2009 Domaine La Suffrene BANDOL Blanc (Provence, France)

A very distinctive white that, while not possessing great depth or complexity, is a real kick to drink because of its unique flavors. Try brown-bagging this on your friends. No one will come even close to guessing what it is. As for the components, it's a blend of Clairette and Ugni Blanc grapes.

Very pale, bright gold. Loads of grassy, fresh herbs and bitter pear skins on the nose. Up-front fruit smacks the palate with very direct, low-toned bitter pear fruit and a huge herbal streak. Clingy, herbal finish, with medium body and decent acidity. Drink over the next few months. B. Was $25 at Spec's on Weslayan/Bissonnet.

2006 Domaine Sorin BANDOL (Provence, France)

A very solid, classic Mourvedre from this appellation.

Very blackish ruby. Classic Bandol nose of smoky blackberry under a veneer of tree bark, with a touch of sweet cream. Tannic and ripe, with inky, palate-clinging flavors of dry blackberry extract, iodine, and gravel. Long, tannic finish. Needs another 2-4 years to soften and develop. 88+. Was about $26 at Spec's on Richmond. Imported by Bandol Wines LLC, of Houston.

2004 Domaine de la Garenne BANDOL (Provence, France)

A very good but not great Bandol (an appellation that is a personal favorite of mine). Worth the price ($26)? I'm on the fence.

Dark ruby garnet. Color looks kind of advanced for its type (Bandol can be a notoriously slow ager), but everything else says cellar a few more years. Classic Mourvedre nose of sweet, fragrant tree bark with lots of black raspberry fruit underneath. Ripe and round in the mouth, with lots of soft tannin still to shed. There's a lot of ripe blackberry and iodine-y/earthy flavors, with a long though not especially elegant finish. Note: This wine needed to be decanted several hours before it really showed its stuff. 88. Got it at Spec's on Smith. Imported by Bandol Wines LLC, of Houston -- I haven't heard of this company before but (a) I've recently purchased several of their wines here and am looking forward to trying them, and (b) I'm glad to see a new importer that appears to be focusing on this unique but underpublicized region.

Wines from a steak dinner in Massachusetts

I recently returned from a trip back to New England to visit family and friends. The first night there, we had a steak cook-out and some excellent (and one very old) wines.

2005 Rijckaert POUILLY-FUISSE (White Burgundy, France) -- a fragrant, lively, chalky/minerally Chardonnay with peach pit fruit. Very nice balance and great length.

2007 Terra Vignata VERDICCHIO DI MATELICA (Marche, Italy) -- inexpensive, yet one of the best Verdicchios I ever had: crisp, zesty, with very persistent and focused minerally, lemon-lime flavors. Very refreshing!

1978 Chateau de Beaucastel CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE (Rhone Valley, France) -- Yes, that's right, 1978. My brother Angy and I bought this for my Dad for Christmas (in 1981?). I remember we shelled out $12.99 for it, which I thought was expensive at the time. It has held up remarkably well (my Dad has a very cool wine cellar). Intensely earthy but still with a core of vinous fruit. Not as mouthfilling as many young Beaucastels I've had, but holding its own. Like an old professor emeritus who still knows his sh*t even if the tweed jacket is frayed.

2000 Domain Tempier BANDOL "Cuvee Speciale La Migoua" (Provence, France) -- Still youthful, this wine was lean but concentrated, with typically Bandol-ish tree barky earthiness and a core of deep-toned berry fruit underneath. Classic Mourvedre with great length.

1999 Domaine Tempier BANDOL (regular bottling) (Provence, France)

This was one of the best of the basic, non-reserve wines I've had from this excellent estate (which I used to sell when I lived in NYC and worked for Mosswood Wines). A classic Mourvedre based wine (with some Grenache thrown in), this wine had a deep black-ruby color with only the barest hint of age at the rim. Nose of earthy red fruits, classic Mourvedre "tree bark", and sweet cream. Big, athletic flavors of earthy raspberry liqueur and gravelly-minerals. Fine-grained tannins still remain, as does the vibrant fruit, both of which augur for nice ageing for a few more years. Very nicely balanced, medium/full-bodied. Would go well with stews and meat-based pasta sauces. We had it with risotto with red wine, prosciutto, and radicchio. 88. Got this from a very neat mail-order wine shop in Chicago, Flickinger wines, http://www.flickingerwines.com/, for about $20 a year ago.

Wines from Emma's Birthday Dinner

I'm not going to score these, and my comments are from memory, as we polished off these wines during my daughter Emma's birthday dinner without my having a chance to sit down and take notes. She requested "expensive pasta," which is our name for a pasta dish that calls for copious amounts of diced soppressata and diced prosciutto, along with lots of diced fresh mozzarella. Throw in tomatoes, lots of chopped fresh herbs, and use top quality pasta, and it takes the dish out of the thrifty realm of pasta with garlic and oil. Hence, the name. She also invited our friend (and my co-worker) Brian over, so it wasn't just Liz and me who finished off the wines.

2003 Ridge "Three Valleys" Sonoma County red -- Mostly Zinfandel, this blend was lighter than I expected from Ridge, although it had the aromatic complexity I expect from Ridge Zins. Beautiful ripe black fruits and smoky gravelly scents on the nose, primarily. Medium bodied, with nice but lightish flavors and average length. Would have been nice for under $10, but it was $18.99 on sale at Whole Foods, and therefore a bit pricey for this level of quality.

1999 Domaine Le Galantin Bandol -- I previously reviewed my last bottle of the 1998 of this wine here, and this was my last bottle of the '99. Similar aromatic and flavor profile to the '98, although a bit lighter and less complex. Still, it was a great buy (I bought about 6 bottles at around $12/per in 2001 I think). The '98 started out tighter, earthier, and more austere, but got deeper, softer and better over time. The '99 started out fruiter, softer, and more accessible, and it held up beautifully. But it didn't really improve at all over time, it just changed a bit.

A Sunday of Good and Great Wines

Had a superb bunch of wines Sunday. Started off at our friends the Murphys' new house, where they uncorked a . . .

1990 Dom Perignon -- a perfectly preserved, gorgeous, deeply flavored champagne. Nose of freshly baked Parisian baguettes. Tremendous depth a flavor and great balance, with a long finish. Haven't had a champagne this good since the mid 1980s!

Thence on to our house for fresh mozzarella/backyard basil/heirloom tomato salad, citrus-marinated skirt steaks, and Liz's not-so-Waspy potato salad, accompanied by . . .

2003 Domaine La Hitaire "Hors Saison" Côtes de Gascogne blanc -- A Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend from southwest France near Bordeaux. Deep gold color. Fresh, grassy, grapy, nose, and good balance. Very pleasant.

1998 Domaine Le Galantin Bandol -- Deep ruby, showing some brick at the rim. Unbelievable fragrance of incense, earth, spicy raspberries and plums, roasted meat and dried herbs. Great depth, length and balance. Bought 6 of these in 2000; this was my last one and was showing better than ever. Sad to see it go.

2002 Turkey Flat Vineyards "The Turk" (Barossa Valley, Australia) -- A very good wine (blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet & Mourvèdre), but I thought it paled by comparison with the preceding Bandol. Nice earthy, jammy nose, but with some lemony acidity showing up. Good fruit in the mouth, but clearly acidified a bit, which somewhat shortened the finish.

2000 Alvear Pedro Ximénez -- A superb and unbelievably rich dessert wine from the Andalusia region of Spain. Intense and warmly alcoholic nose of maple syrup, raisins, and honey. Rich and viscous in the mouth, but with excellent balance and great length. Sweet but not cloying at all. (Still a few half bottles of this left at Copperfield's on Westpark!)

I'm not going to grade these, since, as you can tell from the fact that this roster was consumed by only 4 people, my critical faculties were taking the day off.