This wine has no business being this good 13 years after vintage. If anything, it's the best bottle of this wine / vintage that I've had. A Garagiste from 2011 @$10 a btl. Ridiculous.
Still a "luncheon wine" in the parlance I use as short-hand for myself, but it's gained complexity and a bit of depth since I last had it 4 years ago. One of the occasional "pleasant surprises" from the cellar.
I doubt many folks still have this sitting around in the cellar, but if it's been stored at decent temps, the 2011 "drink by" date on CT can be thrown to the wayside.
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Still have a few bottles of this laying around, and found one tonight. My short-hand for wines of this style - "luncheon wine". Which means to me somewhat rustic, not super heavy or rich. Still drinking well, which is somewhat surprising given its age. One of my better Garagiste purchases @ $10/btl.
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indiscriminatepalate clearly has no clue. This is what the underground wine elite in Paris drinks, and we should all thank Jon Rimmerman for broadening our shallow American wine tastes.
Actually, to be honest I kind of like this wine. Not something I would buy again, but I've had bigger disappointments from Garagiste, most of which cost a lot more than 10 bucks. High acid and a bit shrill, but there's enough bright fruit and minerality to keep it interesting. This wine would be better without the nasty Pineau d'Aunis component. I've never seen any redeeming features in that grape...
One of the most distinct noses I've ever smelled on a red wine before. Its smells like peanut brittle, or rainforest crunch. The palate experience is acidic and reminiscent of swishing vinegar, but the finish isn't totally intolerable. If I had a real fatty meat dish, I'd be tempted to try this as a pairing. As a late night drinker, it would be going down my drain, but I'm gonna save it one more day to let some other people smell it before it gets flushed.
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Convinced the last bottle of this to go into a stew, but alas a glass was to be had. It is important to admit one's faults if one is to grow; I purchased this wine years ago on the advice of a snake oil peddler who described it as "what the Parisians drink as their top-end house wine" among a sea of hyperbole. The good news about buying several bottles is that I had the chance to transition from "maybe I just don't get it" to "he sold this on a bet, right?" With the last bottle right, I score one point for lesson learned, and zero for wine enjoyed.
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The fact that 3/4 of a bottle is left over after a mixed crowd of wine geeks and real people is telling, especially when some real plonk was emptied. At one point, I remember thinking, "Hmmm... this is interesting in a strange way. I could almost drink this." Then I realized, I'm drunk.
My bottle must have been from the "good" palette. I wanted a light food-friendly bottle to go with beefy Chinese food, and it delivered. I'm a fan of pineau d'aunis wine, and a little white pepper and berry component can be attributed to this in the blend. The small amount of funk blew off quickly (10 minutes) and after that, it was fine with our food.
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Smelly socks indeed, this wine is funky for funky's sake and I thought it was virtually undrinkable. I used a cup of this to stew tomatoes and a host of other things into a delicious provencal style sauce, however, it was shocking how funky the sauce was for the first 15 minutes of simmering. I have fallen for a few of Schildknecht's regional French gems before, including a funky/delicious/inspiring L'Oustal Blanc also offered by Garagiste, but how he got 89 points out of this schwag is anyone's guess... well, I might guess that this bottle had a brett bloom in the bottle. I'm not going to risk Garagiste Loire selections anymore, other than a Boulay Mont Dammes most of the rest have been mediocre or terrible. PS I see in my inbox tonight a Garagiste L'Oustal Blanc offer quoting DS...
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My brother in law asked me to bring out my most interesting wine. I asked, interesting as in weird? He said yes, and this is what he got. Not horrible bit not particularly pleasant except in a stinky socks sort of way. It was at a large party and this was the only bottle that went unfinished
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The fact that someone makes a bizarre, ripe, entirely unenjoyable, unnecessarily disjoint blend of grapes does not make it "geeky," or "interesting." In this case, it just makes it bad. "Fruit and earth" would be the euphemism for it was more aptly described as "rotting cherries." Also, currants, herbs, barnyard, loads of acid, and medium chewy tannin. Inspires not "yum" but "what IS that?"
Drinking it, I thought "Garagiste!" And indeed, Rimmerman's dial-a-prose machine landed on "wine geek, value and terroir," a wholly inapplicable set of words. If you ever thought "What would a $5 blend of cabernet franc and pinot noir taste like?" then this wine is your answer. I have never wondered that.
This was a wine geek's wine; sesame on the nose and palate on the opening, and over the next four hours it kept changing, and always remained interesting; wonderful, bracing minerality throughout; altogether a fascinating and enjoyable wine -- my French is rusty, but I thought the label said it was a blend of three grapes, pinot noir, cab franc, and pinot something or other (could they make the print any smaller?), which only make the wine even more interesting... glad I have more!
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A little tight at first, but opened up to lovely currant and raspberry. Lovely acidity that has a nicely astringent effect in the mouth. Would love to get more of this.
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What a strange, bizarre wine. Bright red fruit, herbs, and barnyard play in a fairly strange mix like a bright beaujolais meets traditional green funky cab franc. Fairly lively on the palate, good acidity, reasonable finish of funky currant (hey, that should be a Ben & Jerry's flavor!). Summary: bizarre.
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I am glad I had forgotten then wine for 6 months... It now has a nice concentrated berry nose up front but with plenty of currant like acid and a hint of barnyard on the finish. This is after being open for a day... so if you still have some you can hold or decant hours before you want to drink it...
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Earthy and fruity with some definite barnyard on the nose and acidic currant on the palate. I wish more $10 wine could pull off being this enjoyable while still having character.
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digging it quite a bit more than last year, the fruit and funk are more integrated right off the bat. Still peanuts like crazy on the nose, which is awesome. It's got a nice tartness to it now, but has also smoothed out. Good juice.
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Very funky and aninmal, especially when the bottle was first opened. We drank most of it on the second day, when it had mellowed out to a fascinating meatiness, rounded out with cherry flavors. Wildly interesting for the price. I'll be watching for more wines from this producer, based on this and the sparkling wine we've tasted recently.
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Nothing "bright" about it, people -- not upon opening, not 30, not 60, not a day in. Vegetal upon opening, it slowly mellows to reveal earth, some cab franc green peppery stuff, and something kinda carob-y at the end. Not to be sought out, necessarily (even for the oeno-dorks out there), but it had bits of interest worth sitting up and paying attention to.
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As others noted: funk and barnyard on opening. But, this was second bottle and i decanted and left it for the next day. Funk all gone, and a nicely balanced wine emerged. A nice wine for a weeknight dinner.
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Opens up with a bit of funk and barnyard. After 30 minutes, most of that blows off. Other impressions similar to prior outings. Stemmy dark fruit on the nose. On the palate, nice balance with a lifting acidity that doesn't overpower. Just a touch of the "peanut" note I noticed more prominently last time. More plush than I'd expect, and better integrated than the last bottle. A great luncheon wine for the price.
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You know, this was a bit weedy and rough-edged. Not bad or faulty or underripe, just not totally delicious. Needs some hardy/fatty food to cut through.
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Similar to prior outing. A touch of green and peanut butter, some high-toned red fruits on a relatively plush palate with a lingering finish. Nice pairing with pancetta chicken pasta.
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Fantastic for what it is. A lively bright Loire red. Funk and barnyard on the nose, but sweet cherry and prickly acidity on the palate. Just a perfect picnic wine for warm summer night.
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Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of varnish, licorice, smoke and rubber. Flavors of berries and plums. Medium acidity, medium tannins, light the medium bodied. Drink over the next few years.
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Red cherries and a bit of earthy funkiness on the nose. Initially this was lighter bodied with high acidity, tart unripe cherries, old leather, a greenness on the palate and a tad astringent. Over the course of a few hours, this put on a weight and lost some of it's sourness.
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Drank over two nights.. good food wine and good quality for the value. But I didn't write this directly after drinking so now its a couple weeks later and I can't remember the flavor profile but I remember it being right up my alley.
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Ruby. Nose has slight earthiness but not ovewhelming also red fruit. I get the "greenness" in the palate. Acidity greater than tannins which make it food friendly to me. Ok finish.
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Beautiful ruby. Nose: Earthy, dirt and green veggies, but appealing. Palate: Sour cherry, green veggies, raspberry and certainly an earthy component. Lighter-medium body. Finish: Medium length and uncomplicated. This was a good acquisition from Garagiste and certainly worth the price point. I served to a few family members and most guessed it around $15. Had this with grilled pizzas and it was perfect; easy, uncomplicated and quenching. Minimal tannins and nice acidity.
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The nose shows mixed greenery with chalky minerals and sour cherry. On the palate, I found tart cherry with a light to medium body and balanced acidity. The finish was medium long with red fruits. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that doesn't already drink cab franc in all it's styles. It was earthy and enjoyable to drink but one dimensional and more for quenching thirst then enjoying wine.
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Not as bad, or green, as my last bottle. Similar impression, but the agave notes were toned down a bit. Fresh, simple, quaffable. Maybe better with a slight chill?
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Better than the first bottle, which was simple and dominated by sour cherry notes. This bottle seems better balanced with earth and green vegetable notes (as others have pointed out) playing with the bright acidity. Nice finish. Great accompaniment for food.
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I like this a lot for the price. The flavors are dominated by earth, forest floor, vegetables and minerality. There is also some raspberry and blackberry. Fairly elegant with bright acidity. Almost Burgundian. Wish I bought a couple more bottles.
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Decanted about 5 hours. The nose is almost all earth aromas. Green vegetables, dirt, barnyard, and wet leaves. There is some sweet red fruit beyond that, and surrounding it all is some pepper. The palate has biting acidity, but here there is a balance between the vegetables and red fruit. The dirt and pepper show up on the mid-palate, and the finish has more of the barnyard and wet leaf flavors. This is my kind of wine.
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PnP through Nuance Wine Finer. Ruby red color. Raspberry, maybe a little green pepper on the nose. Tart raspberries and some minerals on the palate. My wife got all black pepper, and now that I'm focused on it, I get that too, but only a hint and definitely not overwhelming. Light mouthfeel. Acidic. I may be scoring this too low, but just seems out of balance to me, but definitely something different and worth trying. 86pts? Aloha!
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Still getting lots of green, though this time the predominant aroma on the nose was cigar ash and dirt...I mean unmistakably like sticking your nose in an ash tray. Sour cherry on the palate along with some of the green=ness. Somewhat better than what this sounds, mostly from being interesting, rather then inherent good-ness. Better when snacking on some food.
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I liked this. Nice, authentic, local: very good stuff for its modest price point. If you like FROOOOT, look elsewhere; this won't work for you. Pineau d'Aunis gives bright acidity and a cracked, white pepper note that puts many people off, and Cab Franc from this part of the Loire just does not resemble is CA counterpart -- or St. Émilion, which amounts to the same thing. It's not meant to be "serious." This is a lovely, light, spicy wine to drink cool over the summer with a modest lunch or picnic.
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Not loving this. Interesting? Yes. Enjoyable? Not quite there. I get LOTS of boiled peanuts on the nose, and lots of stem. A zingy acidity on the palate, still quite green and dirt-y (but not in a pinot earthy way), medium weight, a bit of rustic tannins on the finish. Gets points for being very interesting, but not the kind of wine I would eagerly go back to. UPDATE - Night 2: Better, better. The peanut nose is still present, though less in your face, sour cherry notes on the palate are more prominent, bringing some fruit that was lacking on night 1. Bumping up from 86 to 87.
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This is a good example of what Garagiste does so well. $10 for a juicy, tangy, electric wine with lots of nuance? Of course, I love Pineau d'Aunis. If you don't like a bit of fresh agave flavor in your red wine, steer clear.
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Notes of black pepper & herbal spices mixed with a light fruit balance and a green vegetal backbone. Decent balance, but took a little while to open up and integrate. Definitely young and probably needs more time in bottle.
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Thought this was excellent last night, went through two in fact. Can't argue with some others' notes about green but I'd add to that very juicy acidity that balances it out and makes it just a very-easy-to-drink wine. And for anywhere near the price, this has loads more complexity than I'm used to. At ten bones from Garagiste, big win for me - if I could predict these, I'd have bought more than a case but I'm happy for my 12 (now 10) anyway.
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Garagiste Test Drive - Spring 2011; 4/10/2011-4/11/2011 (Home): Notes of green, stems that somehow combine with the fruit to evoke a bit of peanut butter. On the palate, some nice layering and a relatively plush mouthfeel that is a surprise for this low price point and alcohol content. The green note keeps it a bit odd, but at the same time very enjoyable. While not overpowering, for my tastes my score would improve a couple of points if this mellows somewhere down the road. Good QPR at $10, and a great everyday wine at lunch or dinner.
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Lots of green veggies (esp. celery), red fruit, and black pepper, but the veggie component doesn't make it taste poorly made, underripe or flawed. Refreshing and more complex than I would have thought (on both the nose and palate). I'm not a huge Loire fan, and I was surprised by how much I liked this (given other notes on CT). A Garagiste win.
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We were not impressed with this wine. Very bright and metallic, it tasted like a cheap bottle that I could pick up at a discount supermarket. I'm hoping it was just a corked bottle, as I have a couple more...
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Was surprised at how dark red this was. Lots of greenness both on the nose and palate...though a bit too much, it did add some interest. The fruit was fresh and very vibrant, though a bit too sour. Not great, certainly some flaws, but interesting and a decent QPR.
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Deep red in color. On the nose I get big cranberry and raspberry. There is also a slight mint and chocolate with hint of alcohol. On the palate there is more cranberry and cherry followed by a hollow mid palate. There is also a little smokiness. The finish has heat and a little raspberry jello flavor. The tannins are mild and overall this wine is mediocre. Don't get me wrong I like the wine but for the blend I feel it's a bit empty.
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Magenta. Unpleasant nose of tequila without the heat which thankfully softens with air, but never entirely goes away. The greenness carries over to the palate, but is balanced by juicy raspberry and cranberry fruit. Light-bodied, pleasant enough drinking but the green cactus notes detract. Give this lots of air.
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First exposure to this. Green pepper predominates. But there is also raspberry and cocoa. Obviously good qpv and very easy to drink. Got richer as it got air in glass.
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delightful; a light, fresh, and elegant little quaffer that went well with a little goat cheese and a hanger steak. (Drank within 3 days of shipping from Garagiste; past experience would suggest this might be better still in a couple months.)
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3/13/2022 - vanpe003 wrote:
This wine has no business being this good 13 years after vintage. If anything, it's the best bottle of this wine / vintage that I've had. A Garagiste from 2011 @$10 a btl. Ridiculous.
Still a "luncheon wine" in the parlance I use as short-hand for myself, but it's gained complexity and a bit of depth since I last had it 4 years ago. One of the occasional "pleasant surprises" from the cellar.
I doubt many folks still have this sitting around in the cellar, but if it's been stored at decent temps, the 2011 "drink by" date on CT can be thrown to the wayside.
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5/23/2018 - vanpe003 wrote:
Still have a few bottles of this laying around, and found one tonight. My short-hand for wines of this style - "luncheon wine". Which means to me somewhat rustic, not super heavy or rich. Still drinking well, which is somewhat surprising given its age. One of my better Garagiste purchases @ $10/btl.
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12/1/2015 - j.a.price.trucking wrote: flawed
Corked.
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3/16/2015 - Spencer wrote:
indiscriminatepalate clearly has no clue. This is what the underground wine elite in Paris drinks, and we should all thank Jon Rimmerman for broadening our shallow American wine tastes.
Actually, to be honest I kind of like this wine. Not something I would buy again, but I've had bigger disappointments from Garagiste, most of which cost a lot more than 10 bucks. High acid and a bit shrill, but there's enough bright fruit and minerality to keep it interesting. This wine would be better without the nasty Pineau d'Aunis component. I've never seen any redeeming features in that grape...
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10/13/2014 - kakpoo wrote:
One of the most distinct noses I've ever smelled on a red wine before. Its smells like peanut brittle, or rainforest crunch. The palate experience is acidic and reminiscent of swishing vinegar, but the finish isn't totally intolerable. If I had a real fatty meat dish, I'd be tempted to try this as a pairing. As a late night drinker, it would be going down my drain, but I'm gonna save it one more day to let some other people smell it before it gets flushed.
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4/3/2014 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
Convinced the last bottle of this to go into a stew, but alas a glass was to be had. It is important to admit one's faults if one is to grow; I purchased this wine years ago on the advice of a snake oil peddler who described it as "what the Parisians drink as their top-end house wine" among a sea of hyperbole. The good news about buying several bottles is that I had the chance to transition from "maybe I just don't get it" to "he sold this on a bet, right?" With the last bottle right, I score one point for lesson learned, and zero for wine enjoyed.
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3/28/2014 - ctbob Likes this wine:
What a gem... wonderful minerality... ready
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11/14/2013 - ctbob Likes this wine:
Terrific minerality, good tartness; ready
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11/5/2013 - thebonnydooner wrote: 76 Points
Not very good, used most of it for cooking, but I hope my other bottle is lost....
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10/24/2013 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 75 Points
The fact that 3/4 of a bottle is left over after a mixed crowd of wine geeks and real people is telling, especially when some real plonk was emptied. At one point, I remember thinking, "Hmmm... this is interesting in a strange way. I could almost drink this." Then I realized, I'm drunk.
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9/10/2013 - Canuckgiver Likes this wine: 87 Points
My bottle must have been from the "good" palette. I wanted a light food-friendly bottle to go with beefy Chinese food, and it delivered. I'm a fan of pineau d'aunis wine, and a little white pepper and berry component can be attributed to this in the blend. The small amount of funk blew off quickly (10 minutes) and after that, it was fine with our food.
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8/20/2013 - silton Does not like this wine: 78 Points
Smelly socks indeed, this wine is funky for funky's sake and I thought it was virtually undrinkable. I used a cup of this to stew tomatoes and a host of other things into a delicious provencal style sauce, however, it was shocking how funky the sauce was for the first 15 minutes of simmering. I have fallen for a few of Schildknecht's regional French gems before, including a funky/delicious/inspiring L'Oustal Blanc also offered by Garagiste, but how he got 89 points out of this schwag is anyone's guess... well, I might guess that this bottle had a brett bloom in the bottle. I'm not going to risk Garagiste Loire selections anymore, other than a Boulay Mont Dammes most of the rest have been mediocre or terrible.
PS I see in my inbox tonight a Garagiste L'Oustal Blanc offer quoting DS...
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6/7/2013 - spc wrote: 79 Points
My brother in law asked me to bring out my most interesting wine. I asked, interesting as in weird? He said yes, and this is what he got. Not horrible bit not particularly pleasant except in a stinky socks sort of way. It was at a large party and this was the only bottle that went unfinished
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5/24/2013 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 78 Points
The fact that someone makes a bizarre, ripe, entirely unenjoyable, unnecessarily disjoint blend of grapes does not make it "geeky," or "interesting." In this case, it just makes it bad. "Fruit and earth" would be the euphemism for it was more aptly described as "rotting cherries." Also, currants, herbs, barnyard, loads of acid, and medium chewy tannin. Inspires not "yum" but "what IS that?"
Drinking it, I thought "Garagiste!" And indeed, Rimmerman's dial-a-prose machine landed on "wine geek, value and terroir," a wholly inapplicable set of words. If you ever thought "What would a $5 blend of cabernet franc and pinot noir taste like?" then this wine is your answer. I have never wondered that.
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4/27/2013 - ctbob Likes this wine:
This was a wine geek's wine; sesame on the nose and palate on the opening, and over the next four hours it kept changing, and always remained interesting; wonderful, bracing minerality throughout; altogether a fascinating and enjoyable wine -- my French is rusty, but I thought the label said it was a blend of three grapes, pinot noir, cab franc, and pinot something or other (could they make the print any smaller?), which only make the wine even more interesting... glad I have more!
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12/7/2012 - 3marinerfans wrote: 89 Points
Nice acidity and went well cioppino.
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9/19/2012 - Baudelaire wrote: 90 Points
A little tight at first, but opened up to lovely currant and raspberry. Lovely acidity that has a nicely astringent effect in the mouth. Would love to get more of this.
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9/17/2012 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
What a strange, bizarre wine. Bright red fruit, herbs, and barnyard play in a fairly strange mix like a bright beaujolais meets traditional green funky cab franc. Fairly lively on the palate, good acidity, reasonable finish of funky currant (hey, that should be a Ben & Jerry's flavor!). Summary: bizarre.
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7/31/2012 - pdxwineguy wrote: 89 Points
I am glad I had forgotten then wine for 6 months... It now has a nice concentrated berry nose up front but with plenty of currant like acid and a hint of barnyard on the finish. This is after being open for a day... so if you still have some you can hold or decant hours before you want to drink it...
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7/10/2012 - pdxwineguy wrote: 89 Points
Starts off big, but ends up mellow and interesting.
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5/18/2012 - K is for Kate wrote:
Earthy and fruity with some definite barnyard on the nose and acidic currant on the palate. I wish more $10 wine could pull off being this enjoyable while still having character.
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4/11/2012 - Biskuit wrote: 89 Points
digging it quite a bit more than last year, the fruit and funk are more integrated right off the bat. Still peanuts like crazy on the nose, which is awesome. It's got a nice tartness to it now, but has also smoothed out. Good juice.
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3/31/2012 - mwkoehler wrote: 80 Points
Opened this last bottle to see where it had gone since the last one. I tossed the glass, and left the bottle to see what tomorrow would do to it.
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2/11/2012 - Nuncestbibendum wrote: 84 Points
Very funky and aninmal, especially when the bottle was first opened. We drank most of it on the second day, when it had mellowed out to a fascinating meatiness, rounded out with cherry flavors. Wildly interesting for the price. I'll be watching for more wines from this producer, based on this and the sparkling wine we've tasted recently.
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2/11/2012 - wormfarmer wrote: 85 Points
Nothing "bright" about it, people -- not upon opening, not 30, not 60, not a day in. Vegetal upon opening, it slowly mellows to reveal earth, some cab franc green peppery stuff, and something kinda carob-y at the end. Not to be sought out, necessarily (even for the oeno-dorks out there), but it had bits of interest worth sitting up and paying attention to.
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2/5/2012 - dmalcolm wrote: 84 Points
Consistent with previous note. This will not improve, but should hold up for a few more years.
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12/6/2011 - mwkoehler wrote: 88 Points
As others noted: funk and barnyard on opening. But, this was second bottle and i decanted and left it for the next day. Funk all gone, and a nicely balanced wine emerged. A nice wine for a weeknight dinner.
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11/15/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 88 Points
Opens up with a bit of funk and barnyard. After 30 minutes, most of that blows off. Other impressions similar to prior outings. Stemmy dark fruit on the nose. On the palate, nice balance with a lifting acidity that doesn't overpower. Just a touch of the "peanut" note I noticed more prominently last time. More plush than I'd expect, and better integrated than the last bottle. A great luncheon wine for the price.
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11/13/2011 - drinkfunkyanddance wrote:
You know, this was a bit weedy and rough-edged. Not bad or faulty or underripe, just not totally delicious. Needs some hardy/fatty food to cut through.
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10/12/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 87 Points
Similar to prior outing. A touch of green and peanut butter, some high-toned red fruits on a relatively plush palate with a lingering finish. Nice pairing with pancetta chicken pasta.
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10/5/2011 - Sijan wrote: 75 Points
Disappointing. Unappealing green notes & odd funkiness. Corked?
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8/18/2011 - rben_mvp wrote: 88 Points
Nice change from the usual suspects. Great food wine.
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8/7/2011 - pifcho wrote: 89 Points
Fantastic for what it is. A lively bright Loire red. Funk and barnyard on the nose, but sweet cherry and prickly acidity on the palate. Just a perfect picnic wine for warm summer night.
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8/4/2011 - wineismylife wrote: 87 Points
Saturdays at One - Volume 53 (Cafe Medi, Colleyville, TX): WIML87
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of varnish, licorice, smoke and rubber. Flavors of berries and plums. Medium acidity, medium tannins, light the medium bodied. Drink over the next few years.
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8/4/2011 - dmalcolm wrote: 85 Points
Red cherries and a bit of earthy funkiness on the nose. Initially this was lighter bodied with high acidity, tart unripe cherries, old leather, a greenness on the palate and a tad astringent. Over the course of a few hours, this put on a weight and lost some of it's sourness.
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8/2/2011 - pdxwineguy wrote: 87 Points
Drank over two nights.. good food wine and good quality for the value. But I didn't write this directly after drinking so now its a couple weeks later and I can't remember the flavor profile but I remember it being right up my alley.
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8/1/2011 - NuTricks wrote: 87 Points
Ruby. Nose has slight earthiness but not ovewhelming also red fruit. I get the "greenness" in the palate. Acidity greater than tannins which make it food friendly to me. Ok finish.
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7/26/2011 - RDHudak wrote: 87 Points
Beautiful ruby. Nose: Earthy, dirt and green veggies, but appealing. Palate: Sour cherry, green veggies, raspberry and certainly an earthy component. Lighter-medium body. Finish: Medium length and uncomplicated. This was a good acquisition from Garagiste and certainly worth the price point. I served to a few family members and most guessed it around $15. Had this with grilled pizzas and it was perfect; easy, uncomplicated and quenching. Minimal tannins and nice acidity.
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7/24/2011 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 85 Points
The nose shows mixed greenery with chalky minerals and sour cherry. On the palate, I found tart cherry with a light to medium body and balanced acidity. The finish was medium long with red fruits. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that doesn't already drink cab franc in all it's styles. It was earthy and enjoyable to drink but one dimensional and more for quenching thirst then enjoying wine.
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7/17/2011 - zscheiner wrote: 86 Points
Not as bad, or green, as my last bottle. Similar impression, but the agave notes were toned down a bit. Fresh, simple, quaffable. Maybe better with a slight chill?
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7/9/2011 - BullseyeOregon wrote: 87 Points
Better than the first bottle, which was simple and dominated by sour cherry notes. This bottle seems better balanced with earth and green vegetable notes (as others have pointed out) playing with the bright acidity. Nice finish. Great accompaniment for food.
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7/5/2011 - Patches wrote: 88 Points
I like this a lot for the price. The flavors are dominated by earth, forest floor, vegetables and minerality. There is also some raspberry and blackberry. Fairly elegant with bright acidity. Almost Burgundian. Wish I bought a couple more bottles.
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6/14/2011 - mmurry Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted about 5 hours. The nose is almost all earth aromas. Green vegetables, dirt, barnyard, and wet leaves. There is some sweet red fruit beyond that, and surrounding it all is some pepper. The palate has biting acidity, but here there is a balance between the vegetables and red fruit. The dirt and pepper show up on the mid-palate, and the finish has more of the barnyard and wet leaf flavors. This is my kind of wine.
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5/21/2011 - SteveG wrote: 86 Points
Straight-on red-food red wine, more acidic than tannic, modest fruit. Rather simple on its own, enjoyable enough with well-seasoned food.
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5/12/2011 - jbposell wrote:
Yech, not for me, cooking wine? Cab Franc and Pinot don't go together!
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5/11/2011 - bg3034 wrote: 86 Points
PnP through Nuance Wine Finer. Ruby red color. Raspberry, maybe a little green pepper on the nose. Tart raspberries and some minerals on the palate. My wife got all black pepper, and now that I'm focused on it, I get that too, but only a hint and definitely not overwhelming. Light mouthfeel. Acidic. I may be scoring this too low, but just seems out of balance to me, but definitely something different and worth trying. 86pts? Aloha!
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5/10/2011 - cadamson wrote: 84 Points
Still getting lots of green, though this time the predominant aroma on the nose was cigar ash and dirt...I mean unmistakably like sticking your nose in an ash tray. Sour cherry on the palate along with some of the green=ness. Somewhat better than what this sounds, mostly from being interesting, rather then inherent good-ness. Better when snacking on some food.
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5/5/2011 - chateaunoname wrote: 87 Points
Maybe another year will help it come together a bit more. Still not bad for the price.
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5/4/2011 - 14frimaire wrote:
I liked this. Nice, authentic, local: very good stuff for its modest price point. If you like FROOOOT, look elsewhere; this won't work for you. Pineau d'Aunis gives bright acidity and a cracked, white pepper note that puts many people off, and Cab Franc from this part of the Loire just does not resemble is CA counterpart -- or St. Émilion, which amounts to the same thing. It's not meant to be "serious." This is a lovely, light, spicy wine to drink cool over the summer with a modest lunch or picnic.
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5/3/2011 - Biskuit wrote: 87 Points
Not loving this. Interesting? Yes. Enjoyable? Not quite there. I get LOTS of boiled peanuts on the nose, and lots of stem. A zingy acidity on the palate, still quite green and dirt-y (but not in a pinot earthy way), medium weight, a bit of rustic tannins on the finish. Gets points for being very interesting, but not the kind of wine I would eagerly go back to. UPDATE - Night 2: Better, better. The peanut nose is still present, though less in your face, sour cherry notes on the palate are more prominent, bringing some fruit that was lacking on night 1. Bumping up from 86 to 87.
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4/23/2011 - JamesSanders wrote: 89 Points
This is a good example of what Garagiste does so well. $10 for a juicy, tangy, electric wine with lots of nuance? Of course, I love Pineau d'Aunis. If you don't like a bit of fresh agave flavor in your red wine, steer clear.
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4/16/2011 - HitAnyKey wrote: 88 Points
Notes of black pepper & herbal spices mixed with a light fruit balance and a green vegetal backbone. Decent balance, but took a little while to open up and integrate. Definitely young and probably needs more time in bottle.
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4/16/2011 - Squirreljam wrote:
Thought this was excellent last night, went through two in fact. Can't argue with some others' notes about green but I'd add to that very juicy acidity that balances it out and makes it just a very-easy-to-drink wine. And for anywhere near the price, this has loads more complexity than I'm used to. At ten bones from Garagiste, big win for me - if I could predict these, I'd have bought more than a case but I'm happy for my 12 (now 10) anyway.
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4/10/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 87 Points
Garagiste Test Drive - Spring 2011; 4/10/2011-4/11/2011 (Home): Notes of green, stems that somehow combine with the fruit to evoke a bit of peanut butter. On the palate, some nice layering and a relatively plush mouthfeel that is a surprise for this low price point and alcohol content. The green note keeps it a bit odd, but at the same time very enjoyable. While not overpowering, for my tastes my score would improve a couple of points if this mellows somewhere down the road. Good QPR at $10, and a great everyday wine at lunch or dinner.
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4/7/2011 - toddjerry wrote: 87 Points
Good, not great, more rhone than loire for me. Rustic, stewy, green, just OK.
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4/3/2011 - jim dixon wrote: 90 Points
Lots of green veggies (esp. celery), red fruit, and black pepper, but the veggie component doesn't make it taste poorly made, underripe or flawed. Refreshing and more complex than I would have thought (on both the nose and palate). I'm not a huge Loire fan, and I was surprised by how much I liked this (given other notes on CT). A Garagiste win.
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4/1/2011 - Magnolian wrote: 89 Points
Bright berries and loads of minerality. Refreshing and rustic but not rough. Better on day 2. A winner and huge value at $10.
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3/29/2011 - dfeiner wrote: 88 Points
Liked this with a mustard sauced chicken. Had a green pepper note that was very persistent. Low alcohol, high acidity. Good, inexpensive food wine.
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3/5/2011 - JasonNYC1 wrote:
A "country" wine if ever there was one - a bit green, a bit rough but give it a bit of time and with some food - it makes "sense."
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3/2/2011 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Thought I jumped the gun with my previous note I deleted. However, the last few bottles were tough to swallow. Share tintin's sentiments.
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2/22/2011 - Tintin wrote: 80 Points
We were not impressed with this wine. Very bright and metallic, it tasted like a cheap bottle that I could pick up at a discount supermarket. I'm hoping it was just a corked bottle, as I have a couple more...
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2/1/2011 - cadamson wrote: 85 Points
Was surprised at how dark red this was. Lots of greenness both on the nose and palate...though a bit too much, it did add some interest. The fruit was fresh and very vibrant, though a bit too sour. Not great, certainly some flaws, but interesting and a decent QPR.
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1/29/2011 - Briangray77 wrote: 87 Points
Deep red in color. On the nose I get big cranberry and raspberry. There is also a slight mint and chocolate with hint of alcohol. On the palate there is more cranberry and cherry followed by a hollow mid palate. There is also a little smokiness. The finish has heat and a little raspberry jello flavor. The tannins are mild and overall this wine is mediocre. Don't get me wrong I like the wine but for the blend I feel it's a bit empty.
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1/26/2011 - zscheiner wrote: 84 Points
Magenta. Unpleasant nose of tequila without the heat which thankfully softens with air, but never entirely goes away. The greenness carries over to the palate, but is balanced by juicy raspberry and cranberry fruit. Light-bodied, pleasant enough drinking but the green cactus notes detract. Give this lots of air.
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1/25/2011 - dfeiner wrote: 88 Points
First exposure to this. Green pepper predominates. But there is also raspberry and cocoa. Obviously good qpv and very easy to drink. Got richer as it got air in glass.
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1/23/2011 - dwhit wrote:
delightful; a light, fresh, and elegant little quaffer that went well with a little goat cheese and a hanger steak. (Drank within 3 days of shipping from Garagiste; past experience would suggest this might be better still in a couple months.)
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