BUBBLES

Cave de Lugny Blanc de Blancs Crémant de Borgogne

From the winemaker: “The wine has a pale yellow color with golden highlights, clear and bright, with fine and regular bubbles. On the nose we find the traditional aromas of hazelnut, fresh butter and almond. The palate discovers a fresh and delicate mouth marked by a subtle balance in the middle and finish.”

From Decanter, which scored it a 90: “This is a great alternative to champagne – at a fraction of the price. Fresh, light and dry with ripe apple and grapefruit. Lovely foaming mouthfeel with creamy notes and a tangy finish, very complex for the price. This is Burgundy’s most reliable co-op, so fill-up your fridge!”

From me: I’m in full agreement with the Decanter taster. Very good bubbles at a very good price and easy to find locally. The Cave de Lugny, one of the fifteen cooperatives in the Maconnais, enjoys an excellent reputation for its strict grape selection. The chardonnay fruit grows on 30- to 35-year-old vines from vineyards with a most favorable south-southeast exposure.

$17.49 at Whole Foods

ROSÉ

2023 Marco Porello Langhe Rosato

From the winemaker: “Enjoy hints of stone, earth, rosemay and chamomile mingled with delicate notes of blood orange and cherry fruits.”

From me: I bought this wine on a flyer. At under $20, there was no downside. But, wow, was there an upside. I’m a sucker for anything from the Langhe made from nebbiolo — and this one is 100 percent nebbiolo — but you don’t run across too many rosatos, at least in these parts. It’s one of my new go-to rosés for as long as it’s on the shelf at the Whole Foods across the street. Easy-peasy!

$19.99 at Whole Foods

WHITE

2023 Ilumination Sauvignon Blanc

From the winemaker: “Reveals aromatic purity and incredible depth. Classic notes of grapefruit peel, lemon curd and white peach are layered with undertones of ginger tea, wild thyme and clover blossom, the floral character a hallmark of the cool vintage. On the palate, flavors of kumquat and guava mesh with wet slate and elderflower. A lovely textural roundness is balanced by racy acidity and minerality. While vibrant in its youth, this wine’s structure also promised aging potential.”

From me: Agustin Huneeus was already a fan of the white wines of France’s Loire Valley when, on a hunch, he planted a half-acre of sauvignon blanc on his Quintessa estate in Napa Valley in 2002. It turned out the terroir, close to the Napa River, was perfect. This wine proved so popular that Huneeus sought grapes from nearby Rutherford and the cooler southern part of the valley in order to expand production. Today, it’s a truly delectable blend of sauvignon blanc (58 percent), sauvignon blanc musque (32 percent) and semillon.

$66.99 at wine.com

2021 Donatien Bahuaud Sancerre Blanc N7

From the winemaker: “Fruity, tropical and herbal, with bright acidity and a tangy edge. “

From me: As it happens, the wine is named for France’s Route Nationale 7, which passes very close to Sancerre. It lacks the layered elegance of the Illumination, but it’s also 45 bucks a bottle cheaper.

$21.02 at Spec’s

2020 McPherson Roussanne Texas High Plains

From the winemaker: “Originally from France’s Rhône Valley, the roussanne blossoms into a robust white wine on the Texas High Plains. bouquet of alpine herbs, kept fresh in the cool water of a mountain stream breaking over granite pebbles. Savor a rich mouthfeel, delicate herbaceous flavors, and fresh mineral finish.”

From me: The Rhone Valley and Texas’ High Plains seemingly have nothing in common, but some of my favorite white wines on the planet come from these two widely disparate locales. Ken McPherson is as gifted a winemaker as you’ll find anywhere, too. Note that I also tasted the 2015 vintage recently and it was drinking perfectly. So add “ageworthy” to the wine’s list of attributes.

$24 at mcphersoncellars.com

RED

2021 Bells Up Titan Pinot Noir

From the winemaker: “Named for Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major — “Titan” — the 2021 vintage of our flagship pinot noir combines 8-year-old Pommard vines from Bells Up’s estate vineyard with the Dijon Clones 115 and 777 from Monks Gate Vineyard’s Yamhill-Carlton AVA vines, where the vines are 19 and 20 years old vines, respectively. The wine, which aged 12 months in French oak (27 percent new), displays an elegant, rounded mouthfeel, accompanied by earthy and dark red fruit flavors. Its balanced structure and acidity offer enhanced aging potential over the next seven to 10 years.”

From me: Gifted to me by a former sports-writing colleague at the Chronicle, this wine is another wonderful new discovery, and the Bell’s Up backstory is a fascinating one. Winemaker Dave Specter and his wife, Sara, left the Cincinnati suburbs and settled in Newberg, Ore., in 2012, after Dave, once a high-flying corporate tax attorney who suffered a serious case of burnout during the financial crisis of 2008. Mentored by Joe Henke, who then owned his eponymous urban winery in the Cincinnati area — who knew, right? — Specter had already shown a knack for winemaking by winning a couple of national amateur competitions. And he hit the ground running a pro.

$46 at bellsupwinery.com

2020 Matteo Correggia Roero Rosso

From the winemaker: “Drinking this wine means being thrown at once in the sandy Roero hills, where the sun meets nebbiolo’s vineyards and silent woods. Roero is a preparatory wine, a classic and typical wine produced with attention and care. It has a noble and sincere character. Its scent reminds me of violets and spring flowers like the sensation of a breathless run in flowering fields in our childhood. Its taste is a charming dance between the full character of nebbiolo and the delicate elegance typical of the Roero territory. Intense and pleasant on the palate, it has a fine, clear and tannic structure that leaves long-lasting emotions behind it.” 

From me: Mentored by Langhe legends Roberto Voerzio and Elio Altare, Correggia became the only non-Barolo producer allowed to call himself a “Barolo Boy,” an informal group of young lions who defiantly modernized the wine-making culture in the Piemonte. Corregia released his first wines with the 1987 vintage and the sandy soils of Roero have never had a greater champion. Sadly, he died well before his time while working in the vineyard in 2001, but his widow, Ornella, carries on to this today with help from her children. Nebbiolo doesn’t get much better at such a price point.

$30 at aocselections.com

2021 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir

From the winemaker: “Aromas of spiced raspberries and ripe Hood strawberries gently fold into warm vanilla oak. Rainier cherry and cocoa provide a savory sweetness and weight on the palate leading to a lengthy finish.”

From the Wine Spectator, which scored it a 93: “Vibrant and generous with lilting raspberry and tart cherry flavors highlighted by green tea, forest floor and sandalwood tones as this gathers tension and structure toward refined tannins.”

From me: Lynn and Ron Penner-Ashe also settled in the Newberg area in the northern Willamette Valley back in 1998, ultimately selling the winery to the Jackson Family Wines portfolio in 2016. The good news is that the wines have never been better, as this concentrated, brightly acidic pinot noir will attest.

$66.99 at wine.com

2021 Viña Cobos Bramare Malbec

From the winemaker: “Intense violet red with purple highlights. Aromas of blackberries, cardamom and graphite. Juicy tannins, with good structure and tension.”

From James Suckling, who scored it a 95: “Crushed stone and violet with blueberries and hints of boysenberry aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with firm tannins and a minerally and bright finish. Crunchy and stony.”

From me: Ten years after he first visited Argentina’s Mendoza in 1988, Paul Hobbs launched Viña Cobos. It wasn’t the first to bring international acclaim to the region, but it certainly contributed. Hobbs, who was born in western New York state and first earned his wine-making spurs as part of the original Opus One team in 1979, owns seven wineries on four continents. This one may be his favorite.

$44.99 at wine.com

2021 Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles

From the Wine Enthusiast: “There’s a significant spice of oak that comes through on the nose of this bottling, with solid blackberry fruit as well. The palate combines black cherry and blackberry syrup with root beer spices, as the finish lingers atop tannins amid vanilla, nutmeg and oak spices.” 

From me: Austin Hope, the son of grape growers, grew up in Paso Robles and has been a major player in putting his neighborhood on the global wine map. Hope’s first wines were bottled under the Liberty School and Treana labels, and he launched the eponymous Austin Hope label in 2000 with Rhone varietals at the fore. Although he didn’t make a cabernet until 2015, it didn’t take him long to show that cab was a great fit for him.

$67.99 at wine.com

WHITE

2022 Goosecross Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley

From the winemaker: “The nose on this wine features lime zest and orange blossom to bring you a bit of a tropical feel. On the palate, fresh apricot and stone fruit tangle with notes of lime zest, honeydew melon and lemongrass providing nice structure and acidity. A long, lingering finish expresses a hint of minerality giving the wine complexity and a bold freshness.”

From me: Goosecross owners Christi and Dave Ficelli, living the dream in Yountville, are blessed to have had the widely traveled Kiwi, Bill Nancarrow, in their cellar. He has worked on four continents and made his reputation in Napa Valley as the assistant winemaker at Duckhorn before taking over as the top guy at Paraduxx.

Goosecross sits in Yountville, California in the heart of the Napa Valley.  The winery’s history dates back four decades and now is owned by Christi and Dave Ficeli.  They fell in love with Goosecross years ago and always wanted to make it their own.  Christi and Dave met while working in the wine industry in Modesto, California almost twenty years ago which started their love for wine and even more importantly, each other. When they married, they knew they wanted to eventually have a small family winery that they could pass down from one generation to the next.

$26.99 at http://wine.com

2022 Landmark Vineyards Damaris Reserve Chardonnay

From the winemaker: “It’s a blend from the Flocchini Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap AVA and the Kiser Vineyard in the Western Sonoma Carneros AVA. The ever-present cooling winds of the San Pablo Bay dictate the climate for a moderately cool and highly desired long growing season. The combination of clone, climate and, ultimately, harvest-time decisions allow the chardonnay fruit for this blend to develop fully mature flavors while maintaining fine balance and acidity.”

From me: Talk about your history. Landmark was founded in 1974 by Damaris Deere Ford, whose great-great-grandfather invented the steel plow. The Landmark name? That was what the family called their home on the Bermuda coast, an imposing edifice that was often the first structure 18th-century European sailors would see as they approached land for the first time in weeks. In the early 1990s, Helen Turley took these wines to another level, pressing whole clusters, fermenting with native yeast strains and aging in French oak. To be sure, there has been no drop-off in quality under the expert guiding hand of current winemaker Greg Stach.

$50 at http://landmarkwine.com

2022 Archery Summit Chardonnay

From the winemaker: “It’s a captivating blend of floral notes, crushed seashells and zesty lime. Its scintillating acidity and finely textured white grape skin tannins lead to a succulent, precise finish with hints of chalky minerality. This stunning wine is perfect for savoring now or aging for a decade. Pair it with lobster risotto for a delightful contrast or sole meunière to highlight its delicate floral and citrus flavors.”

From the Wine Enthusiast, which scored it a 93: “This elegant chardonnay’s European butter, lemon pound cake and toasted hazelnut aromas are guaranteed to trigger hunger pangs. The wine’s lemon custard flavor and texture are equally creamy with additional flavors of lemon verbena and salty Marcona almonds.”

From me: With his reputation already established at Pine Ridge Vineyards in Napa Valley, which he founded in 1978, winemaker Gary Andrus reinvented himself in the Willamette Valley’s Dundee Hills, bringing Archery Summit on line in 1993. The challenges of pinot noir had turned his head, but he’s no slouch with chardonnay either, obviously.

$75 at http://archerysummit.com

2022 Viticcio Toscana Vermentino

From the winemaker: “Our white wine expresses all of the fresh aromas and nuances of vermentino grapes grown by the sea. Its intense white floral scents are lightly accompanied with fruity hints of pear and pineapple, and on the palate it presents a balance of savory, mineral flavors, leaving the mouth feeling refreshed and clean.”

From me: This Tuscan producer, best known for its Chianti Classicos, has been delivering the goods at great prices since the mid-1960s. The vermentino grapes grow in Maremma, hard by the Adriatic Sea and ideally suited for the varietal.

2021 Goose Ridge Vineyards g3 Cabernet Sauvignon

From the winemaker: “Well-structured with ample richness and depth accented by aromas of toasted oak and tobacco. Flavors of cherry and plum coalesce with hints of baking spice for a long, satisfying finish. The smooth, integrated tannins pair well with rich cuts of beef or wild game.”

From me: The family patriarch, “Monsy” Monson, was a cattle rancher and so was his son Arvid. But Arvid’s kids convinced him to plant an apple orchard followed by a cherry orchard, and that led to putting grapevines in the ground on a special piece of property now called Goose Gap. With initial expertise provided by Dr. Walter Clore, arguably the father of the Washington wine industry, the enterprise took on a life of its own. Some 2,000 acres are now under vine on a hill adjacent to Red Mountain. In 2021, Goose Gap became the state’s 19th AVA.

$15 at http://gooseridge.com

2021 Viña Cobos Corte Cocodrilo Malbec

From the winemaker: “Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend assembled in a Bordeaux style to complement the fruit, achieving optimal texture and flavor.”

From James Suckling, who scored it a 94: “Plenty of flowers on the nose with subtle plums and berries that follow through to a full body with firm and silky tannins that are velvety and polished. Juicy and fruity at the end.”

From me: Paul Hobbs, already a famous name in Napa Valley, embraced Argentina’s Mendoza region in the mid-1980s and became a founding partner in Viña Cobos, a winery that played a leading role in establishing Mendoza as world-class terroir. This delicious, classically “Hobbsian” Bordeaux-style blend of cab (61 percent), cab franc (24) and malbec is made from Uco Valley and Lujan de Cujo fruit.

$37.99 at http://wine.com

2021 Villa Antinori Toscana

From the winemaker: “The nose is intense, intriguing and presents fruity notes of black cherries and plum jam together with hints of boxwood, tobacco, and vanilla. The palate is mouth filling with supple, velvety tannins sustained by outstanding freshness and pleasant sapidity.”

From the Wine Spectator, which scored it a 92: “Cherry, pomegranate and plum aromas and flavors are the main themes in this dense red, punctuated with loam, spice, mineral and wild rosemary notes. Harmonious and solidly built, this picks up steam through the long, fruit- and savory-infused aftertaste.”

From me: The Antinoris have been in the wine business through 26 generations since the late 14th-century. Yep, they’ve got the drill down. This bargain red, long a staple of mine, is a sangiovese, cab, merlot and syrah blend.

$21.99 at http://wine.com

2022 Bruno Rocca Fralu Langhe Nebbiolo

From the winemaker: “Bright ruby red in color. Notes of intense raspberry and black cherry on the nose and palate. A well-balanced wine with lingering tannins.”

From me: Just last week I had a special dinner with Bruno, his daughter Luisa and her brother Francesco’s 3-year-old son Giovanni. I’ve been a huge fan of the Rocca wines since long before I knew any of the current Roccas, whose family had been growing grapes in Barbaresco since the mid-1800s. Bruno Rocca’s name first appeared on a bottle of the 1978 vintage, just as the Langhe region and the nebbiolo grape began playing to international acclima. At 73, Bruno still keeps busy, to be sure, but Francesco is taking the reins in the cellar. A new chapter beckons.

$42.99 at http://wine.com

Updated Sept. 23

The last couple of weeks have been bountiful ones on the wine front. I’ve crossed paths with special old friends — Chateau Montelena, the Paul Hobbs wine family and Villa Antinori most prominent among them — but I also encountered a bunch of new ones: a super special family of Cavas, gems from the Cotes de Bordeaux, Mendoza malbec blends and several superbly priced Barolos, Barberescos and Barberas. In short, life has been good during what’s normally a slow time of the wine year.

If they’re available for purchase either in Houston or on line, you’ll be reading about my favorites in my September “Sippin’ with Sporty” post, so I won’t go into detail today except to share a few thoughts about each of the producers that turned my head.

First, my longtime acquaintances . . .

Chateau Montelena — Not sure there’s anything to say about this iconic winery, shown above, that you don’t already know, but here’s a little personal history. The first case of any single wine I ever purchased was the 1987 Estate Cabernet, which earned 98 points from Robert Parker as a recall. And I probably paid less than $40 per bottle. Today, the 2019 sells for $200, worth every dime but a little out of my price range these days — just as, frankly, that case was in 1990. The 2021 Chardonnay ($75 at http://montelena.com) and 2023 Sauvignon Blanc ($50) were drinking splendidly, too, and should be on shelves around town.

Villa Antinori — Speaking of iconic producers, there are no more famous names than Antinori in the whole world of wine. The business, which dates to the 14th century is now run by the Marchese Piero di Antinori’s daughter Albieri, with lots of help from her sisters Allegra and Alesssia. I’ve had a breakfast — sans wine, sadly — with the Marchese at the Granduca Hotel when he came to Houston in 2014 to present his twice-champion Antinori Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore at the Rodeo’s Best Bites competition. I also enjoyed a dinner at Damian’s (yes, RIP) with Alessia, an art lover — it runs in the family — whom I then took to the Menil Collection and the Cy Twombly Museum. Splendid family.

Paul Hobbs — Like Bo Barrett at Montelena, Hobbs is a certified California legend. But, unlike Barrett, who stayed close to home, Hobbs has expanded his wine-making reach to eight other countries. A first trip to Argentina in 1988 marked the beginning of a South American winemaking adventure that carries on today with his wines from Viña Cobos in Mendoza, which I recently tasted for the first time in a long time at AOC. Mostly malbec-centric, of course, they’re terrific and offer superb value. Hobbs route to global fame began more than four decades ago when Robert Mondavi picked him for the team that launched Opus One. Today, in addition to Paul Hobbs Winery and Crossbarn in California and Viña Cobos, he’s front and center with Crocus of Cahors in France, Yacoubian-Hobbs in Armenia and Alvaredos-Hobbs in Spain’s Galicia and Hillick & Hobbs, which focuses on Finger Lakes riesling. The latter closes a circle because Hobbs hails from Upstate New York.

My recent eye-opening discoveries . . .

Bava, San Silvestro, Trediberri — You know you’re living right when Piemontese producers keep showing up on your doorstep. I’ve spent more time in the Langhe and environs than any wine region save for Napa Valley, but none of these were on my radar when I received invitations to tastings. Bava, which goes back 100 vintages, makes extraordinary ageworthy Barberas. I zoned in on the terrific Pianoaltos from Nizza in the Asti neighborhood, tasting all the way back to the 2011 vintage thanks to my friends at AOC. San Silvestro, steeped in four generations of winemaking tradition, is based in Novello in the heart of Barolo country but also makes a lovely Barbaresco. You’ll find Trediberri near La Morra. It’s the new kid in the bunch, having released its first vintage in 2011.

Gramona — The current owners represent the fifth and six generations of this world-class sparkling wine producer in Spain’s Catalan, specifically the Anoia and Bitlles river basins near Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in the Alt Penedés. Of late, they left the Cava family in order to do their own thing at a higher level, using only the xarel’lo grape. They’ve got two gems priced under $30 at AOC and also a big-boy 2006 Gran Riserva Brut Cava that sells for $207.

Côtes de Bordeaux — A tasting of 10 of these off-the-beaten path wines from one of the world’s most revered regions, and presided over by Master Sommelier Guy Stout, proved equal parts fascinating and frustrating. None would sell for more than $30 according to Stout, but none are currently available in the Houston market, best I could tell. Anyway, the villages in the Côtes de Bordeaux are Blaye (the largest producer by far with 40 percent of the total production), Cadillac, Francs, Castillon and Sainte-Foy, although Côtes de Bourg works closely with the group. Regarding Cadillac, shown below, it seemed the perfect place to produce rosé, but none is made there. So, nope, no pink Cadillacs. Yeah, I know, I’m a very funny guy.

The Sports Page

Raising a glass to . . . DeMeco Ryans and C. J. Stroud

Seeing the words “Texans” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence no longer sends us convulsing in laughter. The rookie head coach and the rookie quarterback made extraordinary debuts last season. But the NFL, like other sports, is a “what have you done for us lately” enterprise and their debuts in 2023 will be formidable acts to follow in 2024. Stroud’s in particular. He’s coming off the best rookie season for an quarterback in modern times, and achieving the best second year seems an impossible aspiration unless he does indeed lead the Texans to a Super Bowl victory, as Tom Brady did as a second-year Patriot. That’s a very high bar.

And to . . . Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton

The 2023 and 2024 U.S. Men’s Clay Court champions squared off in an epic third-round match at the U.S. Open Friday with Tiafoe gained revenge for his loss to Shelton in the finals at River Oaks in April. His four-hour, five-set victory kept him alive in his bid for a first-ever major championship, but he would again be denied in Arthur Ashe Stadium, losing a grueling five-setter in the semifinals to his buddy Taylor Fritz, who instead became the first American to reach the Open final since Andy Roddick 19 years ago. It’s a pity that Shelton and Tiafoe had to face off so early in the season’s final Grand Slam, but they battled like the title was on the line. Tough guys both, with great personalities and back stories. Hope they’ll keep Houston on their 2025 calendars.

Pouring one out for . . . Johnny Gaudreau

The Columbus Blue Jackets star, who answered to “Johnny Hockey,” and his younger brother were both killed by an apparently drunken driver in New Jersey while riding their bikes — the night before their sister’s wedding. In 2017, the 11-year-veteran Gaudreau was awarded the NHL’s Lady Bing Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. The seven-time All-Star was three seasons into a seven-year, $68-million contract after spending eight seasons with Calgary. He married his wife Meredith in 2021 and they have two children under the age of 2. To quote F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragendy.” What an horrific, heartbreaking story at every level.

H-town happenings

Jean-Charles Boisset Exclusives Wine Event — 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, at Central Market. $30. http://eventbrite.com

Serente Jazz And Wine Escapes Present “A Summer Madness of Sax” — 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Scott Gertner’s Rhythm Room. $45. http://eventbrite.com

2024 Houston Trap Wine Fest — 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Guadalupe Plaza Park. $12. http://eventbrite.com

High Value Reds From Our Cellar — 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Atkins House. http://eventbrite.com

Very Demure Wine Tasting & Evening of Conversation — 7-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at Four Seasons Bandista Bar. $15 http://eventbrite.com

Texas Wines & Small Bites Tasting — 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at the Brazoria County Agrilife Extension Office. $45. http://eventbrite.com

Charcuterie Class and Wine Flight Night — 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at Maggiano’s Little Italy. $50. http://eventbrite.com

The Palm Wine Dinner — 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at The Palm. $169. http://eventbrite.com

Far Niente Wine Dinner — 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Mastros. $295 http://eventbrite.com

Barolo Wine Dinner with Giuseppe Luisi — 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Roma. $89. 713 664-7581

Dinner With Red Wines From Our Cellar — 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at Atkins House. $105. http://eventbrite.com

Brunello Wine Reception — 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at La Griglia. $125 http://eventbrite.com

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Friends of mine to follow:

Russ Kane (http://vintagetexas.com)

Sandra Crittenden: http://winelifehousthon.com 

Jeffrey Kralik: http://drunkencyclist.com

Katrina Rene: http://thecorkscrewconcie