TN's: Three Recent Garagiste Cheapies

WINE TALK
1

I have very mixed results with Garagiste and bargain wines. Much better luck at local retailers. Here are three with more mixed results. The Nino Jesus VV from 05 is much better though the 04 seemed to get better over the year and a half I’ve owned them. I think the 05 for the Altos de Hoya was better also but both the 05 and 06 are terrific bargains.

  • 2006 Bodegas Olivares Monastrell Altos de la Hoya Finca Hoya De Santa Ana - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla (3/2/2009)
    Very ripe showing some raisins and very similar to Port with a day of air. Even with the high ripe character there is no heat or sense of VA. Somewhat thick and though I wouldn’t say it has a lot of acidity it isn’t flabby. Dark rich berries, almost like ripe Zin with a touch of animal type character. Not for everyone but this is damn nice for $10. Not complex but delivers good fruit without huge flaws.
  • 2006 Château Romanin Vin de Pays des Bouches-du-Rhône Jean Le Troubadour - France, Provence, Vin de Pays des Bouches-du-Rhône (2/25/2009)
    Touch of stinky reduction initially before tart boysenberry like Syrah fruit. Big juicy and tart with a weak midpalate and growing tannins. Sort of a crunchy dark berry fruit quality. Similar to an Aussie wine. Not my thing but I’m sure there is an audience. Decent for the price.
  • 2004 Niño Jesús Calatayud Estecillo Legado Viñas Viejas - Spain, Aragón, Calatayud (2/23/2009)
    Tea is the first thing I notice again on the nose but the ripe Grenache is bigger now and with a touch of pepper. Ripe red fruits on the palate, almost stewed but not overkill. Probably the best showing of my 3 but still not enticing.

Posted from CellarTracker

2

me thinks it’s time for another garagiste/marouche party.

3

I had one last night - 2005 Château Mas Neuf Costières-de-Nîmes Compostelle - not exactly my favorite Garagiste buy thus far, but it was at least good. It takes about 2 hours for the fruit to come out, but it does, eventually, and is quite ripe and round. Midpalate is lacking, but the mouthfeel is pretty good, albeit a bit on the thin side, considering the very inky appearance (where one might expect a much bigger/thicker mouthfeel). Decent acidity, and enough to put up with our grilled hamburgers. If this was $12.00, it would be a sick deal. At $17, it’s still very good, but not as much of a super-secret-great-deal as a few other Garagiste sales have been.

4

The Mas Neuf has been around for years. Pretty consistent though not one of my favs. It’s not CdN, but I wish Jon & co would get some worthy Languedocs in sub $20 category.

5

Gregg, I was impressed with the 2006 Domaine Puydeval Vin de Pays d’Oc Rouge - have you tried that one? For $11.00, it’s a nice little Languedoc, goes great with food. I even had some with pizza and it worked.

6

Poppy, get that mini-vert of aged Prosecco ready again! :smiley:

7

Nope, but there’s a lot of stuff from the region. Vin de Pays is about as general a term, in AOC terms, as you can find. It covers a huge area and sometimes the wines can be thrilling. I look for wines from Coteaux de Languedoc, Corbieres, Fitou, Minervois, Pic St Loup…and in Roussillon I like Cotes de Roussillon & Cotes de Catalanes. Dan Kravits (Hand Picked Selections) brings in some excellent value driven wines, as well as Neil Rosenthal, Dressner, Bobby Kacher .

8

[shock.gif] [stop.gif]

That was SO wrong.

9

I’e had some nice Languedoc stuff from Garagiste. WineX carries some nice stuff also. If we do the Marouch thing again I’ll bring something from there.

10

Their Chard at $8 is also very good

11

I have one left… I’m sure you are all dying to taste this one!
[rofl.gif]

12

Let’s do it. I’ve got a boat-load of Garagiste’s from last year, and looking to find some reason to like them. It has been a struggle so far. Not one single bottle I would buy again. Please help me drink them.

13

Is that because they are French?

14

I wonder, like Frenchie, why. I would say that I’m about 95% good with what I’ve bought from Garagiste. I have bought a lot of low/mid-end stuff, and it generally has delivered. Higher-end champs and things like Amon-Ra at prices better than anywhere else are hard to beat. Plus, I recently had a corked bottle…shot a note to Niki, and they credited my CC with no questions asked. That’s Nordstrom level service, and I appreciate it.

So, not sure what crap you’ve been buying, Eldon.

And is that your aviator gear in the avatar???