Clos du Roy, Sauternes, 2006 (Bordeaux, France) - I've had two to compare this with - a clean honey sweet Sauternes and a more complex Cadillac.  Being a Sauternes I expected the honey again from this one.  Not quite.  Yes it's quite sweet (but not intensely) and it has a hint of other flavor which does not make it as complex as the Cadillac although I suspect that was the intent - to make something other than a pure honey Sauternes.  In the end I'd say we enjoyed this and drank the whole thing fine, but it really disappointed me because I wanted the honey this time.  It's still better than the average white, so I'll give it a 7 out of 10 for above average, but keep in mind I scored the other two samples I compared it with as 9's or 10's so a 7 isn't all that impressive.

Mongrana, Quercibella in Maremma, 2006 (Italy) - This is a "Super Tuscan" I tried on vacation.  Super Tuscans have Cabernet Sauvignon or some other mainstream grape blended with Italian traditional grapes, thus losing their right to be labelled as a more traditional Italian red, but despite that they're usually bold flavorful wines which are a real treat.  When I bought this the attendant commented that this one keeps flying off the shelf and he's having a hard time getting more into stock, so I thought "yes, I scored."  Then I tried it.  Some decent zing.  Some traditional Cabernet Sauvignon flavor.  Really a nice enough wine to justify the 6 out of 10 upper average score I'm going to give it.  BUT, enough to make it fly off the shelves and blow your socks off?  No.  It's upper average, and it's a good wine, but that's about it.  Frankly I'd rather try something new again than repeat this average wine.

Li Veli, Passamante, Negroamaro, 2005 (Salento, Italy) - This grape is new to me although it turned out the Salice Salentino I reviewed much earlier also had a strong amount of Negroamaro in it and I'd commented that was interesting due to its hint of sausage.  Well, in this case the wine is not as old and yes it's a pure Negroamaro.  I found this to have more zing than the earlier sample (and it's younger so that makes sense), it had a decent flavor with a slight hint of bitter, and it had no hints (yet) of sausage but I suppose time might have changed that.  Anyway, this is an excellent higher average red so I'll give it a 6 out of 10.

Secco-Bertani, Valpolicella Valpantena, Ripasso, 2004 (Italy) - This is the 3rd Ripasso I've tried and I've always liked them so far.  This is no exception although it's the weakest of the 3 and thus just scoring a 6 out of 10.  What you get due to the Ripasso technique is a rich wine with some zing and a concentrated flavor.  This ripasso was the least rich I've had so far, but it did at least have substantial sour cherry flavor.  That's pretty much it though, I wouldn't call it a complex flavor this time, just the cherry.  Still it's an excellent quality wine.

Graham Beck, Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 (South Africa) - I tried a Pinotage by Graham Beck more than a year ago and totally ripped it in the review.  Most likely I'd gotten a bad bottle.  When I picked this Sauvignon Blanc up I was hesitant but thinking at least the winery was getting a second chance.  Well, they did a great job with this product.  This is a classical styled Sauvignon Blanc with grassiness and an acid zing.  It didn't really stand out but it does at least score an upper average (6 out of 10).  That's a pretty good comeback from the 1 I gave the Pinotage sample long ago.