"What did I buy from Garagiste?!?" third semi-annual tasting and dinner

14 bottles of “highly recommended” wine from Garagiste. Monday night was my third semi-annual “What the heck did I buy from Garagiste?” tasting and dinner. I open some of the more eccentric and unique bottles from the most recent semi-annual shipment. I print out Jon Rimmerman’s email descriptions and we taste through the wines. I'd like to thank the tasting group for their hard work. Out of 14 bottles, only three cost over $20. So the fact that our group truly liked over half of these wines is a credit to Garagiste. I doubt we would like 5% of the $10-15 bottles randomly purchased at a wine store.

The notes are in my order of preference. Since few of the bottles were finished Monday night, my notes are also influenced by how they tasted Tuesday night.

• 2004 Azienda Agricola Giordano Sirch Friuli Colli Orientali Friulano 92 Points

  Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Friuli Colli Orientali

  Close to consensus for WOTN. Jon didn't exaggerate this wine's quality at all. Starts with great floral aromas. Wonderful fruit and mouth feel. Flavors of peach linger on the finish. Unbelievable value at $13. Of course this wonderful wine demonstrates the problem with ordering a small production wine in May and drinking it in December – it’s no longer available. Wine searcher shows it in two stores – one in Italy and the other in Bosnia.

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• NV Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Panorama Palette d'Arômes 91 Points

  France, Vin de Table Français

  Tasting. This is the 2005 release (in case there have been multiple releases). A bright, simple fun wine. Traces of spice underlie the fruit. Didn’t taste like a 2005 Chateauneuf, so this would have been impossible to guess blind. Great freshness and another amazing $12 value. Drink this young – it tasted quite tired the 2nd night.

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• 2005 Marchetti Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Late Harvest 91 Points

  Italy, Marche, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

  Tasting. Unusual wine with lots of exotic fruit flavors and intensity. Seemed to show lots of acidity, which intensified the flavors. Great with food.

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• 2004 Area Syrah Clary Ranch/Corona Creek 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  This is made by Jon’s lieutenants, Pat and Tim. I can’t imagine anybody making wine this well in their first commercial release! Dark fruit on the nose with a hint of spice. Excellent balance of ripe fruit, acidity and tannins. Elegant wine, even if slightly simple fruit that will most likely be best consumed in the next year or two. It passed one of the best possible tests – it was one of only three bottles finished Monday night.

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• 2004 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Tasting. I included this in the tasting because it’s the first time the wine is being made by Mugnier (Marechale’s owner) who took back the lease from Faiveley for the 2004 vintage. I’ve never been a big Marechale fan and 2004 is my least favorite Burgundy vintage in a decade…but this wine is a success. Not quite a “90 point” wine but close. Good black fruit, very forward and fresh. Nicely balanced and accessible but the tannins retain the green edge characteristic of the vintage, particularly in NSG. I doubt this is a long-term ager but it drinks nicely now. Better with food than on its own.

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• 2001 Yering Station Yarrabank Cuvée 89 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Tasting. Big nutty flavors to start. Good strawberry flavors follow. Nice citrus zip on the finish. Another sensational value at $15.

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• 2003 Marchesi Alfieri Pinot Nero San Germano 88 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato

  Tasting. Old vine Pinot Noir. At 1st quite tannic with moderate black fruit. Didn’t show lots of spice or nuance. On the 2nd day there were great aromatics, better integration and a longer finish. Fruit was still just average. I have one more bottle which I will try in another 5-10 years.

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• 2005 Bodegas Angel Rodriguez Verdejo Rueda Martínsancho 87 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Rueda

  Tasting. Lush fruit nose. Lots of bright fruit flavors – both apple and citrus elements. Good fruit but slightly tart on the finish.

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• 2002 Domaine de la Vougeraie En Bollery Terres d’en Face 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Tasting. 100% Gamay from Cote d'Or. Great fruit on the nose, lots of spice in the background. Simple fruit flavors on the palate, with a touch of bitterness on the finish.

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• 2004 Altocedro Malbec Ano Cero 86 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco, La Consulta

  Tasting. Dark and slightly ripe fruit, with nice aromatics. Well made wine, good value for money. A bit of heat on the finish.

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• 2005 Jean-Pierre et Jean-Francois Quenard Vin de Savoie Chignin Anne de la Biguerne 85 Points

  France, Savoie, Vin de Savoie Chignin

  Tasting. First time I ever had a Jacquerre. No hurry to try one again. Okay fruit, okay minerality. Simple, pleasant glass of wine, good value at $10.

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• 2005 Ibarretxe Zorriketa Bizkaiko Txakolina Uriondo Malieta Mahasti 85 Points

  Spain, País Vasco, Bizkaiko Txakolina

  Tasting. Made from Mune Mahatsa and Txori Mahatsa from Txakoli in the Spanish Pyranees. Pale nose, flavors of apple and pear. More minerality and acidity than fruit. Nice summer wine.

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• 2003 Tenuta Duca di Casalanza Barchessa Veneto IGT Flawed

  Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT

  Corked.

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• 2004 Vinae Mureri Viño de la Tierra de Valle del Jiloca Muret (Azul/Blue) Flawed

  Spain, Aragón, Viño de la Tierra de Valle del Jiloca

  Tasting. Clearly flawed bottle. One of our tasters had a fine bottle last week, and this bottle was undrinkable.

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