We have been busy little wine critics the past few months and wanted to share with you several wines we’ve tried lately. Don’t worry – this is the culmination of the past four months of swirling. Interventions not yet needed.

All of these wines were sent to the Swirl Girls for potential review. None of them so knocked our knee socks off we wanted to write a separate entry just about that wine. But almost all were finished and enjoyed. So here’s what we’ve got…

2007 Gewürztraminer “Hugel”
This wine from Frederick Wildman and Sons hails from Alsace and retails for $23.99. It’s a beautiful straw color and we found it to be quite an intense color for a little white wine. It smelled slightly floral with a lot of tropical fruit including pineapples, melons and perhaps a star fruit or two.

This is a full, well-balanced, slightly sweeter wine with a zesty, lingering finish. It was absolutely delicious with brown-sugared squash and would probably pair well with Asian food or something spicy. But oh, that Gewurtz with the sweet squash…perfect pairing!

2007 Castello Monaci “Piluna” Primitivo Salento
This Italian wine is made with 100 percent Primitivo grapes. It is a rich mahogany color and has a nice pleasant aroma. I picked out raspberries, ripe juicy cherries, vanilla and a hint of spice. Upfront, it is extremely smooth and soft, silky and round. It finishes with a beautiful balance of spice and pepper. It has firm tannins at the finish, which softened as it opened up. I didn’t fall in love with this wine but it would be a solid choice for a hearty Italian dish, especially with a suggested price of $13.

2007 Blackstone Rubric
This primarily cabernet-based blend has Malbec, Cabenet Franc, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrown in for good measure. It sources its grapes mostly from Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Valley and Alexander Valley and has a suggested retail price of $22.99.

This very dark and fruity beast comes to us from Sonoma begging for red meat. It is chock-full of black fruits – blackberries, black cherries and blueberries. It has a pleasant but not awesome smell. On the palate, there is absolutely no spice, just fruit, which is fairly cool considering its 14 percent malbec. This is a very, very young wine with strong tannins that left our mouths completely dry.

“It’s like licking a barrel,” Dry remarked. It mellows out a bit after that first sip. It was great with red meat and this will probably be a wine for your cellar. It will undoubtedly strongly improve with a bit of time and has nice potential for development. And we hear Bold’s a little bit in love with it.

2005 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon
This cab comes from Alexander Valley in Sonoma County and is a blend of 76 percent cabernet sauvignon, 19 percent merlot and 5 percent petit verdot. I’m a fan of this family-winery in general and this is another good example of a California cab that I love so much. It’s available at Total Wine with a price of $42.97.

This cabernet was also full of dark fruits, but tasted a little lighter than the Rubric with hints of vanilla, oak and plums. It’s a medium-body baby with upfront fruits and a dry finish. This is another cab that badly needs decanting and time, which is not criticism at all, just typical of those big, luscious wines we love so much. It’s got solid tannins and a dry, smooth finish. I would definitely order this one in a restaurant if I had a Vinturi and a steak. Mmm.

2007 Hugel Riesling
This $19.99 riesling is a pale lemon color, off-dry and had remnants of chalk and minerals. While the nose was pleasant, it was a fairly non-descript smell. It’s nicely balanced between the acidity and the fruits. It’s a touch floral, with citrus and apple, light-bodied and a long finish. Enjoy with lighter fare food or spicy dishes.

2007 Liberty Chardonnay
Since neither Dry or I are hard-core chardonnay lovers, we studied this one hoping to learn to appreciate its nuances. It was very, very yellow and had a nose of oak and apple. It was pleasant but not a strong smell. It hugged the border of being too oaky but stayed on the balanced side of the fence so we appreciated it. We finished the bottle and decided it was a great example of a California chardonnay. It completely met our expectations but didn’t take us any further. However, it was awesome with candied walnuts and a good food-friendly wine. We had it with a salad with blue cheese, chicken, walnuts and pomegranates and I don’t like to brag, but the food was divine. In retrospect, a riesling would probably have been a better choice for the meal,but pairings are sometimes making do with what you have.