Mitolo, Jester, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 (McLaren Vale, Australia) - Sure, I partly chose this because my name is almost on the label (Jester/Jaster), but I had actually read good reviews of this before anyway.  Costing in the 20s and being one of the few pure cabs I've seen from Australia (the land of Shiraz) I was really expecting a standout... And hey it delivered.  This is a very bold and jammy fruit bomb of a cabernet sauvignon.  I'd best compare it to a whomping red zinfandel.  Luckily I genuinely like fruit bombs and I'd say I savored every drop of every glass from this bottle.  My only complaint is like so many of the big fruit bomb wines out of Australia this has a sort of overprocessed taste to me, or more like they might have used a little science to doctor it up and put the taste way over the top instead of just letting the grapes do the work.  But hey, this is really good stuff regardless.  I'll go 8 out of 10 and that's quite a high score from me.

Chateau Lyonnat, Appelation Lussac-Saint-Emillion, 2005 (Bordeaux, France) - This was both highly recommended by a store and discounted to cost in the low 20s, and it's also a 2005 which is supposed to be an outstanding year for all French wines.  I expected a lot and really I was quite satisfied.  This was flavorful.  So many bordeaux's are dry and weak (at least the ones I find in the states for under $20 tend to be) but this was a stand out and yet it also maintained the smoothness, balance, and tannins of an Old World style like bordeaux.  Good stuff.  Still, it didn't blow me away, so I'll give it a 7 out of 10 for above average, which is a respectable score from me.

Konstantin D. Frank & Sons, Salmon Run, Chardonnay, 2006 (Finger Lakes, New York) - The late Dr. Konstantin Frank was hugely important to US viniculture and the last time I tried a bottle from their winery I was sad that I really hated it because I wanted to chear for them.  So for this Chardonnay I didn't expect much better.  But hey I was pleasantly surprised.  Although still a very ordinary Chardonnay without surprises it was a quality product and I'd safely call it upper average (6 out of 10).  It was better as the chill wore off.  Even Nancy liked it, I think more than I did.