WTN: '05 Etxegaraya Irouleguy

Tonight's dinner of a three chesse baked lasagne called for a robust and acidic red wine. While down in the cellar in search of such a mythical beast, I came across a wine that might just fit the bill:

2005 Dom. Etxegaraya Irouleguy
nose: dusty, leafy, bright red fruit
palate: medium body, fresh acids, red fruit, lightly tannic, slightly bitter finish

Opened in the mistaken belief that this wine was mostly Tannat (it's actually 40% Cab Franc, 60% Tannat), my first impression was of a young Cab Franc from the Loire. There might be a bit more tannic structure to this wine than e.g. a Clos Roche Blanche Pif or Baudry Les Granges, but all in all it cleaves pretty close to those models. In service of the food, though, it did quite well, as the acidity and light tannins served to cut through the tomatoes and cheese of the dish. Imported to the US by Kermit Lynch. 13% ABV

Mark Lipton

2005 Dom. Etxegaraya Irouleguy
Opened in the mistaken belief that this wine was mostly Tannat (it's actually 40% Cab Franc, 60% Tannat)...

At least you were looking in the right place (the Mediterranean belt). Their Lehengoa is the all-tannat blend, which I think would have been too young with the dish.

Must be back from your sojourns,eh? I envy you academicians and your travel budgets

I opened up one of these the other night. I wish wine makers would let you know when they use a plastic cork so that you know when to open them...(sooner in this case). My bottle was very much over the hill. Like you I also thought it was suppose to be 100% tannat.

Purchased this in his berkeley store on one of many visits. Too bad, I was looking forward to this one.

I had the 2005 Etxegaraya at an Irouleguy tasting that we organized in local restaurant at the start of summer. It went quite well with most of the SW French dishes that we had and I remember it to be a very young wine but was more fruity than the others that we had.

2005 Dom. Etxegaraya Irouleguy
Opened in the mistaken belief that this wine was mostly Tannat (it's actually 40% Cab Franc, 60% Tannat)...

At least you were looking in the right place (the Mediterranean belt). Their Lehengoa is the all-tannat blend, which I think would have been too young with the dish.

Must be back from your sojourns,eh? I envy you academicians and your travel budgets

BTW, based on my notes, the 2005 Etxegaraya Lehengoa that we had was 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 80% Tannat. This one was bigger and showed more complexity than the basic Etxegaraya bottling.