Charming and perfumed start with red and black berry, but this quickly falls off the cliff and shows very modest weight and length. Even though still nicely fresh.
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Fascinating wine, from a unique region, and a grape that's not all that common. But all things considered it was a little thinner than I'd hoped, plus acidic. Good, or at least better when the food showed up, but sub-par for my palate. Might lose a bit of its shaprness with a couple more years in the bottle.
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See previous TN. Very enjoyable bottle. Although opinions about Garagiste vary considerably, to me, this wine represents what Jon R is trying to accomplish -- a wine with a difference. Interesting to drink.
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The first bottle I had of this (a few years ago) was a bit rustic, but in retrospect perhaps off, because this bottle was singing. Bright, medium body, red fruit, very velvety and smooth finish. Very food-friendly I love the D. Ventura bottlings from Ribeira Sacra but this was right up there in terms of quality. Wish I had more.
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Very much liked this, don't know how to score it against any peers, but my enjoyment was low 90s if I had to put a number on it. Juicy yet stern, earthy and light, this was just fun to drink. It actually reminded me of a rich Dolcetto, not the same flavors but the impression. Notes of rose petals joined forest and sour cherry on the palate. Wish I had more, and I'll seek out this region in the future. Looking at a NYT article Asimov did not too long ago, this area is beautiful physically too - be fun to visit.
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Purity of fruit (it's lift and sweetness are outstanding), a harmony of parts (seamless, as they say), great balance with a plump but refreshing frame. Fabulous. This seems to be the sort of wine that prevents me from giving numerical scores (while recognizing their utility). Right now, it's perfect.
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90 points for being a well-made wine with good balance and all the right moves. 1 more point for being interesting. Great bottle. I am not certain if more time will help, although there is no rush.
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Nice wine. Decanted two hours. Floral nose with intermixed red fruit and earth, pretty nice palate with good acidity that is a bit too sharp but still quite refreshing. Very good finish - long and mineral laden. 12.5%. As good on days 2 and 3 as on the first.
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Really pretty stuff, vibrantly fruited with a wild berry character halfway between pinot and gamay, but deeper in tone, fuller, and fleshier - dense enough to feel plump without feeling gloppy. It comes across warm and gentle with a rounded, polished texture, very pure in fruit without any one element sticking out.
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Impression only - this didn't stand out on day one, had a glass and a half and left the wine vacuvinned overnight. Day two, this really blossomed into a ripe yet juicy wine that was very nice - though not like other CF / Mencias I've had, this wasn't as stern. Since this is my first experience with this DO (DOC?), I can't say if it's typical - but it was fun to drink.
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Grapey and primary, with air some dried herbs, black licorice with the dark fruit. I get the Loire Cab Franc reference, there are a lot of similarities, but the soft dusty tannin and slight reduction reminds me a little of Dolcetto. Nice juicy acidity made this work great with a beef stew. No noticeable new oak. Very enjoyable, and I would guess this will improve with a few years of age.
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Very young, tooks some time to come together and was much more integrated on day two. Much more black-fruited in profile than Mencias I've had from Bierzo; comes across as a hypothetical blend of ripe vintage chinon and nuit-st-georges villages; fascinating herbal aromatics and medium to full-bodied in the mouth with velvety blackberry minerality; tannins are there but well integrated and there's plenty of acidic lift. Pure, beautiful wine. Will be interesting to see how it develops with a few years in the bottle.
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12/27/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 86 Points
Charming and perfumed start with red and black berry, but this quickly falls off the cliff and shows very modest weight and length. Even though still nicely fresh.
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6/17/2014 - TallMikeWine wrote: 87 Points
Fascinating wine, from a unique region, and a grape that's not all that common. But all things considered it was a little thinner than I'd hoped, plus acidic. Good, or at least better when the food showed up, but sub-par for my palate. Might lose a bit of its shaprness with a couple more years in the bottle.
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6/8/2013 - John Nezlek wrote: 90 Points
See previous TN. Very enjoyable bottle. Although opinions about Garagiste vary considerably, to me, this wine represents what Jon R is trying to accomplish -- a wine with a difference. Interesting to drink.
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3/24/2013 - El vino loco wrote: flawed
Completely corked even though original drinking window was supposed to be from2013-2016. Extremely disappointed
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1/4/2013 - MJHDC wrote:
The first bottle I had of this (a few years ago) was a bit rustic, but in retrospect perhaps off, because this bottle was singing. Bright, medium body, red fruit, very velvety and smooth finish. Very food-friendly I love the D. Ventura bottlings from Ribeira Sacra but this was right up there in terms of quality. Wish I had more.
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7/8/2011 - Squirreljam wrote:
Very much liked this, don't know how to score it against any peers, but my enjoyment was low 90s if I had to put a number on it. Juicy yet stern, earthy and light, this was just fun to drink. It actually reminded me of a rich Dolcetto, not the same flavors but the impression. Notes of rose petals joined forest and sour cherry on the palate. Wish I had more, and I'll seek out this region in the future. Looking at a NYT article Asimov did not too long ago, this area is beautiful physically too - be fun to visit.
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6/12/2011 - Junior wrote:
Purity of fruit (it's lift and sweetness are outstanding), a harmony of parts (seamless, as they say), great balance with a plump but refreshing frame. Fabulous. This seems to be the sort of wine that prevents me from giving numerical scores (while recognizing their utility). Right now, it's perfect.
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2/21/2011 - John Nezlek wrote: 91 Points
90 points for being a well-made wine with good balance and all the right moves. 1 more point for being interesting. Great bottle. I am not certain if more time will help, although there is no rush.
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12/9/2010 - ron m wrote:
Nice wine. Decanted two hours. Floral nose with intermixed red fruit and earth, pretty nice palate with good acidity that is a bit too sharp but still quite refreshing. Very good finish - long and mineral laden. 12.5%. As good on days 2 and 3 as on the first.
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9/12/2010 - jwwinec wrote:
Bright mineral driven wine with sweet red fruits. Good acid and tannin structure. Light and graceful, this was delightful.
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7/13/2010 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 88 Points
Really pretty stuff, vibrantly fruited with a wild berry character halfway between pinot and gamay, but deeper in tone, fuller, and fleshier - dense enough to feel plump without feeling gloppy. It comes across warm and gentle with a rounded, polished texture, very pure in fruit without any one element sticking out.
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3/12/2010 - Squirreljam wrote:
Impression only - this didn't stand out on day one, had a glass and a half and left the wine vacuvinned overnight. Day two, this really blossomed into a ripe yet juicy wine that was very nice - though not like other CF / Mencias I've had, this wasn't as stern. Since this is my first experience with this DO (DOC?), I can't say if it's typical - but it was fun to drink.
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1/24/2010 - marc d wrote:
Grapey and primary, with air some dried herbs, black licorice with the dark fruit.
I get the Loire Cab Franc reference, there are a lot of similarities, but
the soft dusty tannin and slight reduction reminds me a little of Dolcetto.
Nice juicy acidity made this work great with a beef stew. No noticeable new oak.
Very enjoyable, and I would guess this will improve with a few years of age.
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3/5/2009 - DHJ1968 wrote:
Very young, tooks some time to come together and was much more integrated on day two. Much more black-fruited in profile than Mencias I've had from Bierzo; comes across as a hypothetical blend of ripe vintage chinon and nuit-st-georges villages; fascinating herbal aromatics and medium to full-bodied in the mouth with velvety blackberry minerality; tannins are there but well integrated and there's plenty of acidic lift. Pure, beautiful wine. Will be interesting to see how it develops with a few years in the bottle.
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