This week’s Pick may have a really long name, but it is absolutely worth every letter of it! So food friendly, it works with just about anything — from roasted chicken to grilled meats and veggies, charcuterie and cheeses. Enjoy!

Alain Boisson 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Village Cairanne Domaine Cros de Romet ($18). Loved it — exceptional value, too. With deep, dark, extracted fruit — blackberry, boysenberry, black plum — laced with smoke, tobacco, mineral and fennel notes. Long, rich finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Here’s a round-up of Chardonnays I’ve  enjoyed lately — with a little something for every budget!

Round Hill 2008 Chardonnay California Oak Free ($12). Crisp and refreshing, with green pear and apple, pretty lemon and a juicy finish. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Kilikanoon 2007 Chardonnay South Australia The Lackey ($15). Refreshing, not overly oaked or creamy, but still offering full-bodied pear and citrus flavors and palate weight that will appeal to Chardonnay drinkers. Full, toasty, lightly spicy finish. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Gordon Brothers 2008 Chardonnay Columbia Valley ($16). A fairly light, fresh style for an oaked and “malo’ed” Chardonnay, with juicy pear, apple and light tropical citrus aromas and flavors that finish with toast and clove spice. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Murphy-Goode 2007 Chardonnay Sonoma County ($17). A rich, creamy, tropical, vanilla-laced number with a pricetag that should please fans of the style. Ripe pineapple and juicy peach flavors dominate, with a full, creamy finish. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Mary Elke 2008 Chardonnay Anderson Valley ($19). Crisp and clean and a full-on bargain at this price. Like taking a bite of fresh, red-skinned apple, but so much better ‘cuz it’s wine. With hints of mineral, green pear and fig, and a mouthwatering finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Not much made, so buy it if you can find it. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Nelson Family Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay Mendocino ($21). The fruit really shines here — fresh, juicy apple and pear — with deft touches of cream, spicy butterscotch and toast that emerge on the finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Jackson Estate 2007 Chardonnay Marlborough Shelter Belt ($22). Marlborough may be best known for its Sauvignon Blancs, but this Chardonnay is a knockout. With juicy tangerine, clove and mineral accenting a core of ripe pear and lingering on the vibrant finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 3-4 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

William Hill 2007 Chardonnay Napa Valley ($22). Clean, aromatic and pretty, with floral accents to the pear, nectarine and green fig fruit, and creamy vanilla emerging on the long finish. Ready to drink now and over the next year or two. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Navarro Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay Anderson Valley ($25). Crisp green apple aromas and flavors float above a core of creamy melon, buttered toast and baking spices. Easy to like. Ready to drink now and over the next year or two. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Matanzas Creek 2007 Chardonnay Sonoma Valley ($29). A sleek, lemony throughline stays crisp and elegant from beginning to end, and supports ripe pear, tropical citrus and fig flavors. With touches of toast, butter and cream through the long, rich finish. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area. (2010-02-26)

Bouchaine 2007 Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros ($30). Fresh, aromatic pineapple and peach flavors are laced with toasty oak, butterscotch and a touch of lemony brightness. Full-bodied, focused finish. Ready to drink now and over the next year or two. Locate this wine online or in your area.

C. Donatiello 2007 Chardonnay Russian River Valley Maddie’s Vineyard ($34). Ripe pear, tropical citrus and baking spice notes mingle in this lively, full-bodied, pretty wine. With a swath of creme brulee through the long, silky finish. Ready to drink now and over the next couple of years. Locate this wine online or in your area. (2010-09-24)

Mayacamas 2006 Chardonnay Mt. Veeder – Napa Valley ($35). A pretty array of green fig, melon, pear and apple is accented with touches of lime zest, straw, toast and vanilla that linger on the finish. Tempting now but will age nicely, for 5+ years at least. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Grgich Hills 2007 Chardonnay Napa Valley ($42). Ripe pear, peach and fig fruit are layered with toast and light spices, with a fragrant lemon acidity that brightens and balances the oaky notes and lingers on a long, rich finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 4-5 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

To me, “bargain” is about more than price — it means value. It means good quality wine at a surprisingly low price. To that end, here are a few that qualify — even a sparkling — at just $10!

RED
Andeluna Cellars 2007 Merlot Tupungato ($10). Nice value on this Argentina Merlot — savory smoke, earth and spices accent supple red berry fruit. Surprisingly substantial. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Arido 2007 Malbec Mendoza ($10). Seriously a bargain, with appealing savory and mineral notes balancing the smooth red berry, toasty vanilla and baking spice aromas and flavors. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area. (2010-02-27)

WHITE
Kamiak 2008 White Blend Columbia Valley Windust ($10). This one could easily become my house white this summer! Flirts with off-dry, but stays crisp and refreshing, with tropical citrus fruit and touches of ripe apple and peach, with a rounded, lightly spicy finish. Ready to drink now. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Pomelo 2008 Sauvignon Blanc California ($10). This one was a nice surprise, offering fragrant, crisp apple, grapefruit, peach and mineral notes that stay bright and juicy through the finish. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area. (2009-11-29)

SPARKLING
Pongracz NV Brut Western Cape ($10). From Fresh & Easy markets comes this South African sparkler — an excellent value, with crisp berry and apple flavors touched with yeast and honey notes. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

I recently tasted this wine at a big portfolio tasting (Prestige Wine Cellars — thanks, Mo!) and had to kind of laugh. It’s such a ringer at one of these things… You taste and spit glass after glass of Malbec, Cabernet, etc. and then you get to something this nectary and soothing and sweet — and of course you love it! I think this same pattern has a lot to do with how much Antigua Merryvale sells out of its tasting room in St. Helena. (Not that I’m knocking Antigua…)

So I tasted Essensia again just the other day, with a much fresher palate, and still thought it was a knock-out dessert wine — at a really great price, I might add. A glass of this and a crisp biscotti are a perfect choice when you don’t want a big, heavy dessert. (And yes, you should definitely dunk.)

Quady 2007 Essensia Orange Muscat California ($14, 375ml). Sweet, intense tangerine marmalade aromas and flavors are laced with caramel, brown butter and fig, wrapping up in a long, silky, mouthwatering finish. Delish! Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

I had one of those sublime wine and cheese pairing moments recently when served Pleasant Ridge Reserve alpine-style cow’s milk cheese with an absolutely lovely Washington State Syrah. Here’s the skinny:

Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made by the Uplands Cheese Company in Wisconsin. The company’s cows are reportedly happily grazing away on ridgetop grasses and fresh herbs — and I believe that only a happy cow could produce the kind of milk that ends up tasting this good in a cheese! Rich, creamy, complex, notes of caramel and a fruity/grassy/briny tang. Cannot recommend it enough.

With it was a wine that I actually tasted not so long ago at a luncheon — and was happy to revisit. The Reininger 2006 Syrah Columbia Valley Helix ($27). offers ripe, aromatic blueberry, blackberry and plum fruit layered with chocolate, wild herbs and earthy notes that linger on the lush finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

I don’t blame people for being confused about many of California’s appellations — most are pretty broad and diversified to the point that they offer little insight to consumers trying to glean information from a wine label.  Examples of a region and grape variety making a practically can’t-miss combination are fairly rare when it comes to the wide and varied world of California wines. (The same can be said for many other New World wine regions, by the by…)

This is just one more reason that I’m happy to spotlight Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. This cool climate niche in the larger Mendocino appellation may be home to the most consistently excellent Pinot Noirs in California. They’re not cheap — you won’t find too many less than $20 — but they’re not out of reach, either.

Last year I had the pleasure of touring Anderson Valley for the first time, and it quickly became a favorite on my personal wine region list. Cute hotel, coffee shops and cafes, and really nice people.

I suppose Goldeneye (part of the Duckhorn family of wineries)  is the heavy hitter in the area — with its swanky, formal tasting lawn, and a bigger, riper, more opulent Pinot Noir style. Its wines are also noticeably pricier than just about anything else in the area. Even though I tend to gravitate to the smaller, off-the-beaten-path wineries, it wasn’t hard to see why Goldeneye’s wines have drawn big scores from most critics.

I tasted loads of good wines — here are a few of my favorites:

Elke Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Donnelly Creek Vineyard ($34). Loved this wine for its “Old World” style — dusty mineral notes accent elegant, medium-bodied black plum and berry fruit. With a long, complex, velvety finish. Tempting now but should age beautifully for 6-8 years. A lot of wine for the money. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Elke Vineyards 2001 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Donnelly Creek Vineyard ($N/A). Definite earthy aromas and flavors mingled with delicate black plum, berry and currant fruit, with a long, silky, complex finish that picked up hints of incense, sweet spices and lightly toasted oak. Ready to drink now and over the next few years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Foursight Wines 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Charles Vineyard All In ($46). “All in” here means that the winery is using all (four) of its Pinot Noir clones in this wine — as opposed to a single-clone wine. I really liked it — lovely dark fruit aromas and flavors, with bright acidity, subtle oak influence, and a long, complex finish. Medium bodied and balanced. Should age beautifully. Ready to drink now and over the next 4-5 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Goldeneye 2006 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley ($55). Deep, velvety, mouthcoating, with concentrated red cherry and berry fruit, exotic spices, a touch of licorice, and distinctive herbal notes. Long, rich finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 4-5 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Husch Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley ($23). Pretty, aromatic and on the delicate side, with an appealing loamy earth accent to the red berry, exotic spice and vanilla notes, with a long, smooth finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 3-4 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Mary Elke 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley ($26). Ripe, certainly, but still offering some delicacy and nuance, with black cherry and plum fruit accented with warm spices and nutty oak. Long, ripe finish. Ready to drink now and over the next couple of years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Phillips Hill 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Oppenlander Vineyard ($42). I tasted through several of Phillips Hill’s single vineyard Pinots, and thought this one had it all — rich, silky dark cherry and plum fruit, but also complex mushroom, licorice, clove and toasted vanilla notes that linger on the slightly dusty finish. Approachable now, but should age nicely — 6+ years, at least. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Toulouse 2006 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley ($39). Pretty and nuanced, with aromatic anise and white pepper spice accenting red cherry and berry flavors that linger on the smooth finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 3-4 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Toulouse 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley ($42). Deeper and richer than the 2006, with black cherry and berry fruit layered with aromatic, sweet baking spices, vanilla and herbal notes that linger on the supple finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 4-5 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

There’s a chili cookoff happening in my neck of the woods this weekend, which puts me in mind of Malbec. It’s a great match for chili, not to mention roasted meats, grilled vegetables and more. In other words, it’s a food-friendly, versatile red wine — aromatic and usually made in a smooth, easy-to-like style. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed lately, at a range of prices:

Ambas 2008 Malbec Mendoza ($6). Quite a nice surprise at this price, offering pretty, medium- to light-bodied blackberry and currant fruit with pepper and toast accents. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Arido 2007 Malbec Mendoza ($10). Seriously a bargain, with appealing savory and mineral notes balancing the smooth red berry, toasty vanilla and baking spice aromas and flavors. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Navarro Correas 2007 Malbec Mendoza Coleccion Privada ($11). Smooth, ripe blackberry and cherry flavors are accented with smoky vanilla and fresh herbs. An easy drink. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Clayhouse 2008 Malbec Paso Robles ($15). Nice price on a bold, full-flavored wine, with loads of rich, concentrated blackberry and raspberry fruit accented with light peppery and tobacco notes and milk chocolate that lingers on the smooth finish. Ready to drink now. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Layer Cake 2008 Malbec Mendoza ($15). Big and full and slurpably good, offering lush blackberry jam, black cherry, tangy spices, dark chocolate and a long, smooth finish. A lot of bang for the buck. Ready to drink now and over the next couple of years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Ikal 1150 2007 Malbec Mendoza ($20). Fruit driven and pretty, with violet aromas, concentrated berry and currant flavors, a touch of herbs, and a bright finish with very little oak influence. Ready to drink now and over the next couple of years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Finca del Origen 2008 Malbec Uco Valley Gran Reserva ($23). Just a baby — and should age nicely! Bright and intensely flavored, with violet aromas accenting focused blackberry and raspberry flavors, picking up baking spices and mocha. Give it a minute to breathe and it smooths out nicely. Drink now and over the next 3-4 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.