Pears and spice on the nose. Palate has a slight hint of sweetness as well as a touch of spice. A little more rounded and waxy on the palate than I'd like.

(2014/15 blend.) I suppose if anyone could make a zinfandel that I'd want to drink, Scherrer is a good candidate. Intense vanilla on the nose, as well as the expected mass of black fruit. Not over the top, but certainly not my style.

The tasting sheet says "vinho verde tinto," but I don't think that this wine was legally bottlable as such. In any case, a super peppery and tart nose and palate. Light, but surprisingly tannic. Feels like white wine with tannin.

Not a fan of gamay, so this gets a strike against it to start; the gamay notes are quite present on the nose, but beyond that bit of candied red fruit, there's quite some things to like here. A touch of smoke, a light, easy-going body, and good freshness from the acidity.

Smoky, pepper, and spicy. Quite a light touch on the palate, but there's a little bit of heat on the back end.

Fairly typical Soave. Easy-going, with a pleasant amount of fruit on the nose, as well as a honeyed, floral sweetness. The palate is a bit non-descript, but there's enough acidity to help cut through the nose.

Super high-toned nose with a bit of nailpolish remover that I don't find too pleasant. The chemically tones seem to persist on the palate. Not the style of vermentino I like.

Pretty textbook. I love that this is a no-fuss wine, and the pepper, green qualities of the grape show through very transparently. No attempts to primp up here, just completely zippy and honest wine. Great cut -- this is Austrian wine I could get behind.

Not a huge fan of this one -- too waxy and ripe, though thankfully the fruit doesn't show up too fat. Good acidic cut on the backend to balance that richness though.

Outstanding quality for the price. A little coarser and more rustic than your prototypical entry-level champagne, but there's good freshness and red fruit here all the same. The effervescence is a little clumsy, but give this a touch of air for it to tighten up and I bet it'd be great.

Obviously super young. Good red-fruited character here. Not too dark or brooding, there feels like a spark of carbonic here (which is really weird to experience in nebbiolo). Touch of saline on the palate as well, which is another really interesting note. The light touch here is appreciated, and shows that if the producer dialled back the modern on some of the higher-end wines, we could get something really, really nice.

A little weird in that this almost has a bit of a rice wine nose (probably something to do with the yeast). The palate is fairly nondescript and shows a mild demeanor.

Killer rose. Certainly not profound, but there's something about this wine that tastes distinctly CVNE. Savory, mild, but earthy and quite powerful at the same time. Relatively dark colour for rose.

Easy-going, but just classic and delicious red Burgundy. Not a mind-bending wine, but this is sort of comfort pinot noir. Red fruited and bright, with great acidity, and plenty of fruit to balance it out too. Tannins are still a touch tight.

I actually prefer my aligote with a killer acidic kick, and this doesn't have that. It's a rounder wine, with almost a bit of banana on the nose. Perhaps it's just too young. Not a huge fan of the waxy palate either.

The nose here is nice, with a mild note of peaches. The palate isn't quite to my liking, a little heady and intense for a light rose. Clearly a bit of heat on the back end too, and a waxy texture that doesn't work in lighter-styled wines.

Very intense peachy nose, as well as florals that are over-the-top for me. The palate shows good cut and freshness, but is done in by that floral tone here as well.

I thought this was one of the most interesting wines of the tasting. Simple and fresh, but there's more if you look for it. I love the savory tones, as well as the salinity here. Also the sulphur stink is quintessential volcanic terrain. Really interesting and one that I would consider seriously revisiting.

Obviously on the young side, with a little bubble gum from being just bottled. Pineappley and fresh, a hint of salinity and sweetness that all adds to this. Quite nice.

Good freshness on the nose and palate. Not as raw as the Malandes bourgogne blanc, this seems to have settled in a little better. Lean, with great mineral cut.

Really nice nose that definitely speaks of Bandol. Black fruited, with a nice animale and wild nose. Palate is surprisingly easygoing, but it's not simple. Lightly tannic and approachable now.

I think this is my first 2016 northern Rhone (and I've barely scratched the surface of the 2015s!). There's a fair note of brett here that I'm obviously not keen about. Too juicy and young, and a bit difficult to evaluate.

A little more brett than I'd like here. Savoury, with some dense fruit flavours, but hard to get through the brett for me.

Not totally sure this is a summer patio pounder, but it's pretty good for CdP. Clean, with inky fruit. Not hot or over the top, and a good balance of fruit and earth.

Rich and dense nose, with plenty of black fruit. The palate is similarly dense, and there's a lot of tannin. A little tough to evaluate in this context.