Domaine Anne Gros et Jean-Paul Tillot 2012 Minervois "Les Fontanilles," a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Cinsault. Straightforward, ripe but not overdone dark berry fruit, a bit of spice and herb, though this is really fruit-dominant; decently structured, drinking nicely and plays well with food. A squeaky-clean wine, possibly too much so for its own good: it needs to get out more, and maybe get into trouble.
Domaine du Pegau 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe, Cuvée Réservée. No, no, not that kind of trouble. Distressingly flat nose but no immediate indication of TCA; dominated by drying tannins; shows flashes of interesting cherry, leather, and spice over an hour after decanting, which keeps us hopeful, but interspersed with sips that are like licking sandpaper. Then, finally, weirdly, the TCA starts to come out. Bah. One bottle left.
Gérard Boulay 2014 Sancerre. Riper than expected, not full-on tropical but definitely a fruit rather than mineral-driven Sancerre, decently put-together otherwise, but not interesting enough to justify the $27.00.