So, like what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 81 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890 (Rioja): Licorice, tea leaf, fig, spice & awesomeness just checked in as the mayors of your mouth. $250 A >>find this wine>>
• 95 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890 (Rioja): Tight, intricate savory balsamic & stewed plum act; finish measured in senate term lengths $149 A >>find this wine>>
• 82 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 (Rioja): Symphonies don’t unfold as complexly, slowly, vibrantly, enticingly & gorgeously as this. $200 A >>find this wine>>
• 98 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 (Rioja): Plums on sandalwood to start, tea to finish, & top-notch balsamic on the herbs in-between. $50 A- >>find this wine>>
• 04 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva (Rioja): On its way to being wonderful (& too funky), but earthy finish alone is worth the $. $30 B+ >>find this wine>>
• 01 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial (Rioja): An absolute triumph of long-lived fruity/herbal complexity, freshness & value $30 A- >>find this wine>>
• 06 Vina Alberdi Reserva (Rioja): More dark fruit, balsamic & structure than you’d expect at this price (& maybe a bit more oak, too). $20 B >>find this wine>>
• 09 Finca San Martin Crianza (Rioja): Classic tobacco-laden Rioja, with a dash of modernly styled plum for good measure (& good value). $14 B >>find this wine>>
• 04 Miguel Merino Gran Reserva (Rioja): Elegant, herbal, earthy & so electrically alive that it could charge a Nissan LEAF for a week. $45 A- >>find this wine>>
• 06 Miguel Merino Reserva (Rioja): Dusty, firm, punishing structure that will provide a cherry, tobacco & earth bounty to the patient. $35 B+ >>find this wine>>
• 04 Miguel Merino Vitola Reserva (Rioja): Martha Stewart probably wishes that her kitchen smelled this earthy, spicy, elegant, & fresh $35 A- >>find this wine>>
• 09 Miguel Merino Mazuelo de la Quinta Cruz (Rioja): Carignan right at home, & at its brambly, peppery, structured, sour-cherry best.$23 B+ >>find this wine>>
• 08 Palacios Remondo Placet Valtomelloso (Rioja): An odd bird, canned peas for 1 wing & rich citrus for the other; but it still flies. $30 B >>find this wine>>
• 08 Palacios Remondo Propriedad (Rioja): Violets & pepper meet blueberry & tobacco; rich sexiness ensues, if not a sense of place. $40 B+ >>find this wine>>
• 11 Ponzi Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley): Favors flavor, flowers & tropics over balance, but wins over with its willingness to party. $15 B >>find this wine>>
• 09 Ponzi Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): An earthy, peppery, cherry & raspberry welcome mat to introduce you to what WV is all about. $35 B+ >>find this wine>>