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2016 is a great vintage in the southern Rhone which makes it a really great vintage to stock up on Cotes du Rhone.  This is a white wine but should last for at least five years despite its $15 retail price tag.  Light green gold in color.  The nose has nice grapefruit with minerals.  On the palate, there is a nice tart acidity.  More peach than citrus.  Long finish.  Very food friendly.  Great value.  

Consistently one of the great wine values, year in and year out.  This retails for $10.  Light golden in color with some green swirls.  The nose has nice minerality, slight melon and citrus.  On the palate, this drinks easy.  A slightly bitter citrus pith note which is nice, but also some melon and underlying minerality.  Easy.  Not complex but not nothing either.  Good balance.  Works with lighter and medium weight foods and on its own.  Drink them young as while the wine is still good after a few years, the freshness fades.  

Its always nice to find actual Champagne that retails for $30 (or less).  This is one and is a very nice value.  Light golden in color.  A good amount of very small bubbles.  The nose has minerals with slight ginger notes.  Good acidity.  Nice balance and finish.  This is very food friendly and will match a wide variety of foods.  It is dry and will also work for celebrations (but don't limit it to that).  

Purple in color.  This is drinking quite well now.  Pretty classic right bank but perhaps still a skosh more room to develop.  The nose is nice with cherries, some cassis, cigar box and chocolate shavings.  On the palate, this has nice cherries, not super ripe, but nothing green.  Undertones of tobacco and damp earth.  Good balance.  Drank over two nights and while different just as good on each night.  Will work with most foods.  Really everything you could want from this wine at this point.  

Deep golden in color.  The nose shows some slight oxidation but not a lot.  Some apple cider notes but also fresh pears.  On the palate, this is just barely sweet.  The apple cider carries thru as does the pears.  Good finish.  So the big question is whether this was a pristine bottle.  At age 13, it probably should have been a bit fresher.  On the other hand, it was varietally correct.  It seems this was close enough that it is within the variance of a 13 years old top Vouvray.   All in all, this should have been better but it was still very good.  

What a delicious wine.  Golden in color.  The nose is gorgeous with lychees, and slight canned peaches in heavy syrup.  On the palate, this is viscous.  Slightly sweet but not dessert level.  Honey and peaches with good acidity.  Would work great with spicy foods.  Long finish.  This is sweet enough to not please though who insist on dry wines, but for those more varied in their tastes, this is delicious.  Young, this drank better on day 2.  It does have a touch of a bitterness that one sometimes finds in Gewurztraminer.  Enough to notice, not enough to mar the flavors of enjoyment.  This r

Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has a lot of funk/barnyard.  Some blows off with air but not all.  There is also some boysenberry fruit, leather and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this is drinking well.  Probably at or close to maturity.  Boysenberry layered with damp earth.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This needs heartier foods to work with.  No hurry but probably should be drunk in the next five to seven years.  

Such a pretty wine.  Much more on the elegant side of CdP.  Drinking at what seems to be at peak right now.  Purple with ruby swirls.  The nose has cherries, black cherries, slight cedar, nutmeg and other spices.  On the palate, this is soft and accessible.  Still, deep and with tight layering.  It gently unwinds in the glass.  Nice finish.  This works easily with medium and heavier foods.  Vary tasty.  Not a dominant wine, this will work better on its own than with a bunch of wines.  

Wow.  Great wine that has really opened up in the last year.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, spice, and slight floral notes (violets?).  On the palate, virtually a seamless texture.  Full bodied and full of glycerin.  Loads of black cherries and black raspberries.  Light tannins.  An underlying minerality.  Long finish.  Needs a bit bigger foods.  Just delicious.  Still has a decade or two left in it.  One of thos sips you can't stop drinking as it tastes so good.  

Light golden in color.  The nose is very nice.  Lemons, slightly candied, a bit of vanilla, and slight spice.  On the palate, this has a creamy texture.  Good not great acidity.  Slightly oily texture.  The lemon candy come thru nicely.  A bit of oak too on the palate, but mostly integrated at this point.  Good finish.  Worked well with lighter foods.  Seems to still be maturing but getting close to peak.  No hurry has a decade or more to go.