1999 Gloria, St. Julien
Bought this wine early on and loved it. It drank so well as a baby, but then I decided I was being wasteful and should lay off the rest for aging. I'm not sure I made the right decision, because even though we got through last night's bottle it's the first one since the early bottles that wasn't savagely green and basically too awkward to drink. It's only one of three I have left of the case. The wine's still odd: it had four distinct flavors that didn't create a harmonious whole. Those are ripe tomato, minerals, green herbs/tobacco and perfume. And when I say perfume, I mean there's not only a cheap perfume note on the nose (no Margaux here), it actually tastes too of what you taste if you lick skin where cologne or perfume has been sprayed. (Bob agreed wholeheartedly with this description, btw, it wasn't just me). We drank it, but I can't say we enjoyed it all that much.
2005 Mylord Cuvee Milady, appellation Bordeaux
This is one that makes you get up the next morning with overwelming curiosity about what you drank. It's the first we've opened of a six pack that came from Garagiste, and so long ago that I recalled nothing of the hype except that it was exceptionally provocatively hyped. What we thought: attractive modern flavors, red and black fruit with a bit of Red Vines licorice, low to low-medium range structure and tannins, not much depth but everything that is here is pleasant, tasty and harmonious, a good pop n' pour wine, seems to be a cab-merlot blend and if I paid $20 or less for it it's a reasonably good buy for near-term drinking and better than most Cal or Wash cabs we could buy in that price range.
How Garagiste sold it: The My Lady is their super-cuvee. If the Mylord is the third wine of Ausone, then the My Lady is their Ausone. This wine is given the supreme treatment. It was going through malolactic when Parker was around to taste so they couldn’t pull a proper sample. When told what Parker had said about the 2005 Mylord (and that I had a similar reaction, along with many of Bordeaux’s most famous names), they laughed and made it quite clear the My Lady is 2-3 times the wine. I’m not sure how that could be and I wasn't really interested in an unknown $50 Bordeaux. While I’m sure it was excellent, we would be just fine with the regular Mylord. “How about $16+” I was told? My reply was swift....”I’ll take everything”....There’s nothing really to say about this wine. It’s the top 2005 wine of one of Bordeaux’s most consumer friendly properties, it’s their strictest selection, hand coddled to age with tannin, perfect, even gorgeous ripe 2005 fruit and the capacity to age for a number of years. This was made form the famous “draconian” selection and they are so proud of it, the wine is almost like a child. Only a few hundred cases were produced, which makes this not only one of Bordeaux’s rarest examples but most difficult to obtain. I would not be surprised if this receives an outrageous review once it is bottled, all for $16.87....If you purchased the everyday miracle that was the 2005 Mylord, you will be amazed by the quality level of My Lady...it is the most ridiculously priced wine for the money I’ve seen in ages and it will best many classified growths from the vintage at $50+.
Have to disagree strongly with that last statement, but you have to laugh.
2008 Syncline Gruner Veltliner, Underwood Mountain Vineyard, Columbia Gorge, Washington
I knew this would be disappointing compared to it's Austrian cousins but still I couldn't resist, never having had a gruner from anywhere but Austria and admiring that grape very much. Well...it's not Austrian. It's tasty, but the flavors are subtle and not very distinctive. I didn't find the sweet pea I look for, nor did it have the acidity to give it cut and precision or raise it above quaffer level. Blind, you would guess you're drinking a domestic pinot grigio by virtue of being able to immediately eliminate chardonnay and sauvignon blanc and making PG would be the next most likely thing. There are many better white wines for $21. Only 125 cases made.
