Glen Carlou Vineyards 2003 Chardonnay From South Africa. Some slightly cooked stone fruit over clean rocks, and flash of citrrus. Good enough that I don't regret the purchase, but not good enough to run out buy again. 14.5% abv. $14
Michael & David Phillips Vineyards 2002 Seven Heavenly Chards I think it died and went to Purgatory. Even though it doesn't taste of cheap sherry, the nuttiness lets me know it's past it's prime. Too bad, there was still enough acidity to balance the fruit, if there was any. $16
Graziano Family of Wines 2002 Eddie Graziano Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel Now this is Zin. Spice, smoke, cherries, blackberries and some clean garden dirt. Carries the 14.5% abv quite well. Daughter and I killed the bottle with no effort at all. Please sir, may I have some more? $22
Avalon 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Very approachable now, but with hints that it can age for several years. Nose: Black plums, boysenberries and a hint of currant. Tastes of dusty cherries. Nice structure of tannins and acidity to support the fruit and keep it in balance. Very subtle oak nuances instead of in your face vanilla. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, 6% Merlot, 1% Petite Sirah. 13.9% avb. At $15 I'm gonna get at least 1/2 case and let some gather dust in the cellar.
And the surprise:
Benziger Family Winery 2000 Wildwater Creek Cabernet Sauvignon I picked up 4-5 bottles of this at Trader Joes back in '02. According to the label, Wildwater Creek is the name they use for bottling for friends. In this case, it was a special buy that TJ's made - it sold for $7.
The first couple of bottles were just decent, everyday CA cab, but then it went downhill and the next couple were undrinkable. So it was with no expectations at all that I pulled the cork last week on the remaing bottle.
While not a wow wine, it was quite good. Decent Cab fruit with mild tannins and a enough acidity to provide a clean finish. Pretty good deal for under $10.