Nov 10th 2008
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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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Vintage: 2000
Purchased: Jun 2nd 2008
Price: $29.96
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Tasting Notes:
This is easily one of the best wines I've had in a long time. It is nice garnet color with hints of brown around the edges, and a nose that just punches you in the face (but in a good way). I could detect tar, rose petals, and very bright cherry juice on the nose. And I would have been content to just smell it. In the mouth, it is very full bodied with the cherry juice component coming out first. That leads into a smokey component before a long finish of fennel and licorice. The tannins are still quite strong but very well integrated and not out of balance. I'd say that this wine has plenty of good years left in it, and might be even better as it softens more.
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Oct 21st 2008
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Feb 1st 2008
Price: $18.99
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Tasting Notes:
This wine was a winner. I knew the second I took a whiff of the nose that I was going to be very happy drinking this. The nose was very intense with tons of red fruit, minerals, and smoke. When you tasted it, you were surprised at how light it seemed to be. I'm sure you've heard of pinot as syrah from California. Well, this is syrah as pinot! The texture is silky smooth with an insane amount of bright red fruit that is joined mid way through with a black pepper and bacon component that just drove me wild. The finish is quite good with licorice and mint making an appearance. The more the wine breathed the more the strawberry and raspberry flavors came out. That combination with the great acidity made me want to keep drinking and drinking.
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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 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)
Sep 9th 2008
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Vintage: 1996
Purchased: Jul 5th 2007
Price: $18.93
Number on Hand: 1
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Tasting Notes:
This is an outstanding wine at the price I paid. Decade old riesling from a single vineyard for under $20? Are you kidding me?
This wine was a fairly deep golden. Not the light straw that you get from a young riesling. The nose was powerful and outstanding. Tons of petroleum, citrus, flowers, and a touch of honey. In the mouth this was a steely mineral laced wine. The fruit was muted at first but the acid and minerals were off the charts, but not in an out of balanced way. As it opened up more, the fruit flavors (apple and stone fruit) became slightly more prevalent. There was also an interesting spicy note on the finish.
I'm glad I have another bottle of this. I'd be very interested to try it again with a bit of a decant.
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Aug 18th 2008
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Feb 16th 2007
Price: $11.99
Number on Hand: 1
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Tasting Notes:
If all Bordeaux was like this, I'd drink much more. Looking at this wine, you understand why Bordeaux received the name claret from the British. This is a transparent wine. It's not inky black. It's a dark red, but you can see through it. The nose has more red fruit than black fruit: strawberries, raspberries, and red currant. In the mouth, it's creamy smooth. The fruit is muted at first, but came more apparent the longer it breathed. The red fruit is there, along with some plum. The finish is long with no oaky flavors and nice smooth tannins. I also noticed just a hint of an herbal mint quality.
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