Over the New Years holiday we opened a few bottles while we relaxed a bit. There was a mix of good and relatively cheap as well as good and not so cheap. Tasting notes are below. We enjoyed all three of these. At between $10 and $12 a bottle we recommend the Las Rocas Garnacha – it’s consistently good and pretty mature and complex for something in this price range. The La Roquette is drinking very well right now, and will run you about $36 according to wine-searcher. The Poggio Il Castellare is from the excellent 2004 Brunello vintage and will set you back around $50, which is a little more than we paid a few years ago upon release, but not much more. This is not quite ready, but if decanted is delicious. We won’t be opening another bottle of this for at least a year or two.
New Year’s Wines
Wine: 2009 Las Rocas Garnacha Winery Location: Calatayud, Spain
Tasted By: Neil Date: Dec 2012
Tasting Notes: Deep red color. Very nice nose of mixed fruits. This is medium to full bodied and has a nice long finish. An all around enjoyable wine. Has a mature quality to it. 14.1% alcohol.
Price Point – $10 – $12
Would We Buy It? – Yes. We have in the past and will again. Definitely would buy this vintage.
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Wine: 2005 Domaine La Roquette CDP Winery Location: Rhone Valley
Tasted By: Neil Date: Dec 2012
Tasting Notes: This is really drinking well right now. Deep garnet color with a big nose of dark fruit and a little anise and tar. Full bodied with some tannin holding out and some nice earthy flavors. After a half hour in the glass in deepened and the palate went toward a more syrupy and jammy fruit sensation. This is very nice and has aged quite well. I would drink it now. (and will!). 14.5% alcohol and yummy.
Price Point – $36 on wine-searcher, we paid about $23 a few years ago.
Would We Buy It? – Maybe. If I could find it at $23 again then definitely. It is very good, but there is a lot of Chateauneuf du Pape from excellent vintages available in this price range and a little lower.
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Wine: 2004 Poggio Il Castellare Brunello Winery Location: Montalcino Italy
Tasted By: Neil Date: December 2012
Tasting Notes: Deep red color. Black and red fruits but leaning toward red. Full bodied and very long. Cheri thought she detected a little vinegar taste but I didn’t get that. I did get a little acid. We left this overnight with a vacuvin stopper in it and it was pretty special the second day. The aromas blew right out of the glass as I poured it. Fabulous fruit on the palate. Sweet tannins. This is not ready so if you open one let it decant for an hour or two. It’s also not as big as the the 2004 Le Lucere Brunello we opened a few weeks ago. I tend to prefer that one a little bit over this, but this is really good wine. 14% alcohol and does not taste heavy.
Price Point – $50 on wine-searcher
Would We Buy It? – probably not at $50, since we already have some. It’s a fair price for a quality Brunello, but I think I would buy the 2004 Le Lucere first (thankfully we still have some of that too!).
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