Chateau Garage ?

It means that a man's garage is his castle!!

Uh, actually, it means, I believe, garage-made wine. Either home-made wine or a very very small winery.

Cheers, Dana

It is Spanish. In French they are called garagistes.

Not necessarily from bought-in grapes, rather from their own not first class terroir plots, but with considerable reduction of yields and thus achieving super-ripeness. The very first garagiste was Ch. Valandraud. jean-Luc Thunevin vinified his first vintage in a part of his neighbour's car repair shop (in French: "garage") downtown St-Émilion, hence the name, stuck to him by wine journalist Michel Bettane.

Today, Jean-Luc owns the neighboring house, the repair shop is closed down, and there are still barriques in the former garage.

M.

It is Spanish. In French they are called garagistes.

Not necessarily from bought-in grapes, rather from their own not first class terroir plots, but with considerable reduction of yields and thus achieving super-ripeness. The very first garagiste was Ch. Valandraud. Jean-Luc Thunevin vinified his first vintage in a part of his neighbour's car repair shop (in French: "garage") downtown St-Émilion, hence the name, coined to him by wine journalist Michel Bettane.

Today, Jean-Luc owns the neighboring house, the repair shop is closed, and there are still barriques in the former garage.

M.

But is the wine a true St. Emilion or is it over extracted and full of plummy fruit without the subtlety of a really great wine, let alone one commanding the same price?

Would you rather drink that or Ausone, Figeac, pre-Perse Pavie, Soutard, Balestard-la-Tonnelle, Larcis Ducasse, Berliquet, Clos d'Oratoire, de Ferrand, Carteau Cotes d'Augay or so many other subtle, three dimensional St- Emilions?

I only ask the question - I know my answer.

Timothy Hartley

Ed Rasimus wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Can't buy that one Ed. A true St. Emilion has to have heritage in addtion to the accident of birth in a friendly commune. St Emilion more so than other Bordeaux appelations prides itself on the correct expression of the region. One has their wines adjudge Cru classe through a very thourough system of tests, flunk at any stage and you do not get cru status for that year. that is not to say that there can't be incredible range from year to year, but the heritage is still there, tradition in the glass along with the juice.

You wine people, trying to slip your secular humanism on us unsuspecting upstanding testament-quoting patriots. What kind of perversion are you pushing anyway talking about wine for a gay raj. What do I care where some turbaned guy sticks his you know what where?

Oh its garage. Never mind!

Emilie Flatella as screamed to

Garage wines are basically made to win points in those silly scorecards that Bob and the Wine Suppurator foist on us. Here in France there is a new word for these wines, I love it : "vins bodybuildés".

The phenomenon is not unique to France. In Italy, where points come in the form of the well knows "Tre Bicchieri", a system of scoring one, two or three glasses invented by Slow Food (yes, I know, dont remind me...), I would propose that a separate score be kept for all those bodybuilt garage wines made mostly within a short drive of the outer limits of Chiant, mostly by bored immensely wealthy industrialists.

From now on, we will award the "3 wrenches" prize in the prestigious "Guida dei vini di garage d'Italia".

The marketing formula is unfailing, tack the suffix "aja" to your tuscan wine and it immediately jumps above the 100€ price tag. A bit like all the wines ending in "us" in the Priorat.

;-)

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

I did that with my "G" and it worked - wow!*)

(Consumer prices per standard bottle in Austria including VAT)

M.

Which proves that the orinciple also applies outside Tuscany

Oh yes, but then you are back to Joe's "Gaj raj" wine

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

Seriously, the "garage wine" phenomonum had multiple points of origon.

1. Production of Sassicaia from Marchesi di Incisa a relative of Piero Antinori--it was the first "super-tuscan"
2. The influence of M.DeGrazia marketing barrique wines both in Tuscany and Piemonte
3. The Advocacy of Robert Parker Jr. for these wines and the bandwagon effect on Lo Casio of Wine Bow and the Wine Spectator.
4. The introduction of "garage wines" in Bordeaux starting with the 1982 vintage.
5. The marketing of Meritage wines in California and the extension of the mailing list phenomena there by rich people who wanted their names on labels. From Hanzell, Stony Hill and Joseph Swan at the start, anyone who could rub two dimes together started making "cult" wines available only in restaurants and by the mail.
6. Growth of an audience who primarily were interested in drinking and hoarding "points" and regulations in the US who make it a crime and adventure to obtain these wines.
7. W>

I agree with jcoulter — surprise surprise — to be a ”true• Saint-Émilion the wine has to be made in a recognisable style which is typical of the Jurisdiction. Nor is it true to say that garagiste wines are free from snobbery inflated pricing. (I would question whether they are really quality wines as well but that is another matter.) I wonder if Ed has tried to buy Valandraud or any of the others recently and whether he really thinks they represent good value for money when they fecth more than most mentioned in my first post?

Timothy Hartley

afford it, I will buy it.

Here we have found common ground — if not terroir. The issue is not whether the wine tastes good to some — everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I am very hasppy to hav silly money chasing wines I do not wish to buy or drink, rather than puching up the prices of those I do. All I say is that they are not in the style of the Jurisdiction which, yes, since 1199 has been saying what can be sold as St. Emilion and what could not. The Jurade used to order bad barrels destroyed and burned. It‘s called quality control in most walks of life.

Cheers

Timothy Hartley

Use your underworked brain>