Sunday, December 16, 2007

Virtual Offline Tasting December 14-16


2004 Colonial Estate Envoy "GSM"

NOTES POSTED!

14 comments:

scottie said...

Looking forward to this one! Thanks to the VLG for a great time today!! I hope to come out again for a tasting soon!

Scottie

sandy said...

Jason - thanks for choosing the GSM. I really enjoyed it. Definitely a lot of dark berry flavors on the nose and palate - blackberry and dark cherries flavors and aromas dominated. The texture of the wine was softer than I expected with almost a silky finish. I will say that I enjoyed the wine more on the first day than on the second. On the second day, there was a balsamic aftertaste that I did not pick up on day one. That said, we paired the wine with Indian food on day one, so the food could have masked the balsalmic flavors I picked up on day two. Anyone know the breakout between G, S and M on this wine? My guess is that grenache makes up the largest part of the blend. Overall, I enjoyed the wine and would drink it again.

Karnopolis said...

Unfortunately, my bottle oxidized. It was difficult to reach past it. I didn't notice any flaws in the cork so it could have been related to handling???

Bummer
:(

J@VLG said...

Sandy says "Anyone know the breakout between G, S and M on this wine? "

50% Grenache, 30% Shiraz, and 20% Mourvedre.

J

J@VLG said...

Matt, that is very weird. Sorry to hear that. I don't think I have ever had an oxidized red wine at that age.

J

J@VLG said...

I really enjoyed this wine. Upon first opening it did seem a little reduced but that didn't bother me. I really enjoyed the bright acidity in the wine along with the loads of fruit. It was nice to taste a wine with so much fruit that still worked great with food. The wine was surprisingly pretty. Very happy with this purchase. 90 pts.

J

sandy said...

J: 50% Grenache, 30% Shiraz, and 20% Mourvedre.

Thanks, Jason! That makes sense.

darrenv said...

The Envoy GSM was worlds better than the Colonial Estate Shiraz I brought to the tasting. For my "big" tastes (bump to Jim), I would have thought the Shiraz would be my speed. Nope!

Their GSM had nice aromatics from the get-go for me. And initial flavors of dark berries, currant, and pepper! (I love pepper) yet brighter than a typical Shiraz and a more interesting finish -- maybe that's the G & M talkin'. Overall, I enjoyed the balance.

Had it with the in-laws at their place with a roast and it paired nicely. Everybody enjoyed drinking it and I had to fight them to leave a bit for me to taste on Day 2.

Day 2 - lost some of the complexity and reminded me a little more of our Shiraz tasting. Big, straight-ahead Dark fruit and sweet - I was getting a huge amount of Cherry Cola (not Cherry Coke) and a flatter finish.

Still, a good wine that suited both meals nicely and one I could drink as a cocktail too.

That's money well spent, and I'd spend it again. The Shiraz was another story...

Thank you, Jason.

Unknown said...

This was a kick butt choice, Jason. I got no reduction upon initial opening. It actually kind of hit me with the verve of a Zinfandel -- really up front and nice. The bouquet only kept getting better, too. It was killer on the nose. The palate didn't quite deliver as much on the nose, but it was really tasty. Lots of fruit and nicely concentrated. There was a touch of saltiness about the acidity, which reminded me a bit of a Garretson Syrah we had at the Houston OL back in July. Really tasty stuff, though, and the bottle easily got drained. Great choice! I'd go back for this ... and at the price WineEx had it for? Steal.

Dr. Dietz said...

First, WTF is up with the do that Matt is sporting in his foto??? What next?

Ok, on to the GSM.....Nose of forest, some greeness...maybe asparagus, but very pleasant and inviting. Lots of spice on the palate, dark in the glass, but a red fruit profile with brilliant acidity that makes this very light on its feet.

Lorena loved it too, and she pretty much nailed it blind as some sort of Rhone blend. Really nice sipping wine and good with tamales, of all things.

I first thought of Cab smelling this....I really enjoyed it. Second reasonably priced Aussie we have had recently that has been outstanding.

Interesting, the notes in Cellar Tracker pretty much trash this wine...yet no one here had a problem.. http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=160510

J@VLG said...

The wine was a bit trashed on Cellar Tracker ... but 3 of the notes are by the same guy ... what was he doing with 3 bottles of a wine he didn't like? Sounds like there were some problems with secondary fermentation in his bottles ... maybe the same thing was happening with Matt's bottle.

Anonymous said...

Our experience with this wine was a little different. Sweet & fruity with a little spice.. and a little heat. Fairly easy to drink but it is possible that the food pairing wasn't ideal. Our meal was a little spicy. Overall, not bad.

Dan Wilt said...

Anyone starting a Bailey's group on the east coast? I'm a baby when it comes to my liquor!

Dan Wilt said...

And... dang, can you rent your palate, J.?