Tasting Notes for October 1, 2005

This tasting featured Spanish and French wines from Vincent Garnier.

Wine 1: 2004 2004 Viña Vilano Rosado. Ribera del Duero, Spain. I recently reviewed this wine and Saturday's second taste was just as good as the first. $9.

Wine 2: 2001 Domaine Marcel Deiss Muscat Bergheim. Alsace, France. Sweet, musky aroma, classic Muscat, but not as sweet tasting as you'd expect. A bit of pear and apple are in there. $25.

Wine 3: 2004 Château Pennautier Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc. Languedoc, France. The website appears to be down at the moment, but this was a lovely little wine. Slight lemon and grass aromas, dry but fruit filled, a touch of apricot. I love Viognier, but there's not a lot of it here in Memphis. $11.
Wine 4: 2001 Domaine Marcel Deiss Pinot Blanc Bergheim. Alsace, France. Another one from Marcel Deiss, but I didn't enjoy this one as much--there was a hard aroma, with an almost brett like flavor. $26.

Wine 5: 2004 Château Haut Rian Bordeaux Blanc. Bordeaux, France. Mostly Sauvignon Blanc, probably some Semillon as well. There's a wonderful bright fruit flavor with a touch of lemon and a short finish. Great bargain, and a fun summer wine. $13.

Wine 6: 2004 Château Pennautier Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Oc. Languedoc, France. Mild, unoaked Chardonnay. Nothing particularly special, a neutral wine. $12.

Wine 7:
2003 Bodegas Javier Asensio Torsa Tinto. Navarra, Spain. I'm linking to another blog post here. Mostly Tempranillo with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I got black cherry flavors with mild tannins. Full fruit and a short finish made me think I was drinking an Australian wine. $11.

Wine 8: 2002 Canforrales Joven Roble. La Mancha, Spain. Tempranillo, I got an aroma of raw beef on top, with good plum flavor, maybe just a little bit of toast. Really nice little wine. $13.

Wine 9: 2000 Javier Asensio Crianza Cabernet Sauvignon. Navarra, Spain. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. There's herb and grass aromas on top, with a dry feel and not much strength of flavor. I would have liked to have tried it earlier. $17.

Wine 10: 2000 La Fleur Montagne St. Emilion. Bordeaux, France. Didn't find a website, but this is mostly Merlot. To me, it smelled like cherry cough syrup. The flavor was milder than that, but overall I found it an odd wine. $23.

Wine 11: 2000 Grand Clocher St. Emilion. Bordeaux, France. Another one without a website. This one had barnyard and hay aromas--that classic French smell that turns off some people. There were medium tannins with some cherry flavors. Quite good--I don't know if I would get a bottle of it, but I was impressed. $28.