Since there were  four of us and we ordered an array of dishes appropriate for both red and white wines, we settled on one of each.  Our white was a stunner.  A Marsanne blend from the Northern Rhone appelation of Saint-Peray, the 2007  Domaine Du Tunnel Cuvee Prestige by Stephane Robert brought smiles all around.  It had aromas of star fruit and cotton candy, and notes of coconut and schiste in the mouth.  Though it danced with showing a bit too much sugar, the structure and minerality balanced it out.  Michael Skurnik Wines imports the wines of Stephane Robert, and only brought over 25 cases of this wine.  I want to find them.

Having felt like we got a bargain paying a modest $54 for such an exceptional white, we splurged a bit on a 1991 Vina Tondonia Gran Riserva from R. Lopez de Heredia.  It was a perfect specimen of aged Rioja and exactly what I was hoping for.  It maintained a youthful appearance with light red hues and gave off hints of violet and clove on the nose.  In the mouth the juice was soft and supple with four or five delicate but distinct layers of flavor.  The wine is 75% Tempranillo with Garnacho, Graziano and Mazuelo filling in the rest.  This wine was barrel-aged for nine years and sat in the bottle at the winery for nearly another decade before release. 

If you go to Ripple, and I recommend you do, take the redline Metro to Cleveland Park because parking is a bear.

“After decanting the bottles, I was elated to find that the wine was in pristine shape.  Out of the glass came aromas of violets, cardamom, clove, cedar, campfire and crushed cherries. It had a sumptuous flavor of ripe baked cranberries, goji berries, all spice and Szechuan pepper on the finish.   Viña Valoria’s maturity and depth on the palate were remarkable, especially for the price (less than $100).  Comparable wines such as the 1964 Gaja, Barolo or 1969 Guigal, “La Mouline,”  and Cote Rotie can range from $500 to $3,000.

“I can say that Viña Valoria is among the greatest wines I have sampled.  Ten years from now – 50 years since its debut – I would not be surprised to find it equally alive, ripe and delicious.”  ViñaValoria only releases wines from the best vintages.

Thomas Jefferson’s love of wine is reflected in the restaurant’s Private Cellar, featuring walls lined with wine display cabinets and private wine lockers, along with an extensive collection of over 1,000 labels.  Chef Damon Gordon  applies modern twists to traditional dishes that draw heavily on the fruits, vegetables and herbs of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello gardens.

  For around $10 a bottle, you can afford to stock up too.  This wine is a light-bodied red that shows hints of vanilla, making it an ideal companion to many dishes like this recipe for chicken with black-pepper maple sauce from Epicurious.com.  Thus far in 2009, our wine experts have recommended the wines of Spain more often than any other.  These wines are often just as good a value as the much heralded Malbecs from Argentina, but carry with them a history rich in old-world tradition.

You can find the Sierra Cantabria Rioja at Phil Pratt’s favorite wine shop, Grand Wine in Astoria, or at one of the many retailers on Wine-Searcher.com.

  Mr. Gorevic points out the wine’s dark golden color, strong citrus notes and sherry-like oxidized flavors.  These flavors ought to mature over a number of years despite the vintage being nearly 10 years old.  For the amount of time and effort put into a bottle of this wine, it is an incredible value at around $23 a bottle.  New Yorkers can find it at Frankly Wines, and the rest of us can obtain it from a number of retailers listed on Wine-Searcher.

  To teach people more about wines like this, Mr. Gorevic created the Wine Class in a Box which offers 6 wines specifically chosen to hone your tasting skills.

Cuné is located in Haro, Spain. In 1879, two brothers decided to set up a business in the recently flourishing trade of the wine business. C.V.N.E., Compañía Vinicola del Norte de España (The Northern Spanish Wine Company) or la Cuné, as it is commonly known in Haro, was created.

The Cuné Crianza 2005 is a beautifully elegant expression of Rioja. Rioja today is a produced in a broad range of styles. At one extreme is the modern style – deep in color, made from 100% Tempranillo and aged in 100% new oak barrels, a style that sells well but is hard to recognize as Rioja.

The other extreme is the more traditional blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo (aka Carignane), Graciano and Grenache aged in older American oak barrels, showing less concentration and fruit but more finesse, complexity, elegance and length. The Cuné Crianza 2005 leans towards the latter style. It has a beautiful color, the 25% Grenache gives it nice perfume, and it is medium-bodied with a slightly chewy finish. A great all-purpose red, highly food-compatible. Retail cost: $14-16.   FIND IT!

David’s choice for this week is a seasonally appropriate rose made from Garnacha, Viura, and Tempranillo. He likes it especially because it offers great acidity while maintaining a significant “oomph” in the body , which many roses cannot sustain.

The Bodegas Muga presents noticeable strawberry and cherry notes that complement tapas or other light summer snacks. Muga is a benchmark for quality wines in Spain; their reds fetch very high prices. This wine however, is widely available for around $10 a bottle.

Kyle was excited to pour this lush, fruit driven, medium-bodied wine from Ribera del Guadiana. “Crianza” translates to the aging process of wine to maturity. Two years of barrel aging allows this Tempranillo to produce aromas of vanilla that leap from the glass. The fruit comes from a vineyard plot planted by the Alvear family, one of Spain’s most notable producers of Sherry. This wine costs about $18.