2004 Vieux Chevrol Lalande de Pomerol

This weekend I visited another character in my cast of wine-snobbery: Garagiste. Those who don't know, Garagiste is a Seattle-based importer of limited production and good-value wines. The way it works, as far as I know, is this: you get on their e-mail list, when you see something go by that you want, you reply and say how many you'd like to order. Then every once in a while, you call them up, make an appointment to pick-up and go see what you got. It's kind of like Christmas every time I go.

To celebrate my good friend Don getting a new job, we had breakfast Saturday at Coastal Kitchen. Since it was breakfast, only scanned their wine list briefly, but I did note that they have half-priced wine nights on Tuesdays. The breakfast was excellent as well--I got a ginormous portion of blueberry marscapone coffee-cake. The fresh squeezed orange juice was welcome as well.

After breakfast we went to Garagiste to perform my semi-annual pick-up. I got lots of goodies. And just like Christmas, I had to open one now. So when Ben's wife called last night asking if I wanted to go to dinner at their place, the perfect opportunity presented itself. I brought along a bottle of the 2004 Vieux Chevrol Lalande de Pomerol, which I got from Garagiste for $18. We drank it alongside an Australian meat pie and raw carrots.

This is what Gargiste had to say about the wine, and I have nothing to add, except it goes great with Australian meat pie:

"Vieux Chevrol is one of those important properties that remain a beautiful jewel in the face of sandpaper. They are a one of a kind winery and they have more in common with Trotanoy or Lafleur than one may imagine (without the new oak). This wine bridges the gap between Romanee St. Vivant, Pomerol and some form of satiny, sultry Syrah. It is light to medium bodied, bright red cherry in color and owes its pedigree to its place as well as to the owners of the property that allow the wine to express itself without heavy extraction or color - all with the velvety sap of a Grand Cru Burgundy. A gorgeous wine that is as special as it gets from this area."

So, if you can find some of this excellent Bordeaux, please pick one up for your enjoyment.