It’s been a few months since our last roundup of wines we’ve been sent for review. My work file cabinets were beginning to bulge from all of the bottles stashed inside and it was time to get tasting. As always, we’ve been totally honest about what we thought of the wine. Some of them we loved, a few we didn’t. Most were simple but good options for the everyday glass.

Here’s what we’ve got:

2009 Punto Final Sauvignon Blanc – Casablanca Valley, Chile ($9-12 online)

This is a fresh, simple sauvignon blanc with aromas of tart grapefruit, lemon, green apple and freshly cut grass. It has a nice acidity, is clean, dry and very refreshing. It is a light, uncomplicated wine that doesn’t have much complexity, but is a nice sipper for a hot summer day.

2009 Mondavi Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc – California ($7.99 at ABC)

Another simple SB, this time from California. This wine has a fruit-driven aroma with lots of pear and McIntosh apple and hints of citrus, white flowers and apple peel. The wine is light and fruity but finishes dry. It’s simple but nice.

2009 Rodney Strong Estate Vineyard Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc – Northern Sonoma ($11.99 Total Wine, $10.99 Crown)

This wine is a pale straw color in the glass with a slight greenish hue. On the aroma, I got a lot of very ripe fruity notes like pineapple, golden delicious apple, honeydew melon and pear. On the palate, it displays traditional SB flavors like citrus and freshly cut grass, but is still ripe and fruity. It has a nice acidity, medium body and a dry finish. It is a nice wine that we enjoyed with a light pasta dish. But there are so many other more memorable SB’s. This one is fine but nothing more.

2008 Napa Station Sauvignon Blanc – Napa Valley (averages $15 online)

This sauvignon blanc is a pale greenish-yellow color with aromas of lemon, lime, grapefruit, honeydew melon and pear. It is light and fresh with a lot of ripe fruit flavors. The wine is smooth and easy drinking.

2008 Catena Chardonnay – Mendoza, Argentina ($15.99 Total Wine, $17.99 Crown)

I’m not much of a chardonnay girl, but I found this one to be nice for the varietal. The wine is a pale golden color with aromas of buttered popcorn, golden delicious apple, pear, honey and toast. The oak is apparent but not overwhelming. I served this to a few guests at a dinner party and everyone enjoyed it. One couple thought it tasted like “Rosh Hashanah… honeys and apple”. Others thought it was like a burst of sunshine.

2009 Les Domaniers de Puits Mouret – Cotes de Provence, France ($22.95 Crown)

I’m a sucker for a good rosé, and this one definitely qualifies. The color is a vibrant hue of orangey-pink, like a beautiful Pacific coast sunset. The aroma is fresh and full of sweet ripe strawberries, raspberries, hints of citrus and white flowers and a stony minerality. On the palate the wine is fairly round and complex for a rosé with a medium body and a smooth finish that’s clean and dry. Overall, it is a well-balanced and pleasing rosé that I’d pick up again for a picnic or a light meal.

2009 Leyda Classic Pinot Noir – Leyda Valley, Chile ($10-15 online)

This is a fairly simple pinot noir, but still enjoyable. It has a light ruby color and aromas of tart red cherry, raspberry, strawberry and rhubarb with hints of vanilla and cola. The wine is light in body with very soft tannins and a smooth finish.

2008 Fairview Pinotage – Paarl, South Africa ($12.99 Total Wine, $11.95 Crown)

I think this wine is quite good for the price. It has a very fruity nose of blackberry, wild berries, plum and black cherry, as well as dusty earth, grilled meat, black pepper and smoke. It’s medium-bodied, dry and smooth with a very smoky finish. I’ll definitely buy this to serve as a simple, everyday wine.

2007 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon – Colchagua Valley, Chile ($15.99 Total Wine, $17.99 Crown, $21.49 ABC)

I really like this wine. It is a deep, dark purplish-ruby color. The nose is ripe, juicy and luscious with aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, plum, branchy toast cinnamon vanilla nuts dark chocolate and espresso. It displays big fruit on palate with firm tannins, a full body, and juicy raspberry/blackberry finish. YUM!

2007 Uriah Merlot Spring Valley Vineyards – Washington ($40-$50 online)

This is an explosive merlot with a fruit-filled aroma of raspberry, cherry, cranberry, plum and fig. The wine has a slight jammy quality as well as hints of baking spices, espresso and dark chocolate. It is a big wine with firm, velvety tannins and a long, dry finish. This wine rated 92 on Wine Spectator and the 2006 vintage was at No. 60 on their top 100 wines of 2009. It’s definitely young to drink now and could benefit from a few years in the cellar, saved for a special occasion.

2007 Matchbook Tempranillo – Dunnigan Hills, California (averages $15 online)

I’m a big lover of this Spanish grape and was curious to see how it would fare in the New World. This one has a full-on fruity nose of raspberries, cherries, blueberries and plum. The fruit has a candied characteristic. I also taste secondary aromas of vanilla, cinnamon and licorice. On the palate, the wine is fruity and smooth but with a fairly strong acidity and soft tannins. New World merlot drinkers would probably like this wine, but I think I’ll stick to the drier and earthier tempranillos from the Old World.

2007 Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico – Chianti, Italy ($24.99 at Crown and ABC)

This bright ruby colored wine’s nose is an aromatic blend of fresh baked cherry pie, raspberry and plum with notes of sweet baking spices like vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and star anise. On the palate, it’s a round, fruity wine with smooth tannins, a medium body and dry finish. This wine is a good choice for those turned off by the extreme dryness of many Italian wines, as it’s made in a fresh, fruitier style than most.

2006 St. Francis Syrah – Sonoma County, California (averages $22 online)

This is a deep magenta-colored wine with an aromatic nose of ripe, dark fruits like plum, blackberry and blueberry. The nose suggests a powerful wine with full flavors and high alcohol. On the palate, the wine is very juicy with spicy black pepper notes. The wine tastes big in all aspects with a full body, lively acidity and high alcohol. The fruit-forwardness of the wine is balanced with well-integrated tannins and a dry finish.

2006 Franciscan Merlot – Napa Valley ($15.99 at Total Wine, $16.99 at ABC, $17.99 for 2005 vintage at Crown)

This is a big, young wine with lots of wild berry aromas and flavors supported by vanilla and cinnamon notes. The fruit is intense and ripe on the palate with mouth-puckering tannins and a very dry finish. It mellowed out after we left it to open for a while, but it’s still a pretty big wine for the price tag.

2009 Tilia Torrontes – Salta, Argentina (the 2008 can be purchased online for $8-$12)

This fresh and fruity torrontes is aromatic with a nose of lychee, lime and roses. On the palate it’s light and fresh with a nice balance of intense fruit and crisp acidity. The finish is quick and clean. Like most torrontes, I found the wine simple but nice, the type of thing you could enjoy on its own by the pool or with light summer fare.

A few from Sweet:

2009 A to Z Rosé – Oregon ($12 online)

With a beautiful cherry color and a nose like a Jolly Rancher, this is a delicious summertime rosé. The aroma is very, very sweet and ripe, filled with cherries, cherry blossoms, strawberries and a hint of vanilla. Made from sangiovese grapes grown in southern Oregon, it’s a lively little wine. It proves smooth on the palate, melting into a dry crispness. It has a tiny finish that wasn’t as pleasant as the rest of it, but aside from me being nitpicky about that, I’m quite happy with this wine. Here’s the thing about rosé’s: if you don’t like them, you’re probably not ever going to like them. But if you’re a rosé kind a gal (or guy), then you’re probably, like I am, ridiculously pleased with almost everything pink. You can buy it here online for $12 a bottle.

2007 Bouchaine Carneros Pinot Noir ($30 online)

This spectacular pinot is a big winner. I’m usually not much of a pinot girl – give me big, chunky tannins any day of the week and twice on Saturdays, but this pinot is superbly done. In the glass, it is a pretty ruby color and on the nose it’s cherries, cherries, cherries. And then some strawberries and a touch of plums just for fun. It reminded me of a silk dress that had layers and layers of soft silk. I wrote on my notes for the night two words that sum it up: Perfect Pinot.

You can buy the pinot from www.bouchaine.com/shop for $30.

One from Earthy:

2007 Mercer Cabernet Sauvignon – Columbia Valley, Washington (suggested retail $22.99)

To pair with a leisurely Sunday evening of grilling, I took a bottle of 2007 Mercer Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley from the Swirl Girls’ growing collection of wines we’ve been sent for tasting and reviewing.

This Washington state cab is blended with 13 percent merlot and 10 percent cabernet franc, and aged in French and American oak for 18 months.

It’s got enticing aromas of black fruit and cherry, with a little smoke and spice from that time spent in a barrel. I even got a faint air of mint as I waved the glass back and forth beneath my nose.

On the taste, the wine is more dry and tart than fruity. The high alcohol level (14.5 percent) came across big – too big, I think – and my impression is the wine is a bit out of balance, with the alcohol and tannins playing too big a role over the subtle layers of fruit and spice.

~ Swirl Girls