Current recommended wines: Q3 2007

I'm a slave to you, the reader of this blog. So in response to your demands (that I imagined you might have made) here's the long awaited for matrix of recommendations. Err. a matrix that looks like a list.

Upto $10:

1. Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot 2004 ($8 TJ) - big, smooth, fruity with berry and oak. 60,000 cases? Broadly available. Also recommended but not quite as nice is the 2003 version. (The 2002 is more vegetal and ends with some leathery notes I didn't like. And the 2001 isn't available any more and hasn't aged too well, tasted tired and stewed in many cases.)
2. Razor's Edge Shiraz 2005 ($9 Costco) - let it breathe for 45 minutes, and you get a rich, smooth dark fruit with spices (20,000 cases) Seen 8/2005 at the Mountain View Costco.
   
3. Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz ($10 Wine Club) - smooth plum with a bit of spicyness.
   
4. Cycles Gladiator Cabernet ($9, Wine Club, King City Gas Station) - decent dark fruit with some oak and vanilla. Should be available at BevMo.
5. Perrin and Fils Cote du Rhone Reserve ($6 TJ) - good solid red with dark fruit and dirt with acidity, and minerals. I use this for cooking, too.
   
6. Kali Hart 2005 Monterey Chardonnay ($9, WC) - smoky, big, oaky, ripe, slightly sweet.
7. Columbia Crest 2004 Grand Estates Chardonnay ($7, TJ) - oaky with buttery notes amidst the pear and other fruits. Not for everybody, but it's my guilty pleasure. Don't drink it too cold or the flavors will be muted. The 2005 is not quite as good, with a bitter oak edge, but still quite nice.
   
8. Any inexpensive Perrin & Fils or Vieille La Ferme wine. Trader Joes sells a red, a rose and a white Vieille La Ferme. They are all $under $6 and all from the Cote du Rhone area and are very solid French table wines that should go nicely with food. The Perrin & Fils Reserve Rhone is equally nice.
   
9. Any Sauvignon Blanc for under $10. The NZ ones all taste largely the same to me (yes, I'm admitting this), and they are all pretty good. If you like more grassiness, try the Chilean SB's, say Veramontes or Casa Lapostolle.
10. Santa Ema 2004 Reserve Cabernet or Merlot $9. Big solid wines with obvious oak.
11. Any George Dubeouf 2005 (not 2006) Beaujolais. The year 2005 produced massive wines for this region and while I normally don't like this style of wine, I bought four 2005's from this producer, and they were all superb. It might be hard to find these as of 9/2007, but snap them up if you do find some. They are $9 to $15. Common names are Regnie, Morgon, Chiroubles, and Brouilly. I bought a mixed case and have had 5 bottles so far.
12. Rosemount 2005 Diamond Label at $7-10. I've had the 2005 Shiraz and it was quite nice with some complexity. Many years back this was the best $7 wine you could buy, but as they have increased the production 10-20X, the grapes just aren't the same and it's a bit hit or miss. The 2005 (Shiraz at least) comes in an octagonal bottle, so that should make it easy to spot versus the not so good 2004.
13. Four Emus Australian Shiraz, $6. I think this was the 2005, from the arid and remote W Australia. This was surprisingly good after breathing for 45 min, even better than the Rosemount.
    

From $10 to $18:

In this price range, you start to get a lot of variety for pretty good wines.

1. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah ($15, Costco, and more) - my favorite wine for the summer/fall of 2007. Tremedous fruit, spice and loam flavors in a very well balanced, complex wine. Intense nose. I used to hate Chilean wines, but this wine has completely won me over. Also got 92 from Wine Spectator.
2. Beringer 2005 (or 2004 or 2003) Alluvium ($12 Wine Club)- a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. A refreshing complex white with both acidity and smoky richness. I've been very pleased with this white the last 3 vintages. I just snapped up 4 more bottles when I saw this...and I probably should have grabbed at least 6.
3. Marquis Philips 2005 Shiraz ($12 Costco, San Luis Obispo): a fruity, spicy shiraz with some earthy notes too. It needs an hour to really open up with a rich lush body along with the intense flavors.
4. Rosemount 2001/2/3 GSM $12-18. These have been consistenly good with a nice smoothness.
   
5. Thorn Clarke 2005 Shotfire anything or Barossa Cuvee anything. These wines have all been quite nice with strong fruit, some spice and a decent acidity. I just bought a case of the Shotfire 2006 Ridge Shiraz, blind.
   
6. Tait Ballbuster 2003/4/5/6 - a big fruity, spicy shiraz blend with a thick long finish. Notes of chocolate, oak, vanilla, sweet spice and leather. I just bought 8 bottles of the 2006 blind. Like the name implies, there is no subtlety but the wine is surprisingly balanced and interesting.
7. Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand SB's are consistently very good, priced well, and which one you like is a personal preference. Noted for their bracing tanginess and acidity. I often get citrus or unripe fruit notes. This pretty much gets you the high end stuff, which runs between $12 to $18. I've bought Babich, Drylands, Matua, Kim Crawford, though there are many, many more good ones.
   

Best wines I can remember having recently.

These aren't wines you (or I) can necessarily buy anymore but it's what I thought was really nice.

1. Neyers 2005 Old Lakevile Road Syrah - like many wines, it was the last 1/2 glass that did it for me. Smoky bacon amidst swirling purple fruit in a rich luxurious body.
   
2. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah - the first authentially Chilean wine that I've liked. I was NOT a fan of chile and this wine may have single handedly turned the tides. Though I've discovered many other wines not from Chile also have the loamy funk I associate w/ Chile. A complex, fruity, spicy wine. At $16, just buy it.
3. Calina 2005 Carmanere $8 - had at a wine tasting at Sam's in Chicago. Dense fruit, with spice in a lush finish. A steal at $8. Too bad I only had that tasting.