The garagistes refers to a group of innovative winemakers in the Bordeaux region, producing "Vins de garage", "Garage wine". A group emerged in the mid 1990s in reaction to the traditional style of red Bordeaux wine, which is highly tannic and requires long ageing in the bottle to become drinkable. The garagistes developed a style more consistent with perceived international wine tastes.
For red wines this means "bigger, bolder, fruitier wines, often with sometimes a higher alcohol content." The new style for white wines is a more pronounced oak taste with some residual sugar. This new style of wine is controversial, and purists claim that the wines will not age well and they don't reflect well the terroir of the region, nor the typicity of the grape varieties used. Characterised as "winemaker's wine whose attributes reflect a disregard for the traditional handling of its particular terroir",[1] the term is sometimes used somewhat as a backhanded compliment, in light of that these wines come from previously unknown estates without proven track record or pedigree. Alternately, such wine is referred to as "super-cuvée" or "microchâteau". The wines produced by these estates often receive very high wine ratings from Robert Parker,[2] and are usually sold at prices driven high by rarity, hyperbole, and fashion.[3]
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Considered a predecessor of the Garage wine, Château Le Pin founded by the Belgians Marcel and Gérard Thienpont on less than 2 hectares in the late 1970s, wine was produced by microcuvée from a farmhouse basement in Pomerol.[4] Following the efforts of Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud, and the emergence of Château Valandraud came the description of a "movement".[5] Founded in 1989 on a 1 hectare plot in Saint-Émilion, with limited funds for equipment, much work was done primitively by hands and feet in their garage, with high detail labour resulting in low output yields defining the methods of the model.[6][7]
Several wines fashioned in this same model appeared on the market, such as La Mondotte from Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, La Gomerie from Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot, Le Dôme, Les Astéries and Le Carré from Château Teyssier, Quinault L'Enclos, Rol Valentin, Barde-Haut, Gracia, L'Hermitage and Marojallia.[7] Coining the term "Vins du garage", and the vintners "Garagistes" has been attributed to both French writers Nicholas Baby[2] and Michel Bettane.[8][9]
After Valandraud was rated by Robert Parker a better 1995 vintage than Château Pétrus, the economic effects were substantial.[10] Developments in the market saw Garage wines reach surprisingly high prices, sometimes well beyond historically top-priced products, however in the early 2000s came indications that the trend may reverse. Wine writer Jancis Robinson noted that the Garage wine market had "shrivelled considerably in recent years", Robert Parker stated that while the wines are "here to stay ... only the best will survive", and Steven Spurrier commented, "the belief that ridiculously low yields make better wine has finally been exploded by the quality of [the abundant] 2004, as it should have been by 2000, 1996 and 1990. Goodbye to a fad."[11]
Despite the critical acclaim and high prices that have been fetched by some vins de garage, both the term and the movement has also faced criticism. In addition to be described as a fad by wine experts such as Steven Spurrier, with some writers, noted by Graham Harding, going as far as to suggest the cult following of these wines are an example "The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome" and that they wines are made for collectors than for wine drinkers.[12]
Another critic is Master of Wine Michael Palij who compare garagistes, particularly those of Château Valandraud, to the large California wine producer E & J Gallo Winery saying "Each is a triumph of style over substance. Neither pays any regard to either history or terroir."[12]