Marco Abella, Priorat, Mas Mallola

This takes several hours to open up and then it shows a mix of tar, smoky meat and sweet berries on the nose. On the palate this is mostly dark fruits and minerals with very good acidity and long finish. Lots of minerals on the finish, which is still little tannic and slightly hot. Overall a very nice and tasty wine; would score it even higher is the alcohol was more under control. 90-91.

2005 vintage

Good fruit-forward priorat. Not terribly complex, but quite drinkable

2005 vintage

Probably peaked at this point. Average value.

2005 vintage

Pop/pour, in the glass for 15 minutes. On the nose, a beautiful combination of cedar, tobacco, black currant. Just stunning. On the palate, many of the same notes carry through to a medium trending toward medium heavy, with a resin note and light tar that lengthens out the finish. Balancing acidity. This hits the palate in layers of complexity, each sip morphing several times on the palate. Long finish given its middling weight. Probably one of the best $15 bottles …

2005 vintage

Very solid wine with a candied fruit core, ample structure and serious mineral overtone. If not for a slight roughness, could have scored better. Drink now or hold.

2005 vintage

Sadly, corked. Slight effervescence and burn gave it away. Not glaringly obvious.

2005 vintage

Brilliant as ever - light & lively, all is in perfect harmony. This may have been the steal of the century when I found a retailer lightening their load by discounting these to $15. Unfortunately, was my last..

2005 vintage

A year ago we found this somewhat closed and without much character. Not so today. it would probably benefit from more time to integrate but right now the fruit and wood are melding very nicely. There is a lot of cherry, herb and toasty oak on the nose and in the flavor. Lot of cherry. Silky mouthfeel. This was a great Winex deal. Glad I've still got some more left.

2005 vintage

very nice for the price.

2005 vintage

Great fruit and intense schistose minerality, love this.

2005 vintage

An interesting wine and a good bargain ($15). Bottle had a lot of sediment and took awhile to open up in the glass. Complex and well made. Nice dry minerality and good fruit.

2005 vintage

Alas, my last bottle, but stunning after an hour of air.

2005 vintage

This wine has a medium purple color and medium-heavy body, the alcohol is 14.%. This wine has been deanted for 6 hours and at 6 hours it gave off aromas of barbeque sauce, scorched earth, spices and ripe dark berry fruits. It tasted of blackberries, tart cherries, spices, BBQ sauce and the beginning of cassis is starting to come through. A very good wine now, but I would give it two more years in the cellar and think it has …

2005 vintage

will benefit from additional aging. Not sure there is much value at Garagiste $30 but still a nice wine.

2005 vintage

Supercharged nose of ripe berry, cherry, licorice, soil, spice, and a nice vein of minerality. I'm immediately thinking this is going to be a luscious monster but the palate is much more restrained. Tart cherry, spice, licorice, wood, tannins, medium body and finish. This is sort of weak in the midpalate and almost verges on being superripe on the nose which holds back my impression a bit, but pretty stellar for $15.

2005 vintage

This could be my favorite $15 bottle of wine ever (earlier notes from this week notwithstanding) . Similar to prior notes, but perhaps showing even more this time around. On the nose, "rich" is the summary. Tar, spice and dark fruit. On the palate, this drinks younger than the forward nose might suggest given an acidity that lifts this up. Some tannins also show up on the finish. I'm torn as to forecasting a "drink by" date, as I think …

2005 vintage

Ripe but not excessive melange of woods, soil, and anise, with a rather mild influence of sweetening oak. Somewhat more oak-drenched on the palate but not encumbered by excessive wood tannin. Over several days, this actually lightened up on the oaky impression, perhaps boding well for the future. Still, a rather generic Priorat overall.

2005 vintage

Impromptu Mixed Bag Tasting : No detailed notes, but for me this was one of the stars of the evening. Remarkable "secondary" on the nose for a wine of this relatively young age. For me, a bit "older world" in styling as compared to the '04 Clos Abella. While opened late in the evening, this was one that didn't have much left in the bottle by the end of the night.

2005 vintage

Hanging out at Jim's house : Nose: Tar and scorched earth with sage and underbrush. Very rustic. Palate: Earthy with black fruits. Very evolved already. Killer QPR. Day 2 ~ Tar and scorched earth aromas muted but still present. Palate: Softened tannins and less earth and more fruit evident.

2005 vintage

Dark fruit, perhaps pomegranate, tobacco on the back end. A little cab in the mixture adds depth and color.

2005 vintage

Nice. Glad I have another one. Another true gem from Garagiste.

2005 vintage

Pop and Pour - nose of tar initially that blew off after about 15 minutes. Nice dark cherry fruit and licorice followed by subtle fine tannins. Drink now.

2005 vintage

Dark fruit, licorice, oak, and spice. Perhaps on the modern side, but not over-oaked, not overripe, not over-extracted. Lovely texture and well integrated round tannins and acid make it eminently quaffable with or without food. Supple and balanced. Remarkable bargain at the $15 closeout.

2005 vintage

Similar to my 12/2009 note. Winex just offered this at $15, which makes this a great QPR.

2005 vintage

8 months has done this a lot of good. Opens quicker, like 10 minutes in the glass. Medium heavy bodied. Dark fruit, spice, oak and tar on the nose. Much the same on the palate. Excellent. Once again, this reminds me of a heavier version of Nebbiolo. Does not have a bunch of tannins or other structure, so I think holding for another 2-3 years max could be best.

2005 vintage

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Marco Abella, Priorat, Mas Mallola

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