From several evenings over the past week:
2017 Saviah Cellars Nebbiolo Dugger creek vineyard Walla Walla Valley
Pale light red with creamy rose and tea notes. Unlike anything from Piedmonte but nonetheless liked it so much at the winery six months ago that we bought this bottle to bring home. Excellent starter wine for a multi-course Italian menu last night.
2017 Ferrari-Carano Siena Sonoma County Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese
This followed the Saviah. Once upon a time we loved this wine. I recall paying around $30/bottle for it when we lived in Alaska in the 90's, but lost interest after visiting the ostentatious winery they built in Sonoma and haven't touched a bottle in 20 years. (And my tastes have changed, too.) Until yesterday that is, when I saw a remaindered bottle at a local market for just $18. Why not, for old times sake, and we opened it last night. It was eminently drinkable when first opened but gained complexity in a decanter over about two hours, and it was a hit at the dinner table. A crowd pleaser in that it was impossible not to like, but it wasn't gobby or simplistic. Four years out it actually has some raisinish Italian notes along with boysenberry, plum, canned tomato, dried fruit leather and bay leaf. A few tannins play in the background (it's mostly sangiovese but petite sirah is in the blend) but it goes down like silk. Very pleasing. There were two more bottles in the bin, I'll buy them tomorrow if they're still there.
We had this earlier in the week:
2013 LaStella Fortissimo Okanagan Valley VQA SuperTuscan Blend
Like the last CT reviewer we picked up the plums and coconut but def not stewed fruit. It's not cooked, it's just starting to show its age in all the right ways. Only surprise was how overtly new worldish it is--American oak supposedly wasn't used (bottle says French and Slovenian I think), but it tastes of it. (The Ferrari-Carano above was more Italian.) Held some over for two days later (refrigerated) and it was as good if not improved, so though some declared it done to my tastes it's still evolving.