Thanks, turns out my local Binnys sucks for any of these wines. Is there one online vendor who would specialize in these types of wine ?
K&L is a good bet.
And to start English sparkler
+1 A couple days ago I made some recs for this sort of Italian wines from K&L (and could easily expand on that).
Please give a price limit…
$40
Not sure they ship to Illinois, i know they refused to ship a bottle of bourbon
I was thinking of this. Since the family lives on the border, they also make wine in Austria.
Garzon’s stuff is very nice and very individual to me, worth a look for sure. I was going to say Musar–nothing really like it out there, both red and white.
If you really want to go afield, Alan, from separate tastings:
"2010 Magrez-Aruga Koshu Isehara
So the thing is, when I was in Bordeaux in 2014 and visiting at Pape Clement, they had this on the shelf. I absolutely had to grab a bottle and it cemented my decision to have a “Final Frontiers” table. Koshu is the traditional Japanese grape. Read on, brave souls. The nose reminds me a bit of leeks and there’s also a scented soap thing here mixed with some lemongrass. Not offensive, just interesting. But on the palate, well now. Very flowery—almost liquid potpourri—drinking this cold is a must and it’ll never be mistaken for Grand Cru burg, but it is fresh and giving in its own gentle way. In fact, later, it’s orange blossom and orange….and a dead ringer for a Muskat."
"Next was a mystery red from him (Ralph Earle in Honolulu). I initially thought this might be a little corked, but as we traded it through various glasses, it proved not to be at all. Even more fun, this had older scents, some wood varnish and light cocoa and earth around muted dried red berry and cherry. To taste, it has a thinness, but in proportion to where the wine is now. My own guess was an older Cali Cab. None of us came close, as the reveal presented us with a 1997 Chateau Mercian Merlot. This is from….Japan!! Yes, a Japanese merlot. And I wouldn’t kick this out of bed at all, probably an 87-ish for me, and I don’t grade generously. I might have had a hard time guessing merlot, but this has requisite character. Very glad to have had the chance to sample it.
Some Chasselas from Switzerland maybe?
Your descriptions on these wines sound nothing like what I’ve tasted. To me, Garzón Tannats have been consistently tasted like jammy, soft and spoofy wines - nothing like Musar whatsoever. I haven’t tasted any Garzón whites yet, but based on the modern, anonymous style of the reds I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Having tasted several dozens of Koshu wines, that Magrez-Aruga must be among the least impressive examples of the variety that I’ve tasted. Koshu is often described as clean, soft and low in acidity with rather neutral in flavor and that describes quite aptly the Magrez-Aruga wine. However, the best Aruga Koshus are on a completely different level, but they can be quite hard to come by outside Japan (as most of Koshus are). Although Koshu rather rarely is thrilling, the best examples can still be outstanding.
I had 2 Garzon Tannats that weren’t spoofy to me and thought they tasted like (riper) tannats, but not overdone. Yes, the acidity wasn’t at Olde Worlde levels, but so what? These were not that expensive either. Perhaps they’ve changed? (These were from mid-2000’s)
Sounds like they’ve changed some. I’ve had 3 or 4 Garzon Tannats from the post 2010-vintages and they were pretty darn spoofy, something not unlike cheap Aussie Merlot or along those lines.
Not clear on whether the wine needs to be unusual or just the place…I have found some of the English bubbles (Gusborne, for example) to be worth a sip. They are Champenois-inspired, so not too wacky. With Gusborne, I think there is a Brut bottling that is in the $40 range. The BdB is pricier.
Long ago, we made fun of Kentish Pinot…good times.
Cheers,
fred