Bumping this bottle up to an 85 and not declining. Good as PNP and even better on day 2. Easy drinker, yes. Super complex, no. Real good QPR at $10, absolutely. Chocolate and caramel on the nose and mid palate.
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This bottle did not require as much of a decant as it is starting to mellow and I believe already declining. We will see. Mid week, easy drinking fruit forward quaffer? yes it is.
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We have tasted previous years of this wine and this sample was not a bad effort at a comprehensive all round decent drinkable wine from Columbia valley. This was bought as a Gargiste special but ironic as we are Fidelitas wine club members. I think this compares favorably with other red blends.
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Much improved over my last bottle. Good fruit and other flavors, only really lacking in structure and for sub-$10, you don't really expect much of that. Red and black fruit, some vanilla and an earthy component. Nice mid-week quaffer. Drink now - 2025.
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Popped a bottle to pair with some pasta Bolognese. Quite fruit forward, with a lot of oak, and nice acidity. Black cherry, fig and vanilla oak flavors hit hard. Paired well with the pasta. Had a couple glasses and capped the remaining half bottle for the next day.
Day 2 this was way more relaxed on the 'in-your-face' fruit profile. Still pretty oaky though, which is interesting. Very easy to drink despite the oak, and a nice QPR at ~$10. Great mid-week wine for sure. Drink now - 2027.
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Solid and competent, without any claim to subtlety. Enough power to handle spicy dishes, enough acidity to pair better with Camembert than some of its more valued companions
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Mystery wine from Garagiste. The nose is really nice. Black currants, fig, herbs and chocolate and a lot of oak. Decent enough palate. Good food wine, very good QPR. Drink orHold for 2 years. 87-88
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Strange bottle. Starts on the first day as a super extracted fruit forward wine without a lot else going on. A day or so later, has really cut back on the fruit, but now I find the wine very thin with a little barnyard and some residual fruit but not a lot else.
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This is bottle #4 and I have resisted adding a tasting note until now....the nose shows some red and black currants, some green/herbal/pyrazine notes and a moderate dose of oak. The palate is medium bodied, with a pretty good kick of both tannin and acid from mid palate through the finish. The thing that I don't like (and why I didn't post right away - I wanted to give it a second chance) is that there is a solid sense of bitter metallic on the finish...not a good "pencil lead/graphite" note but instead a substantial bitter and metallic note that I find very off-putting. Obviously it isn't the most expensive wine in the cellar, but I don't see it getting any better and I don't find it all that good right now.
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Well balanced Bordeaux blend. Dry, with earthy green notes. Tasting more Cab Franc than Cabernet Sauvignon. Very good value at $9 as Garagiste mystery wine.
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Not a great wine. Nose is a bit off, stewed fruit. I get the sensation of sawdust on a bar room floor. Tough tannin. Angular finish. Medium acid. A bit hot on the finish.
Bottle # 2 a year later ... I was in mid-80's and is this bottle variation or improvement? This one is more drinkable, less but still woody. Not near as hot a finish. Promise for this fall as it smooths out. Who knows, maybe this could get to (dare I say) 90.
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Cool, minty fresh nose suggests this leans lean. Black cherry and blackberry dominates with mint and cedar playing second fiddle. The palate certainly follows through lean as suggested on the nose. Medium body, medium gravelly tannins, and a modest finish. Reminiscent of AOC Bordeaux. 2016 impressed me more, but still overdelivers at the tarrif I paid.
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Pyrazine, pencil lead, dark chocolate, and herbal notes on the nose — really nice nose. The palate feels a little thinner than the nose would suggest, with medium/medium+ acid. Still tastes good, but missing some of that depth, finish, and intensity that you’d hope for on the palate.
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7/3/2022 - RPerro wrote: 87 Points
Consistent with prior note. Decent BBQ quaffer.
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5/21/2022 - redz wrote: 85 Points
used most of the bottle for cooking, fairly bland.
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12/15/2021 - Thebigbaby Likes this wine: 85 Points
Bumping this bottle up to an 85 and not declining. Good as PNP and even better on day 2. Easy drinker, yes. Super complex, no. Real good QPR at $10, absolutely. Chocolate and caramel on the nose and mid palate.
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11/27/2021 - plambert12 wrote:
At Cormans
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11/15/2021 - DMFehrenb Does not like this wine: 94 Points
Better to cook with
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11/14/2021 - dmitchell4 wrote: 89 Points
Drink up
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9/28/2021 - Thebigbaby Likes this wine: 82 Points
This bottle did not require as much of a decant as it is starting to mellow and I believe already declining. We will see. Mid week, easy drinking fruit forward quaffer? yes it is.
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9/21/2021 - davidspieker wrote: 88 Points
Easy drinking party blend.
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7/29/2021 - Francophile Likes this wine: 89 Points
We have tasted previous years of this wine and this sample was not a bad effort at a comprehensive all round decent drinkable wine from Columbia valley. This was bought as a Gargiste special but ironic as we are Fidelitas wine club members. I think this compares favorably with other red blends.
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5/18/2021 - RPerro Likes this wine: 88 Points
Much improved over my last bottle. Good fruit and other flavors, only really lacking in structure and for sub-$10, you don't really expect much of that. Red and black fruit, some vanilla and an earthy component. Nice mid-week quaffer. Drink now - 2025.
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4/18/2021 - Thebigbaby Likes this wine: 82 Points
Easy drinking blend that benefits from a long decant. Decent QPR for the $12 delivered price from Garagiste
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3/25/2021 - Nojomoschwa Likes this wine: 88 Points
Nice little BDX blend that wasn't as OTT as I had been expecting. Friendly red and excellent value at under $9 from Garagiste.
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3/24/2021 - wino121 wrote: 88 Points
Slightly better than the last bottle, a good week nite drinker, that’s about the crust of it.
Drink whenever you’d like.
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12/21/2020 - jmcmchi wrote: 86 Points
Consistent with previous notes
Decanted two hours. Solid, easy drinking,
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12/19/2020 - mjwilliams2 Does not like this wine:
Didn’t like it this time. Have I changed? Next time try a 6 or 8 hour decant. May get better after a long time acclimating to this world.
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12/3/2020 - RPerro wrote: 86 Points
Popped a bottle to pair with some pasta Bolognese. Quite fruit forward, with a lot of oak, and nice acidity. Black cherry, fig and vanilla oak flavors hit hard. Paired well with the pasta. Had a couple glasses and capped the remaining half bottle for the next day.
Day 2 this was way more relaxed on the 'in-your-face' fruit profile. Still pretty oaky though, which is interesting. Very easy to drink despite the oak, and a nice QPR at ~$10. Great mid-week wine for sure. Drink now - 2027.
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11/16/2020 - jmcmchi wrote: 86 Points
Solid and competent, without any claim to subtlety. Enough power to handle spicy dishes, enough acidity to pair better with Camembert than some of its more valued companions
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11/11/2020 - jordanj wrote: 87 Points
Mystery wine from Garagiste. The nose is really nice. Black currants, fig, herbs and chocolate and a lot of oak. Decent enough palate. Good food wine, very good QPR. Drink orHold for 2 years. 87-88
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10/7/2020 - cwiebe Likes this wine: 87 Points
Strange bottle. Starts on the first day as a super extracted fruit forward wine without a lot else going on. A day or so later, has really cut back on the fruit, but now I find the wine very thin with a little barnyard and some residual fruit but not a lot else.
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10/5/2020 - mpdonnel wrote: 86 Points
Not great but drinkable. Gets worse over a few hours.
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10/5/2020 - davidga75 wrote:
This is bottle #4 and I have resisted adding a tasting note until now....the nose shows some red and black currants, some green/herbal/pyrazine notes and a moderate dose of oak. The palate is medium bodied, with a pretty good kick of both tannin and acid from mid palate through the finish. The thing that I don't like (and why I didn't post right away - I wanted to give it a second chance) is that there is a solid sense of bitter metallic on the finish...not a good "pencil lead/graphite" note but instead a substantial bitter and metallic note that I find very off-putting. Obviously it isn't the most expensive wine in the cellar, but I don't see it getting any better and I don't find it all that good right now.
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7/28/2020 - wino121 wrote: 87 Points
Eh,
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7/24/2020 - jayw Likes this wine:
Well balanced Bordeaux blend. Dry, with earthy green notes. Tasting more Cab Franc than Cabernet Sauvignon. Very good value at $9 as Garagiste mystery wine.
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7/23/2020 - Jmac56 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Hot nose. Pleasant earthy, mineral and acidic wine- very dry.
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7/9/2020 - Jmac56 Likes this wine: 90 Points
If I remember correctly, I liked this bottle much more than the last. Solid earthy nose. Well balanced with nice fruit and tannin.
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6/26/2020 - mjwilliams2 Likes this wine:
I love this wine
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5/25/2020 - BostonDoug wrote: 88 Points
Not a great wine. Nose is a bit off, stewed fruit. I get the sensation of sawdust on a bar room floor. Tough tannin. Angular finish. Medium acid. A bit hot on the finish.
Bottle # 2 a year later ... I was in mid-80's and is this bottle variation or improvement? This one is more drinkable, less but still woody. Not near as hot a finish. Promise for this fall as it smooths out. Who knows, maybe this could get to (dare I say) 90.
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5/22/2020 - jmcmchi wrote:
In the pot for coq au vin with a glass or two left to taste
Respectable fruit and nicely balanced tannins
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5/18/2020 - Portland Seth Likes this wine: 89 Points
Creme de Cassis and spicy black pepper. Medium acidity, medium-full body, medium tannins. Fruit forward but plenty of spice for balance.
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5/11/2020 - wagonwine wrote: 88 Points
Cool, minty fresh nose suggests this leans lean. Black cherry and blackberry dominates with mint and cedar playing second fiddle. The palate certainly follows through lean as suggested on the nose. Medium body, medium gravelly tannins, and a modest finish. Reminiscent of AOC Bordeaux. 2016 impressed me more, but still overdelivers at the tarrif I paid.
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5/1/2020 - Jmac56 wrote: 87 Points
Not a memorable wine. Very drinkable but a bit thin and acidic.
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4/16/2020 - stbraunt Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is really delicious and a fantastic value. So smooth and paired really well with fajitas. Really impressive.
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4/12/2020 - OaktownRush Likes this wine: 88 Points
Pyrazine, pencil lead, dark chocolate, and herbal notes on the nose — really nice nose. The palate feels a little thinner than the nose would suggest, with medium/medium+ acid. Still tastes good, but missing some of that depth, finish, and intensity that you’d hope for on the palate.
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3/18/2020 - winepog wrote: 88 Points
good value
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