Nov 10th 2008
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Vintage: 2007
Purchased: Aug 30th 2007
Price: $20.00
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Tasting Notes:
This is a great example of dry chenin blanc. It's got good tropical and apple fruit notes, a hint of smokiness, tons of minerals, and crisp acidity. I wish I had more.
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Apr 13th 2007
Price: $16.99
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Tasting Notes:
This might be the first purchase from Gargiste that I just didn't like. Or it could be that I just opened it at the wrong time. On opening it the nose was super muted. Over a few hours it opened up slightly, revealing sour cherry and cedar notes. But the fruit and other flavors were just done in by the high acidity. Not a very enjoyable bottle.
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: May 30th 2007
Price: $18.73
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Tasting Notes:
Like the previous Burgundy I tasted, this one was all out of wack with a repressed nose. I double decanted it, and it improved somewhat; but it still wasn't enjoyable. After about four days, I decided to revisit and it was about 100 times better. You could now smell the sour cherry, earth, and minerals in it. The acidity was muted and the tannins much improved. It still tasted a little out of whack, but it was very interesting. I think I opened both of these bottles of wine at a bad time.
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Oct 28th 2008
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Vintage: 2001
Purchased: Aug 1st 2007
Price: $18.99
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Tasting Notes:
Kathrine made a risotto, and I thought the crisp acidity of a Chablis would be able to cut through the creaminess of the dish. This wine was a very golden color in the glass. The nose was not fruity at all and very much different from your run of the mill chardonnay. There was pear and apple on the nose, and a touch of lemon zest; but the main component was a wet rockiness. In the mouth the acids were vibrant and worked great with the food. The apple and lemon were still there, and the minerality shone through well. If there is a flaw with this wine it would be that the acid and muted fruit seemed to be slightly out of balance when drinking the wine without food.
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Oct 21st 2008
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Sep 28th 2008
Price: $16.99
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Tasting Notes:
Choucroute Garni and gewurztraminer is a match made in heaven. This is a great gewurz. It's a deep dark golden color that looks thick and mead like in the glass. The nose is powerful with honey, lychee, quince, and pear mingling with rose petal and cookie spices. In the mouth this is a thick and heavy wine. It is sweet, but with enough acidity to handle it. I could drink this wine everyday.
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Oct 7th 2008
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Vintage: 1990
Purchased: Feb 29th 2008
Price: $38.74
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Tasting Notes:
For Kathrine's birthday we brought this along with us to eat at a local French restaurant,
Cremant. The wine was a light red in the glass and completely transparent. Darker than a rose, but much lighter than most red wine produced today. The nose was complete barnyard and manure. It was not unpleasant, but was strikingly strong. As the night wore on, the barnyard started to blow off and fade to the background leaving scents of smoke, cedar, and bright tart cherries. The wine was extremely tasty. The first flavors were of cherries and bright red fruit. On the midpalate I found a slight green vegetal character and notes of sun dried tomato. Kathrine detected more of a tin/metallic flavor. The finish was quite long with the soft tannins fading away to the great acidity and lingering smokey and cedar flavors. As the night wore on, it opened up even more with the cherry flavor brightening up; and it even started gaining a cherry pit flavor as well. This was not the best wine I've ever had, but it was one of the most interesting.
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Vintage: 2006
Purchased: Feb 8th 2008
Price: $13.96
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Tasting Notes:
Kathrine made a pot roast that had an entire bottle of Cotes du Rhone in the gravy, which made me think a Cotes du Rhone would be a good pairing. This wine had an inky black color, totally opaque in the glass. The nose was a mixture of red and black fruits, pepper, and herbs. In the mouth it was quite heavy with thick tannins (although not harsh). Initially I got the flavors of raspberry and blackberry with a nice acid streak. Then a peppery and almost meaty bacon flavor carried the wine to the finish which was like an herb garden in the mouth.
This wine was super at this price. I can't find a real fault with it, and I wouldn't have complained if I had payed $25+ for it. If I had to make a complaint, it would be that I have no more.
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Sep 29th 2008
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Vintage: 2003
Purchased: Apr 13th 2008
Price: $18.00
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Tasting Notes:
After drinking a Grand Cur Burgundy and a very good Oregon Pinot Noir, I was quite excited to try this wine. Unfortunately, this was not as good as I was hoping. The wine was much darker than your average pinot. I've seen lighter colored Bordeaux. The nose started out fairly fruity, but the aromas were more black currant and plum, rather than the brighter red fruits. In the mouth there was a plummy note and good acidity, but fairly gripping tannins, and a eucalyptus note on the finish that was not so pleasant and very unexpected.
As the wine evolved in the glass, it didn't seem to get much better. By the end, the fruitiness was gone with just the acid and tannins remaining. I can't recommend this wine at all.
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Sep 22nd 2008
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Vintage: 2003
Purchased: Jun 7th 2007
Price: $11.99
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Tasting Notes:
We were having steak, so I opened a Bordeaux. At first this wine showed mostly black fruit and raspberry flavors. But as it opened up, blueberry seemed to dominate. This is a really good wine at this price.
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Sep 5th 2007Comments(0)
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Vintage: 2003
Purchased: Feb 14th 2008
Price: $0.00
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Tasting Notes:
Best wine I've ever had. That should be all I need to say about this one. But, I will say more. Kathrine and I took this to
Lark to celebrate my birthday. When it was first opened up I was astounded by the power of the nose. At first, red cherry was all that I got; but slowly I was smelling pine needles and a hint of cedar. In the mouth, it exploded with flavor. Cherry and raspberry with a great acid backbone in the mid palate balanced by a perfect velvety mouth feel. The best part may have been the finish though. It just kept going and going. The fruit in the finish moved more towards a boysenberry and huckleberry flavor, slightly more black than red. And there was a great nutmeg like spice component that just coated your mouth and refused to go away.
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