Try www.wine-searcher.com wine prices vary state to state so this would give you a better representation on how much it will cost you locally.
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good idea JohnnyFlake, will do from now on, although alot of the wines reviewed so far are older so hard to pin a price on.

recent stuff from me that you can find, with approx retail:

2006 Chevillon-Chezeaux Nuit-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Julian $40
2005 Dunham Cabernet XI, Columbia Valley $45

~Vitis
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Thanks for the link!
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Had a few wines on Weds and Thursday nights while relaxing at home and having some great food. My type of holiday. :-)

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Capdevila Pujol Cava Reserva Especial
I had picked up some paddlefish caviar on the spur of the moment while I was at Whole Foods and when I got home I realized that I did not have any Champagne in the apt. I had figured i was stick drinking chard with caviar and crème fraîche (not a good mix) but after fishing around in some boxes of samples I had in the spare room I found this Cava thats prpbably been there for over a year. This wine is made by Blancher Cava and is made of Xarel-lo, Macabeu and Parellada. Anyways.. The nose is clean with yeasty bready notes. Much less bubbles than Champagne with a fatter style mousse, and flavors of nuts and more yeast. Nice crispness on the finish. A pleasant surprise. I don’t usually drink Cava but for $$ this is decent. Approximate retail $15

2006 Jean-Marc Millot Côte de Nuits Villages "Aux Faulques"
Paired this Pinot with a dry aged ribeye. I have been a fan of this house for many years and this entry level 06 is a great example of why. Very intense wide open nose of dark fruit, mixed berries and sweet spice. Medium to heavy weight in the mouth, fruit punch style berry flavors, very ripe, nice acidity and more tannin than expected. This wine is delicious, the fruit is extremely clean and vibrant, and the follow through is excellent. Very fine for a CdN Villages, and I would buy more of this in a heartbeat. In past vintages this has been called "Clos des Faulques", but I’m not sure why it was changed in 06'. Approximate retail $35

2006 Huber-Verdereau Volnay
Drank with a nice rare piece of prime rib on Christmas night. This Domaine was founded in 1994 and Thiébault Huber has made some great wines so far. Unfortunately this was not one of them. The nose started out extremely tight, showing almost nothing, eventually giving way to animale and wet earth aromatics. Light to medium weight in the mouth with more similar flavors, and some black fruit. The wine is not very balanced and has a shrillness to it in which the acid outweighs the fruit. Disappointing as I have had some wonderful 05's from this producer. I did have a glass today and it had gained a little weight but was still not what one would hope for. Approximate retail $45

Cheers
~Vitis
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I've had these on Xmas and Xmas eve in no particular order:

2006 August Briggs Zinfandel
Napa, CA
Varietal: Zinfandel
Cost: $32
Nose- cherry, alcohol, raspberry
Taste- cherry, touch of vanilla, touch of mocha
Points: 86 - Very disappointing- way too fruity, tasted like a $10 bottle. ugh-next.....

2006 August Briggs Chardonnay
Russian River Valley, Sonoma, CA
Varietal: Chardonnay
Cost: $32
Nose- tropical fruits, lemon peel, ripe oranges
Taste- honey, lemon,lime,orange,vanilla
Points: 89 I liked this actually, nothing special but it wasn't overly buttery (thats a good thing) went well with broiled lobster and shrimp w/ oil and garlic

2006 Domaine Thibert Pouilly-Fuissé Les Vignes Blanches
Maconnais, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Cost: $34
Nose- white flowers, violets, apples, melon
Taste: lots of citrus, those little violet candies, honey, minerals
Points: 90+ loved this, no food, just sipped

2007 Frederic Gueguen Chablis Les Grandes Vignes
Chablis,Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Cost: $28
Nose: lemon, grey stones (chalkboard), petrol, slight white flowers
Taste: lemon, grey stones, petrol
Points: 86- Drank over 2 days- first day got nothin' so I tried again the next night- same thing. Usually I love those tastes but this just didn't do it for me.

I had the Pouilly-Fuisse before I had the Chablis- its amazing how different these wines are. Its a great example of tasting the same grape from different terroir. Chablis and Pouilly-Fuisse are in the same region but these wines couldn't be more different.
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Thanks for the notes Aldukes. Shame about the Gueguen. I have not tasted it yet, but I know that Alan Meadows felt it was so backward when he tasted it in October that her wouldn't even give it a score. He thought that the fermentation aromatics were too dominant to get a good feel for it. I loved the Grandes Vignes in 05' and 06' so perhaps this one will come around in a year or so.

~Vitis
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Backward is a great way to describe it- I wanted to like this so badly, but there was just nothing there.

I'm thinking about dropping off the August Briggs mailer. The past two shipments have been really disappointing. The Pinots and Cabs are good but the other offerings have been blah at best.
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Never had the August Briggs stuff but after your review of the Zin it's not making my "need to try" list. :-)
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the mrs. and I have really taken a liking to pinot noir,can you recommend a few cheaper bottles that you could drink everyday?or how about another type ?we tend to shy away from the really dry wines..thanx
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I've heard good things about Castle Rock- retails around 10 bucks. I've had Sebastani in the past and it wasn't bad- retails around 13 bucks, same for the Coppola diamond series.

Do you like white wines?
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If you can find Steel Creek Pinot from California give it a shot. Should be around $15. Tastes like Pinot and not syrah wich a lot of inexpensive pinots can taste like. Another one I like is Fleur de California which will run you around $16-$17

~Vitis
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have not gotten into the whites as of yet,the wife drinks pinot grigio in the summer,but thanks will definately give them a try
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A very good friend of mine came for dinner last night:
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Where to start? Drank in order from left to right.

1999 Veuve Clicquot Gold Label
Champagne, France
Varietal: Blend- Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay
Cost: $65-80 according to the internet
Nose- lemon peel, baked bread,
Taste- brioche, lemon
Points: 88- not a huge fan, but it wasn't terrible

2001 Dominus Napanook
Napa Valley, CA
Champagne, France
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend- 71% Cabernet Sauvignon 18% Cabernet Franc 7% Merlot 3% Petit Verdot 1% Malbec
Cost: $45 at purchase around $80 now
Nose- At opening this filled the room with raspberries, after decanting it mellowed out with a great nose of ripe cherries, leather, tobacco, black tea
Taste- Super smooth, great finish, lots of red fruits, some black tea, tobacco
Points: 90- I bought this in 04 as my first "collectable" bottle, well worth the wait- Decanted for 4 hours

2005 Caldwell Rocket Science
Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Red Blend-33% Syrah 33% Cabernet Sauvignon 25% Merlot 9% Cabernet Franc 9% Petit Verdot 9% Tannat
Cost: $45
Nose- dark chocolate , cola, cherries, coffee
Taste- This is a HUGE wine- lots of dark chocolate and cherries, really long finish (45 seconds?)
Points: 93- Huge CA cab- if you like the style you will love this-friends Wine of the night- opened about an hour before, no decant

2004 Seavey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Cost: $115
Nose- Lots of eucalyptus, barnyard, cherry
Taste- Tannic -but smooth at the same time, cherry, menthol, red meat- this tasted similar to a newer Bordeaux
Points: 93- Decanted for an hour- if this had another 2 hours to open up this would be a 95, really interesting wine- tons of sediment left in the decanter

2005 Volta Cabernet Sauvignon
Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Cost: $60
Nose: huge fruit, black cherry,raspberry, little vanilla
Taste: black cherry, dark chocolate, black tea, raspberry
Points: 93- I can't wait to see how this ages, awesome wine- my wine of the night, popped and poured If anyone wants a bottle of this let me know ASAP- Im leaning towards ordering a few more (i'll cover the shipping)

An awesome night, the Seavey was served with Grilled lamb, roasted potatoes with rosemary butter, and mushrooms baked in garlic and butter. Last glass and a half of Volta was paired with a CAO Lx2- it stood up quite well. I usually don't enjoy cigars with wine- but they went well together.
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My all time fav is a Mondavi Special Reserve 2000 Cabernet Savignon Got a wooded box (case)of this wine,100$ a bottle and i have had no other wine that compares with this!!!
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What's everyone drinking tonight?

My friends are picking up a few different bottles of Prosecco.
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There will be only four of us tonight, and only three of us will be drinking. We have one none drinker! I plan to start out, pre-meal, with a bottle of Grand Vin De Graves "Pessac-Leognan" 1994 Chateau La Louviere that I purchased in 1998 while still living in Illinois, at $20 a bottle back then. After this bottle, I'll still have three left. During the meal, we'll enjoy a bottle or two, if needed (I have six), of Barossa Valley- South Australia 2006 Layer Cake Shiraz (about $15). Later, with dessert, we'll open a bottle of Graham's "Six Grapes" Reserve Porto (About $24).
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That was the best $20 spent ever... How was the bottle?
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I decanted this bottle about an two hours before pouring. I'm not sure how well it opened up in that amount of time. For me, it was more medium bodied, than full bodied, as I expected it to be. There were rich hints of blackberry, hints of currant and a distinct earthiness, with a touch of smokiness as well. My one guest and I really enjoyed it. My wife didn't care for very much.

Does anyone know what a bottle of this might sell for now days?
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Probably around $35-50 not too many bottles of this around anymore- let me know if you're willing to part with one. :-)
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can't wait for friday......pic to come.........
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