Zinfandel Dragon Vineyard

Deep dark and compelling, this is a knock out zinfandel. Delicious chocolate covered cherries, full vibrant mouth feel and a very long finish. Even though this is huge, there's character and charm. Its 16% alcohol is buried under a wall of freshness. This is a big success for Turley. Retail $70, grade: A.

A list tasting at Bobo

Here's a short recap of a perfect tasting with some good friends.

1995 bollinger rd. maderized ;(

1996 Salon. Incredible aromatics of brioche and lemon rind. Really spreads across the palate like a twinkling sky. Bright so strong. Impeccable balance. Finish lasts minutes. Truley says crisp apricot puree. Adley says kumquat. Brian says sering acidity. JulieAnne says ahead of its time. A

1998 laville haut-brion blanc. Maderized. Again. Shoot.

1992. Savennieres roche aux moines. Domaine aux moines. Lush long smooth complex. And very well put together. Lovely. Briny seafood with the oysters and salmon. Killer at this price. Retail 40 grade A.

1993 leroy corton renardes. Very fruity nose. Wild strawberries spicy raspberries and white pepper. Huge and really long and sweet. Drinking more like a California wine (a Rochioli Little Hill comes to mind). Dark. Brian says nose is is brambly. Alcohol may come out more with age. Seth says nutmeg and allspice. A.

1988 rousseau ruchottes. Brian says smells like poop of a 4 year old. But it smells so piny dirty and complex. Stinky burgundy. Indescribable complexity. After 20 minutes in the glass I get it and think: load up the cellar with rousseau ruchottes. A.

1990 tertre roteboeuf. Roast beef Adley says. Totally! Very alcoholic. Fleshy and somewhat disjointed. Good not great. Most dumped theirs. At this price a disappointment. Not at all a Parker 98 pointer tonight. B

1986 mouton. Sexy almost vulgor. Just perfect bordeaux. Seth says firework show. Good wine should have a long finish and this is as long as anything I've tried. Amazingly clean and pure says Truly. So young and so much fruit for a 22 year old wine. Seth says f'ing awesome and this wine does not suck. Truley says best tasting wine yet, our of our incredible series of tastings. A+

1994 pesquera janus. Medicinal monsterous nose. Medicine blows off. Fiery and spicy. So powerful. Dark like a moonless night. Like a cannon ball. Brian says revisit in 10 years. A party. A.

1970 unico. Muted nose. Outrageous like an .m80 explodes on the palate with a wash of flavor. Rhubarb and blackberry pie. Multi minute finish. Everything is working and rocking. Yum. A+

1995 quinterelli amarone reserva. Pina colata. This is a whole world. Its one thing. Not quite a desert wine. Bizarre.. Bizarre. Marzipan. Just freggin strange. Very exotic. I don't know how to rate this beast.

2006 Paumanok Chenin Blanc

A nice quaffing wine, but not a good value. Its complex and tropical, with musty, peachy, very sweet (is there residual sugar?) flavors that do not hold together. Its clumsy. However, it sails into a nice, long finish. From the north fork of Long Island. Retail $27, grade: B-

2005 Nicolas Potel Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets

Lovely ruby. Great aromas like an enchanted forest. Jill says the smell filled the entire kitchen and correctly guessed it as an 05 burgundy. Somewhat hard palate, but with huge potential. This is just too young. I wonder if the '05s are starting their slumber? It is dense, and really spreads out across the palate, but the fruit seems to be hiding. There's an excellent gray salt mushroom persistence, and great balance. Worth putting some away, but do not touch until 2013. Retail $80. Grade A-

2004 Martinelli Seven Mules Vineyard Pinot Noir

Almost a desert pinot, this is lush and very sweet. Bordering on too much. Its got candied cherries, wet dirt, and some brooding forest flavors. The alcohol sticks out like I sat on a thumb tack and the wine lacks balance. While I respect Martinelli and have been on their mailing list a while, I'd pass on this one.

Retail $50, Grade: B-

2005 Nine Stones Barossa Shiraz

Nice value in an inexpensive Australian Shiraz. Not a typical, syrupy, over alcoholic wine, like many from this part of the world. This one is pretty and feminine, but with power. It's got some dirt and gunpowder, some jucy, plummy fruits, and an excellent finish. Nice balance too. While it doesn't change with every sip, it is a value at this price. Retail $11, grade: A-.

2004 Shinn Vineyards Cabernet Franc

This is a lightly colored, elegant wine. Attractive aromas of spring berries and dirt. A nice subtle wine, that reminds me of both mushrooms and sour cherries. I'd be excited about this at under $20. At this price, not so much. While it has a lot going, it lacks the depth and long finish of many of its peers. Retail $37, grade: B.

2004 Tolosa Chardonnay Edna Ranch

Almost no smell. Sue says it tastes like a mouth full of sugar water. The other three dump out their glass and are on to the next wine as I write this. Interesting sleek mouth feel, but not much else. Muted, neutral flavors lead to a steely, syrupy finish. I taste no oak, which is refreshing in a California chardonnay. However, there's not enough here to get me excited. Retail $18, grade: B-.

2004 Argyle Merlot Reserve

Not a big fan of this. It is light, thin and acidic. Not enough spine for its sour character. I have a lot of respect for Argyle Vineyard, they may excellent pinot noir, and even better sparkling wine. But this is a miss, especially at this price. Jill says it tastes like cough medicine. Not quite spit it out horrible. Retail $30, grade: D.

1999 Roty Charmes Chambertin

Holy crap! Incredible aromas of morels, fresh truffle, tomato, cherries, earth, and amazing complexity. This is how red burgundy should smell. Just stunning all around, dusty, musty, dirty, fragrant, mint, full bouquet of fruit and an extremely long finish. An absolute joy. Too young, but I love it. Very old vines, supposedly from 1885. Thanks Brian!! Retail $475, grade: A+

2002 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1

Tastes much more like a Bordeaux than an Aussie wine. Lightly colored. Not what I was expecting. Classic cigar box, eucalyptus, scorched earth, tar, and tart plums form an interesting flavor profile. Certainly not a fruit forward wine. Clinging finish. Even though I like it, for this price, I'd suggest several Bordeaux wines instead. Retail $60, grade: B.