Bougrier Vouvray

Name: Bougrier Vouvray
Color: White
Varietal: Chenin Blanc
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: France
Region: Loire Valley
Price: $10
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)


This was our first bottle of Vouvray (made with the Chenin Blanc grape), and we completely enjoyed it...It was a delicious, medium-bodied wine, with flavors of sweet fruit like peaches, pears, and pineapples, with some kiwi and green apples. It's an off-dry wine, but it had enough acidity to keep it balanced. We drank this wine on its own after chilling it, and also had it with a dinner of grilled chicken and vegetables. It was terrific with and without food.

For about $10, we will definitely keep this one on our list of favorites.

Conundrum White

Name: Conundrum
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon/Viognier/Muscat)
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $18
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)


We enjoyed this terrific white blend while spending a relaxing night away at the Innisbrook Resort, just up the road in Palm Harbor...Krista and I polished off the entire bottle before cutting through one of the golf courses to eat dinner at the Salamander Market Grille. The wine was delicious and featured tropical fruit, peaches, pears, honey, and vanilla. It was off-dry but still had great acidity to keep it in balance.

After reading more about Conundrum online, I learned that it's part of the Wagner Family of Wine, the same group responsible for the Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir that we like so much. Both the Meiomi and the Conundrum are amazing wines that would please many palates. Both are less than $20, making them excellent values, too.

Bogle Phantom

Name: Bogle Phantom
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Petite Sirah/Zinfandel/Mourvedre)
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: California
Region: Various
Price: $19
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

After our disappointing experience the night before with the Durigutti Bonarda, we redeemed ourselves with this nice red blend from Bogle, known as the Phantom. I had been meaning to try this wine for awhile, so when I stumbled across it as I was looking for a wine for my Father's Day dinner (steaks on the grill), I jumped all over it.

It was very good, but not exactly what I expected. I'm a big fan of Bogle's Petite Sirah, especially its combination of dark fruit and chocolate. The Phantom, however, seemed to be dominated by the Zinfandel, at least to my nose and palate. It was a nice, big bodied wine that went really well with the steaks and was also good on its own. I just wish I was able to taste more of the Petite Sirah, which is one of my favorite varietals.

Durigutti Bonarda

Name: Durigutti Bonarda
Color: Red
Varietal: Bonarda
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $11
Stars: 3 (out of 5)


We had our very experience with the Bonarda grape last night, and it left a little to be desired. Neither Krista nor I really enjoyed this Bonarda from Durigutti. It was a little flat or flabby, and was a bit too soft for our tastes. It lacked the spice that I expected it to have based on what I had read online about it. It also seemed to be really grapey, without any dark fruit taste.

All in all, I would probably pass on this wine in the future.

Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Clifford Bay
Color: White
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Price: $9
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)


Krista bought this wine earlier this week to go with a dinner of fish and crab. It's been awhile since we've had a Sauvignon Blanc, which is unusual since it's one of our favorite grapes. We usually buy the Kim Crawford, but this one was a few dollars cheaper and pretty good. It was a fairly typical Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand -- dominated by grapefruit, citrus, and other tropical fruits. Not bad at all for less than $10.

Palazzo Della Torre Allegrini

Name: Palazzo Della Torre Allegrini
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Corina Veronese/Rondinella/Sangiovese)
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Italy
Region: Veneto
Price: $17
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

We really loved the 2006 vintage of this wine, and the 2007 was excellent as well. This is a great wine with a really nice nose featuring dark fruits, a bit of chocolate, coffee, and leather. It's a smooth, elegant, full-bodied wine for less than $20. You can't beat that. We both really liked this wine, yet again.