This was a strange one. An extremely peppery, funky nose that didn't go away as the night wore on. On the palate it wasn't that extreme, but it had an acidic, almost grapefruity edge that made some guess it as burgundy blind, along with a dose of funk and spice and not enough fruit to back it up. Maybe this will get better with age, but extremely awkward right now.
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Fairly dense, dark fruited, natural wine funk; I think a dollop of brett, especially on the nose. Still young and tannic. Sealed for a revisit tomorrow. Addendum: So much better on night two. The off-putting aromas blew off, so it was not Brett, just some young Northern Rhone funk. Now it's dark red fruited, iron and blood and tannins, a little cured meat. Very nice, and one of the bigger improvements from night one to night two; glad I didn't follow my inclination pour it out.
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Much better than my last bottle earlier this month (and, maybe paradoxically, why I won't buy much of these in the future). Bright, clean and sharply delineated with no flaws on the nose or palate. Notes of pine and herbs on the nose with a pure acidic rush on the palate. It went extremely well with sautéed pork medallions, the acidity working well with the fattiness of the pork.
I'd buy more if they were reliably like this. But they're not, in my experience - my last bottle was pretty poor - which is a shame because it would be interesting to age these for 15 years and see what happens.
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A sharp, slightly burnt taste on the finish suggested that all was not entirely well with this bottle. I’m not sure this was technically “flawed” - seems like a style thing rather than a flaw thing- but the style is a bit off putting and the variability suggests it’s not great value, all things considered.
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Lovely hints of savory meat on the nose, but wickedly astringent and limited on the palate. Nothing like a wonderfully savory bottle I had in Berlin last year; this tastes like it's straight from the womb. On day 2, the palate is more Beaujolais like with bright blue fruit, notes of iron and dried herbs, moderate astringence, but the finish shows that characteristic savory, reductive character typical of Northern Rhone syrah. The structure still rules the day here. A puzzling and frustrating bottle that seems to need a significant slumber.
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Wow! What a find from Garagiste! Although young, this is drinking beautifully with deep, dark, mineral body and a long subtle finish. It held up about the same on the second day. Great QPR for this terroir-driven Syrah.
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On the nose, fresh, vivid red fruit, predominantly cranberry. Some baking spices? Wow - what an interesting nose. Just want to keep smelling it. One of the most gorgeous St. Joseph noses ever. In the mouth it is beautifully acidic. Brilliant red fruit - again the cranberry but also a dusty earthiness (whole cluster?). Prominent chalky minerality, especially on the finish. Quite chalky but in such an arresting way. Lingering finish - fine-grained drying tannins but mostly the chalkiness finishes the wine but he acidity lingers, making the mouth continue to water. It's out of the norm but in all of the good ways.
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Fresh and balanced st. joseph. Gorgeous peppery syrah fruit with depth and detail. Speaks of northern rhone in a friendly, but confident kind of way. There's an inherent structure to the wine, but the tannins are silky and the abv is low. Clearly a serious effort with solid potential for positive development.
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Just had one glass at a wine dinner, but this was spectacular and stood out in a field of many good wines. Full, gorgeous aromatics with exotic and spicy black fruit, olives, loads of black pepper and roasted herbs. The palate was plush and very bright/fresh, though not as complex and nuances as the aromatics at this stage. 93-94 point nose and 91 point palate, today. Huge upside from here.
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Organic and it is has a slight whiff of that biodynamic almost inherent taste that to me is really disturbing. Fortunately it disappears with time and reveals a rather elegant syrah wine which can be kept for not too long.
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The color was dark blue garnet, full body. Hard tannins whit soft acids, nose and taste was very young whit red fruit jam, spices, chalk, white pepper, sandal wood and grafit.
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Too young, loads of black berries, raspberries, black currant, pepper, the lot. But also very tight, acidic, tart, a hint of chalk and a little yeastiness. It was a mistake to open it now actually. Still it has enough structure and fruit that there could well be improvement in the future.
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Black cherries, floral, black pepper, a dry liquorice nuance and a soft dry herbal note. Structured, virile, fresh. It is extremely tight and, at the opening, slightly bitter and foreboding. Open and decant now or leave for 6 years and check back in after it fills out a little. Very good example of classic Norther Rhone syrah.
Day 2 was the wine was more melded, integrated, harmonious. Some of the flashy character had subsided but the structure was a bit more svelte and inviting. Maybe 6 years is ambitious...check in more periodically.
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A pretty you, and basic Syrah at this point. Decanted it for about an hour before I first tried it aromatics were a wall of dark fruit and smoke. As the evening wore on, it became more floral and the density of the dark fruit seemed to loosen a bit revealing a very lithe, feminine, wine. Should be a very interesting wine with some age...right now it's just very young.
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2/27/2023 - jviz wrote: 92 Points
Red fruited with firm acidity. One of the few syrahs with significant olive notes. Not quite as good as Dard Ribo but very nice.
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2/21/2022 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted briefly. Dark, peppery Syrah with interesting, complex nose of pipe tobacco and herbs. Relaxed and savory on the palate.
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8/13/2021 - ilcalmo wrote: 86 Points
This was a strange one. An extremely peppery, funky nose that didn't go away as the night wore on. On the palate it wasn't that extreme, but it had an acidic, almost grapefruity edge that made some guess it as burgundy blind, along with a dose of funk and spice and not enough fruit to back it up. Maybe this will get better with age, but extremely awkward right now.
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12/24/2020 - WST Likes this wine:
Fairly dense, dark fruited, natural wine funk; I think a dollop of brett, especially on the nose. Still young and tannic. Sealed for a revisit tomorrow.
Addendum:
So much better on night two. The off-putting aromas blew off, so it was not Brett, just some young Northern Rhone funk. Now it's dark red fruited, iron and blood and tannins, a little cured meat. Very nice, and one of the bigger improvements from night one to night two; glad I didn't follow my inclination pour it out.
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7/22/2020 - PJRONeill wrote: 91 Points
Much better than my last bottle earlier this month (and, maybe paradoxically, why I won't buy much of these in the future). Bright, clean and sharply delineated with no flaws on the nose or palate. Notes of pine and herbs on the nose with a pure acidic rush on the palate. It went extremely well with sautéed pork medallions, the acidity working well with the fattiness of the pork.
I'd buy more if they were reliably like this. But they're not, in my experience - my last bottle was pretty poor - which is a shame because it would be interesting to age these for 15 years and see what happens.
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7/9/2020 - PJRONeill wrote: 87 Points
A sharp, slightly burnt taste on the finish suggested that all was not entirely well with this bottle. I’m not sure this was technically “flawed” - seems like a style thing rather than a flaw thing- but the style is a bit off putting and the variability suggests it’s not great value, all things considered.
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5/12/2018 - 5laton wrote:
Lovely hints of savory meat on the nose, but wickedly astringent and limited on the palate. Nothing like a wonderfully savory bottle I had in Berlin last year; this tastes like it's straight from the womb.
On day 2, the palate is more Beaujolais like with bright blue fruit, notes of iron and dried herbs, moderate astringence, but the finish shows that characteristic savory, reductive character typical of Northern Rhone syrah. The structure still rules the day here. A puzzling and frustrating bottle that seems to need a significant slumber.
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11/21/2017 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow! What a find from Garagiste! Although young, this is drinking beautifully with deep, dark, mineral body and a long subtle finish. It held up about the same on the second day. Great QPR for this terroir-driven Syrah.
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4/20/2017 - randyjc wrote: 93 Points
On the nose, fresh, vivid red fruit, predominantly cranberry. Some baking spices? Wow - what an interesting nose. Just want to keep smelling it. One of the most gorgeous St. Joseph noses ever. In the mouth it is beautifully acidic. Brilliant red fruit - again the cranberry but also a dusty earthiness (whole cluster?). Prominent chalky minerality, especially on the finish. Quite chalky but in such an arresting way. Lingering finish - fine-grained drying tannins but mostly the chalkiness finishes the wine but he acidity lingers, making the mouth continue to water. It's out of the norm but in all of the good ways.
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1/30/2017 - EirikM wrote: 91 Points
Fresh and balanced st. joseph. Gorgeous peppery syrah fruit with depth and detail. Speaks of northern rhone in a friendly, but confident kind of way. There's an inherent structure to the wine, but the tannins are silky and the abv is low. Clearly a serious effort with solid potential for positive development.
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10/23/2016 - Nanda wrote: 92 Points
Just had one glass at a wine dinner, but this was spectacular and stood out in a field of many good wines. Full, gorgeous aromatics with exotic and spicy black fruit, olives, loads of black pepper and roasted herbs. The palate was plush and very bright/fresh, though not as complex and nuances as the aromatics at this stage. 93-94 point nose and 91 point palate, today. Huge upside from here.
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9/29/2016 - Bourgognefreak wrote: 89 Points
Organic and it is has a slight whiff of that biodynamic almost inherent taste that to me is really disturbing. Fortunately it disappears with time and reveals a rather elegant syrah wine which can be kept for not too long.
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5/31/2016 - ANIMISMUS Likes this wine: 89 Points
The color was dark blue garnet, full body. Hard tannins whit soft acids, nose and taste was very young whit red fruit jam, spices, chalk, white pepper, sandal wood and grafit.
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5/31/2016 - jrick wrote: 90 Points
Too young, loads of black berries, raspberries, black currant, pepper, the lot. But also very tight, acidic, tart, a hint of chalk and a little yeastiness. It was a mistake to open it now actually. Still it has enough structure and fruit that there could well be improvement in the future.
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1/14/2016 - paul clark wrote:
Black cherries, floral, black pepper, a dry liquorice nuance and a soft dry herbal note. Structured, virile, fresh. It is extremely tight and, at the opening, slightly bitter and foreboding. Open and decant now or leave for 6 years and check back in after it fills out a little. Very good example of classic Norther Rhone syrah.
Day 2 was the wine was more melded, integrated, harmonious. Some of the flashy character had subsided but the structure was a bit more svelte and inviting. Maybe 6 years is ambitious...check in more periodically.
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11/22/2015 - tooch wrote:
A pretty you, and basic Syrah at this point. Decanted it for about an hour before I first tried it aromatics were a wall of dark fruit and smoke. As the evening wore on, it became more floral and the density of the dark fruit seemed to loosen a bit revealing a very lithe, feminine, wine. Should be a very interesting wine with some age...right now it's just very young.
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