• By Josh Raynolds
  July/August 2009, IWC Issue #145, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Bodega Numanthia-Termes Numanthia Toro) Login and sign up and see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  8/12/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (NUMANTHIA) UPDATE: Lunch Every week, we give a member of our staff (whether they pack your boxes or organize container logistics) the chance to be in charge of an outdoor employee lunch that has taken on a block party atmosphere. Whoever is in charge that week must develop or bring recipes and ideas for a gourmet picnic or cookout that will pair with certain wines we are sampling. As a side note, we always try to sample wine with and without food - just as you will. In truth, critics who sit in a sterile room tasting 100 wines at a time (without any food interaction) do not experience every nuance a wine can provide - only food will bring out the last layer of a wine's potential complexity as perceived by your senses. For this reason, I like to take two tasting notes on each wine we are considering - the first with the wine by itself and then with food. It's always interesting to see how they match up. The employee lunch has become quite an event in our corner of SODO and many in our neighborhood look forward to stopping by each week for the "Gourmet Garage". It may not be The French Laundry, but some very interesting culinary creations have come about and a few have attracted the attention of famous local chefs (one, that shall go nameless, dubbed our savory confection known as the Pork âclair "Garage food gone wrong"...to each his own but who needs custard filling when you have pork belly?) Here's a peak: http://www.garagistewine.com/index.php?option=com_expose&Itemid=61 <http://www.garagistewine.com/index.php?option=com_expose&Itemid=61> The people in the photos are real Garagiste employees - no actors were hired. Let's hope they wash the barbequed pork belly off their hands before packing your next box... - Jon Rimmerman ****************************** Num Dear Friends, ...speaking of commercial houses, Numanthia has (in some way) become the Mondavi of Toro and now that they've sold to LVMH, it will only be more commercialized. The 2006 is the last vintage produced by the original family and I thought it appropriate to offer a wine that deserves notoriety for putting the entire Toro region on the map. In a not so positive light, it also deserves notoriety for sparking an Ordonez-score formula that dozens if not hundreds of Spanish producers attempted to emulate over the last decade - a style that is somewhat of a cross between South Australia and the Southern Rhone (hmm, both just happen to be the favorite region of a certain critic). In some way, Numanthia is partially responsible for altering the course of modern Spanish wine - a road that was headed toward La Rioja Alta or Tondonia but ended up at the gates of Toro instead. Positive or negative, the 2006 Numanthia is not your average creation. It deserves an offer based on what's in the bottle and not on the trail of misguided wine brands it inspired. Far more classic and adult in nature than preceding years, the cough syrup component Numanthia is known for stays firmly in the background with the 2006 and most will perceive it as completely absent (the 2006 Termanthia is another story - yikes). Given the requisite cellar time, this wine may turn into something very fine indeed but it is still not for those seeking a lilting Loire Gamay... This parcel has arrived - it is not a pre-arrival. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at this price with perfect provenance. STRICT LIMIT 60/person until we run out (we cannot offer more than 5 cases to one customer at this price) 2006 Bodega Numanthia "Numanthia" (Toro) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Spain3499