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November 30, 2005 - An Evening with Garretson Wines

Over the course of the last few years Mat Garretson's idiosyncratic Rhone varietals have been some of the most heralded, requested, loved and hated, and certainly talked about wines at our tastings. This fall we decided to highlight Mat's wines with a tasting of their own. Very well-attended and to be honest, there was a good measure of excitement in the air just prior to the wine being poured. Because of the unique aspect of each wine, I'll provide the number of cases produced as well as the alcohol content for each.

"The Chumrha" 2004 Viognier-Roussanne Central Coast $24.00
420 cases produced. 15.0% alcohol. This blend is deep gold in color with no variation. It sports a heavily perfumed nose of peach, mango and papaya with hints of spicy honey. On the palate it's full-bodied and slightly sweet, certainly very ripe, with spicy and lush flavors of cantaloupe, mango and honeysuckle. This is a huge white which left people scratching their chins. Some loved, and some . . . well, some hated. I like the wine very much, it certainly delivers on the gratification level, but it also, like all of Mat's wines, redefines tradition in terms of the varietals he works with. Mat's love for the Rhone is clear and he only works with varietals thereof, but his grapes ripen so fully that he in essence turns tradition on its head: a very American, and more so Californian notion. So tonight the question is posed: is bigger, fatter, riper better or does it belie the heritage of the grapes and the Rhone tradition?? We'll see huh?

"The Celeidh" 2004 Rosé Paso Robles $21.75
600 cases produced. 14.4% alcohol. Pale garnet with no variation, this barely qualifies as a pinky wine. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Roussanne, it is replete with enormous aromas of candied cherry, raspberry jam, sassafras and vanilla. Very full and rich on the palate, it boasts notes of white and red cherry, pomegranate, rhubarb and spice with no tannins. The finish is lengthy and nuanced. This is a cool wine, and surprised many. It proved to be one of the more popular of the evening.

"The Graosta" 2003 Mourvedre Paso Robles $33.00
300 cases produced. 14.5% alcohol. This was a pale ruby in the glass with slight variation. It had a voluptuous nose with big berry aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, tar, leather, spice and for me, sun-dried tomatoes. On the palate it was fruity and soft, with super-fine tannins and notes of blackberry, roasted cherry, garrique, with a hint of asphalt. Quite distinctive and to be fair, friendly; this was one of the most ordered wines of the night. Mourvedre is one of the first single varietals I fell in love with when I started exploring wine and it remains a favorite. Garretson's is always one of the best out of California.

"The Aisling" 2003 Syrah Paso Robles $35.00
500 cases produced. 15.2% alcohol. Deep ruby with slight variation, this was the first of three Syrahs we enjoyed. Again a total fruit-bomb, this featured aromas of raspberry, blackberry, near blueberry and spice. On the palate it was huge, slightly sweet in its ripeness and viscous, with deep flavors of stewed black cherry, blackberry and spicy vanilla. This is the one wine I was reluctant on because its incredible ripeness, it's almost port-like, but as always, it had many fans this night and was enthusiastically embraced.

"The Luascain" 2002 Syrah Rozet Vineyard Paso Robles $56.00
200 cases produced. 16.5% alcohol. This sits super-inky black-ruby in the glass with no variation. Always my favorite because of its amazing balance in the face of its incredible richness, this again was compelling in its massiveness. With very ripe aromas of black cherry, kirsch, prune and almost port-like notes, this just blasts out of the glass. We're getting into stratospheric levels of alcohol for a table wine here, but I think this one, even more than the Aisling, pulls it off with grace. Would the Bulladoir, which I hadn't had in two vintages, be able to best this gorgeous Syrah?

"The Bulladoir" 2003 Syrah Paso Robles $74.00
150 cases produced. 15.9 % alcohol. Again, super-inky ruby in the glass with no variation. On the nose it's big and black-smelling, with notes of prune, black cherry, raw meat and leather. Port-like again appears in my notes. In the mouth it's like, "Pow!" one of the most explosive wines of 2005 for my guess. The flavors unfold rapidly centering around roasted black fruit, meat, smoke and mocha. It's very, very rich, juicy and dare I say, velvety. "Incredible" was my first thought and "Wowza!" was my second. A truly special wine which capped off a memorable evening.

All said and done Garretson makes a case for distinctiveness in his wines, though it's tough to wade through the high-alcohol levels for many. Most definitely a memorable evening, the place was rocking by the end of the night with a jovial buzzing of voices and laughter.

*All of the wines we taste, no matter what night we tried them…even if it was over a year ago…are available either on our shelf or to special order. We are always very happy to special order a bottle of anything you’re looking for. If you are interested in trying some of these, please email or call us anytime and we will include it on our next order – almost always delivered within two to three days!
 
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