2008 d'Arenberg "The Hermit Crab"

This white wine from McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills in Australia is a blend of 72% viognier and 28% marsanne. The intensity of the flavors and the length of the finish are what impressed me the most about this wine. I would not be surprised if it had a touch of residual sugar, but that works with this wine. It has a lush, smooth texture and it seems the perfect match with rich seafood and shellfish dishes.

I bought this wine at the Kansas City Lukas store (150 Highway and State Line Road) for $15 and I can't complain about that price. This wine should have wide distribution in this country. Parker gives it an 88.

2006 Domaine la Roquete, Chateauneuf du Pape

$20 for a Chateauneuf du Pape? When I saw this wine in the Kansas City World Market store (150 Highway and State Line Road), I bought a bottle to try with dinner, not expecting a lot in the way of quality for this price. Wrong! I went back the next day for several more bottles. The back label claims the vines are 45 years old. The wine itself is 70% grenache, 20% syrah and 10% mourvedre.

The wine is not a blockbuster CDP but neither is it lean or hollow. Soft, ripe tannins support the solid fruit which is already showing complexity. Lively and focused, it drinks very well now but could handle five or more years in your cellar. This wine appears to be another example of the world's tanked economies causing a huge wine "lake" that can only be drained by drastic reduction in prices.