What have we had lately?

Some wines I've had in recent months, plus a couple beers:

Turley Zinfandel Juvenile 2004

Amazingly rich complexity. Deep berry fruit and cocoa as rich as dark chocolate. Actually enjoyed it with chocolate. Almost like unfortified port. Total winner.

Lily Sonoma Pinot Noir 2005

Softer berry fruit like strawberries and light, fresh cherries. Opens up as it sits. A decent amount of complexity with less intensity. Very nice.

Menage a Trois Red 2004

It is what it is. A fun party wine and a cute joke to tell the next day. Easy to drink, lots of soft fruit. Not quite soda or jelly, but almost.

Las Brisas Spanish White 2005

A beautifully soft and floral white. A total steal at six or seven bucks. Light and aromatic, floral with the faintest hint of stonefruit. Crisp but short finish. I could drink this all day.

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2006

Again, this is what it is. Not the best of the Beaujolais Nouveau that I sampled in 2006, but decent nonetheless. The usual nouveau flavors. You get tired of this wine as you drink it. Next time, I'll have it over ice.

O'Fallon Chocolate Cherry Beer

Strange, fun, and not bad. A beer that actually strives to taste like chocolate covered cherries. There's lots of chocolate, and a sort of fruity sweet cherry which is lost in all the chocolate. Much less dark than I expected, and just a little too sweet.

Hoegaarden

Add this one to my list of favorite wheat beers. A Belgian white, this is softer on the spice but still very rich in flavor. A tiny touch of sweetness and some other, more clean flavor that I can't quite put my finger on - sort of like the crispness of soap, only not in a bad way. This will be in my bar rotation, if only I can find bars that have it on tap.