Garagiste Test Drive

Minnesota
Tasted Friday, April 3, 2009 - Sunday, April 5, 2009 by vanpe003 with 1,235 views

Introduction

I arrived home this week to a foyer of wine. Not only had the spring Garagiste shipment come in, but also had a number of others from the likes of William Selyem, Copain, Scarecrow, Continuum, Maybach....the list goes on. So, much of the weekend was spent sorting wines. Some to offsite, some to the everyday bin. Since I was unfamiliar with much of the wine that came from Garagiste, it seemed like the right thing to have an impromptu tasting. In general, the Garagiste wines were good to very good, with a couple of flat out stunners. In addition to those, a few other bottles were also opened to make room on the racks!

It's a rare event when the whites steal the show among any group of stuff I open. I have to say this weekend, they were the consistent stars, all cracking the 90 pt mark. Maybe I'll become a convert!

Flight 1 - Whites / Sparklers (4 Notes)

A couple from Garagiste, and a throw in from Williams Selyem and the Rare Wine Company. For me, the most pleasant surprise of the bunch was the Marcel Moineaux, a gorgeous champagne that is drinking surprisingly well now and quite a bargain. It's pure luck that I bought a case of this......

  • NV Champagne Le Mesnil Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (4/5/2009)

    A nice bottle stylistically for me. Initially a bit out of sorts and all over the place. Needs 15 minutes in the glass to settle down and integrate.

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  • 2005 Stéphane Cossais Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Volagré 91 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire

    (4/4/2009)

    I saw a blog note on this describing it as honeyed, but balanced with acidity and minerality. It's very nice now, but I see this coming together over time to be an even more appealing package, with individual flavors better married. No idea how these age, but the rest of my bottles are going offsite to age a bit. 5 years?? Has a lot of similarities to a white burgundy. Some of this bottle is ending up in G's pasta carbonara, which seems like a shame!

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  • 2002 Marcel Moineaux Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut 92 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (4/4/2009)

    A pleasant surprise. I was expecting to find something much too young, and in need of bottle age before becoming enjoyable. While bottle age will certainly improve this, it's a pleasure today. Light yeast, a hint of tropical grass on the nose. On the palate, both light on its feet and full of flavor. At the price, this is an incredible bottle of bubbly.

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  • 2005 Williams Selyem Chardonnay Hawk Hill Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    (4/5/2009)

    The highlight for me is a smoky oak, somewhat resinous finish. An absolute delight. In general, a nice weight trending toward heavy, but not mouthpuckering. A dryness on this finish suggests a structure to carry this forward a number of years.

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Flight 2 - Reds (13 Notes)

A lot of wines in this bunch scoring in the high 80's. The Lesec is an outlier...not from a recent shipment, a wine I've never enjoyed and it was time to get rid of the last bottle. Likewise the Lafage, which I initially enjoyed on release, but now feel like I have too much of. The Anderson's was a different kind of outlier, a very nice wine that probably would have been better 5 years from now. Oddly, all the syrah-based wines seemed to develop a somewhat astringent note on the finish, making each of them difficult to enjoy. The Marco Abella Mallola and the Brooks Janus are the two highlights in terms of good surprises.

Most of the reds from Garagiste are presently in the "pleasant enough" category, but few were stunning at this point in their lives. Two exceptions are the Brooks Janus pinot and the Fojo. The pinot aligns perfectly to my preferred style, and the Fojo has the obvious stuffing of an important wine. The Substance wines were also a pleasant surprise. Not for their high scores, but for their value. Even though the Merlot was corked, both wines showed a subtlety and level of quality that is uncommon at this low price point.

  • 2003 Patrick Lesec Côtes du Rhône les Beaumes 85 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

    (4/5/2009)

    Last bottle....good riddance. Just not my style. Hot on the finish and not enough fruit.

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  • 2007 Domaine La Blaque Pierrevert 87 Points

    France, Provence, Pierrevert

    (4/4/2009)

    A nice wine that needs some time to settle down. I would not pick this out as a Syrah, but haven't had that many from the south of France. On the nose, aromas that remind me of grenache with the faintest hint of barnyard that for all intents is hard to for me to pick out. On the palate well balanced, medium to med-heavy body. The "iodine" referenced by WA to me comes across as a bit of an artificial and astringent note. I've had other wines where this blows off after a year or two, and I suspect that'll be the case with this one. A bit tannic after some time open. Doesn't really improve at all the second day.

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  • 2005 Domaine Lafage Côté Sud 88 Points

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes

    (4/5/2009)

    Good but not great. Tannic on the finish. Was better in its youth. Maybe it will come back?

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  • 2006 Mas Mudigliza Côtes du Roussillon Rouge Carino 88 Points

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon

    (4/4/2009)

    An odd sourness on the nose keeps the score down for me. In contrast, the palate is quite rich and well balanced, with a hint of pepper on the midpalate. Some acidity. Little in the way of tannins. Near to midterm drinker. Update: the tannins come out to play after the bottle has been open (but sealed) for 4 hours. At this point, this is a pretty mediocre wine. Much better Day 2, hinting at what could be come complexity later in a year or 2. Gains depth and stacks up relatively well against some of the other bargain syrahs opened. Guitar Guy's review is spot on.

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  • 2007 Substance Syrah 89 Points

    USA, Washington

    (4/5/2009)

    This wine has unusual balance. Not a "bomb", but it does have the flavor profile of a new world wine albeit in a very subtle and smooth package. Does not have the game/pepper of an old world syrah. In a lot of ways, this is the best of both worlds for my palate. Wish I would've bought more......

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  • 2007 Substance Merlot Flawed

    USA, Washington

    (4/5/2009)

    Corked. Seemed to be a nice merlot, with similar character to the syrah also opened (e.g. nicely balanced, not over the top). Don't have enough of these to open another one at this point.

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  • 2002 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (4/5/2009)

    I won't rate this, because it'll never be my style. Too light for my tastes. If I were to put a score on it - 85-86 pts. For me, this is a food pinot that needs the right pairing to bring out the most in it.

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  • 2007 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County 89 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    (4/4/2009)

    Needs a year or two. Relatively light and potentially elegant, but out-of-sorts at present on the palate. Drink 2010 and beyond. Update: drinks better 60 minutes later. Shows promise. Bump from 88 to 89, with 90 pt potential.

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  • 2002 Hare's Chase Shiraz 89 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    (4/5/2009)

    Popped/poured. I get about zero on the nose, otherwise this would crack 90pts. On the palate, a bit more meat/game than I'm used to in an Aussie Shiraz. Medium bodied with some very light tannins still hanging on.

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  • 2005 Marco Abella Priorat Mas Mallola 91 Points

    Spain, Catalunya, Priorat

    (4/4/2009)

    Note to self - throw this in, after a day open, as a ringer in an Italian tasting. Initially, 88 pts. On the nose, a little bit of tar accompanying some dark fruit. Palate is medium bodied with some acidity, relatively linear. Fine but somewhat puckering tannins on the finish. Update: just needs a decant. 30 minutes later, things start to smooth out and this becomes a much more pleasant wine. Should be better in a couple (2-3) years. Update: Day 2, smoothed out, more complex. The tar reminds me a bit of a Barolo, though this has a heavier body and less tannic sting on the finish. The longer this is open, the better it gets.

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  • 2006 Brooks Pinot Noir Janus 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

    (4/3/2009)

    I'd rate this somewhere in the 89-91 vicinity, the higher end on potential. While forward on the nose, at present it's quite tight on the palate. All the raw materials (fruit, tangy, medium to med heavy weight), but not integrated. Could use either a decant or a couple years in the bottle. Update: 2nd day, the palate is smooth and balanced, and this goes from speculative to the real deal. I really enjoy the style. Balanced trending toward Cali. Brought the rest of the bottle to Domacin's and it was a hit after 24 hours open.

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  • 1993 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (4/3/2009)

    Cedar and tobacco on the nose. Drinks younger than I expected. Still quite tannic / tight on the finish.

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  • 2000 Quinta do Fojo Douro Fojo 92 Points

    Portugal, Douro

    (4/3/2009)

    Note to self - a brilliant wine with food. As a drinker, I had a hard time catching this one at the right time over 3 days. Opens up tight on the palate with a strong tannic finish. Nice fruit, hints of anise, with good depth but not ready. Will check back on this one later. Update: considerably better the second day. Drinks a bit like a "dry port", with a raisin note that distinguishes it from a Bordeaux. Tannins have softened over the 18 hours since opened, and what remains is rich, elegant fruit culminating in a long finish. Definitely a serious wine. I will try to hold my remaining bottles for several years, as the difference from Day 1 to Day 2 is so dramatic, it's not worth drinking on Day 1 right now unless a significant decant is planned for. On Day 3, it started to develop a bit of oddness / decline, but nevertheless was the wine of choice among all the open bottles to pair with G's herb encrusted lamb chops. Also a brilliant pairing with heirloom tomatoes and pesto. The raisin aspect of this wine makes it interesting wine with food.

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Flight 3 - Domacin Saturday Night (2 Notes)

A couple of the wines from "date night" in Stillwater.

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