TN: 2007 Domaine La Garrigue

WINE TALK
#1

2007 Domaine La Garrigue Cuvee Romaine (CdR, FR)

Popped and poured; drank over two days. 14% abv. Eric Solomon import.

Monday night.

Heady nose redolent of sweet black fruits, iron and good 'ol Rhone funk. Viscous mouthfeel, medium tannins and weight carrying through the back of the palate with noticeable heat on the finish. Food helped mellow out the finish. I don’t think I’ve had many basic CdRs before that were so rich with pure, extracted (in a good way) fruit. Pretty solid for $12.

Last night the finish was better i.e not as disjointed, but the aromatics were shut down. Will check back on this in a few months.

#2

I agree, good stuff! I picked up a case and am now down to my last 2 bottles. If it were easy to find wines this good for under $15, I’d probably forego the expensive stuff. Unfortunately, this is the exception, not the rule.

#3

The last few bottles of a case of this I bought were fizzy. The first part of the case I drank early last year and it was all good. I began to notice the fizz last fall.

#4

+1. Great wine for the first 3 bottles, then I returned the rest after opening 2 that were undrinkable due to secondary fermentation.

#5

Interesting; I hope I don’t find any lingering fermentation in my remaining bottles.

#6

Yes, very hit or miss. Some do it and some don’t. I’m drinking my last bottle or two soon. When its not fizzy its an excellent wine though.

#7

Daniel - you can say that on this board. On the other one, there’s little criticism of that wine. I’ll grant it’s an inexpensive wine. But for me, it was something I’d rate about 83, which means it was good enough to drink but nothing really worth seeking out. However, I’m willing to grant that different lots/bottles will show differently. It’s happened with other wines often enough.

#8

This is an '07 CDR I strongly recommend against anyone buying. Way too many bottles going through a secondary fermentation. I bought a few immediately on release. Liked them enough to buy a case. The case turned very spotty on me.

#9

Most of my case has been flawed. Fizzy, or in some cases, super bretty.
I recall a few bottles that I can assume were not- or less-flawed. I liked them OK. But I’m more irritated with the bottle variation than anything else.

#10

Retailers (or distributor) are still flogging the 2006 vintage here in Oregon.

#11

Wow, the haters are comin’ outta the woodwork! [tease.gif]

In all seriousness, I’m even more eager to pop another bottle soon, but will still hold off.

The talk of bottles being “flawed” is surely a definite possibility and I’m not disregarding anyone’s personal experience with the wine.

But, I wonder if perhaps the wine’s natural sauvage nature i.e. pungent earth/herbal aromas is too off-putting to some and is being confused with some type of flaw? Afterall, the winery is called Domaine La Garrique. [berserker.gif]

#12

[scratch.gif] The wine was fizzy! We had several good bottles and then poured two down the drain.

#13

I hear you, but I wasn’t talking about the wine being fizzy in my post above.

#14

bought a case of 06 last year. may have to check on it to see if it’s also going through secondary ferm.

#15

I went through 2 cases of the 07 already…it was very consistent from bottle to bottle. Purchased from Zachys.

#16

To echo others, I dig on that sort of thing. I do not dig fizzy wine with a metallic after taste.

Like I said, some bottles are excellent. Some are [bleh.gif]

#17

Couldn’t agree more; I’m down with some fizz-less funk…

#18

This is closer to my experience also. When I see them in my wine cellar now, I pass right over. They may be fine, but they just don’t get me excited enough to pull them anymore.