The evidence before the court is incontrovertible

L

Lee Short

Lee Short
In the case of The People v. Garagiste, Exhibit One is the 2005 Stephane Cossais Montlouis "Le Volagre." An oaky, oaky mess. I can't imagine this will ever resolve.

Another strong reason for buying only one bottle of an unknown Rimmerman recco. I'm sure there are people who'd love this; why can't he market it to them. OTOH, there are certainly some of his recommendations that I have been very glad I took.
 
Bummer. I tried one of a couple of De Tarczal Marsemini and wished I had more. Better too few than too many, I guess.
 
I think Rimmerman is a hypemaster. Although i definitely certainly picked up some deals on already 'discovered' wines in the past.

But the "discoveries"? Eh.

I am happy not to get the emails anymore. Your inbox may vary.
 
Well, you won't be seeing further offers.

Stephane Cossais died from an apparent heart attack during a walking race last july.

more

If you are seeking to discredit Rimmerman as cynical shyster because you really didn't like the wine,
it would bolster your case to include the offer email. What did he say about it? What were you expecting?

I have bought from Garagiste and have experienced frustration similar to yours. I have also gotten some
excellent "discoveries". Also known items at exceptional prices. I also buy wine elsewhere.
 
Phooey, Hooey.

Garagiste as a source of "off-vintage Mugnier" or unsold Giacosa -- good. As a source of of undiscovered gems of terroir which brought the taster of th wine nearly to tears with their beauty -- not so good.
 
originally posted by Bwood:
Phooey, Hooey.

Garagiste as a source of "off-vintage Mugnier" or unsold Giacosa -- good. As a source of of undiscovered gems of terroir which brought the taster of th wine nearly to tears with their beauty -- not so good.
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Unfortunately, which offer is a winner or loser is fairly individual. He hypes offers no doubt. Considering the business model it isn't really surprising is it.
 
originally posted by Bwood:
Phooey, Hooey.

Garagiste as a source of "off-vintage Mugnier" or unsold Giacosa -- good. As a source of of undiscovered gems of terroir which brought the taster of th wine nearly to tears with their beauty -- not so good.
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Seriously. His discoveries = my favorite cooking wines. Quite consistently.

I no longer buy wines from them that I don't know from another source, preferably tasting myself. Also, I don't get the emails.
 
originally posted by Lee Short:
In the case of The People v. Garagiste, Exhibit One is the 2005 Stephane Cossais Montlouis "Le Volagre." An oaky, oaky mess. I can't imagine this will ever resolve.
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Cossais (RIP) apprenticed with the brothers Foucault, and held their Brz as his holy ideal. If I'm not mistaken, it is the style of wine he is trying to make. So I'm not surprised to hear that it is still showing its levage. All the same, perhaps his effort in 2005 was not successful; I've not yet tasted it.

According to Cossais his 2005 was raised in 10% new barrels. The 2006 saw a bit more and he was unhappy with the results, so no new barrels were used in 2007. (Source)
 
For as much as people bitch and moan about Garagiste you'd think people would have learned how to buy from him by now. Ignore his rediculous verbiage just as you ignore the fucking signs in the stores indicating who gave this or that wine however many billions of points, and do your own homework.
Fool me once shame on you...
 
Personally, when I see "discoveries" trumpeted by wine stores, in my mind it means they may have found an exclusive on a wine no one's heard about and that no one else is selling, bought it really cheap and marked it up really high, but I'm jaded.
 
originally posted by Brian C:
For as much as people bitch and moan about Garagiste you'd think people would have learned how to buy from him by now. Ignore his rediculous verbiage just as you ignore the fucking signs in the stores indicating who gave this or that wine however many billions of points, and do your own homework.
Fool me once shame on you...
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This has it exactly right. If your bullshit detector is in working order Garagiste is a great source. The problem in the model is that when you stumble across a bottle that actually does justify the hype, it's over a year since you've bought it and you can't get any more.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
originally posted by Brian C:
For as much as people bitch and moan about Garagiste you'd think people would have learned how to buy from him by now. Ignore his rediculous verbiage just as you ignore the fucking signs in the stores indicating who gave this or that wine however many billions of points, and do your own homework.
Fool me once shame on you...
Click to expand...
This has it exactly right. If your bullshit detector is in working order Garagiste is a great source. The problem in the model is that when you stumble across a bottle that actually does justify the hype, it's over a year since you've bought it and you can't get any more.
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The good thing, though, is that often you'll be able to pick up next year's vintage. I've done that several times and been happy with the results.

Ned above raises a good point: it's really only a failing if the wine was advertised differently. I'm about 99.999% sure that it was; otherwise I would not have bought a bottle. More to the point, I have found that there is an fairly high percentage of wines that he advertises as 'wines of terrior' that are overoaked/overextracted. So, yes, I have long been ignoring his calls on that front: likely he is honestly reporting his views on that matter, and just can't reliably make a judgment that I agree with. But I do absolutely clear steer of any wine where his notes indicate high extraction or oak levels. So his marketing emails are of some use to me. EDIT: the offer archive offers no hits on either Montlouis or Cossais).

I've often bought garagiste wines as simply a shot in the dark, a way of mixing in some new blood into my purchases and trying some wines from outside my regular sources of recommendations and experience. In the past, I have been willing to tolerate the failure rate (never more than 33% or so). I find that in the last year or so my tolerance for the failures has declined, and so have my purchases from them.

I do find it amazing that this wine saw only 10% new oak. Seems hard to believe, given the wine in the glass. I'll see if it's any better tonight. I'm sorry to hear the news about M. Cossais, and wish his family well.
 
Here's the offer:

A nice surprise arrived after midnight, an allocation of a wine Ive been chasing since the cavalcade of 2005 Loire whites made their debut. As one of the more interesting dry wines of a lauded vintage, this Montlouis sec is worth noting (and then some).

With a goal of surpassing Clos Rougeard, Stephane Cossais is brash, unpredictable and every bit the rogue but his 2005 Le Volagre already has a legion of underground punks that revere it as the modern emergence of Gaston Huets ghost. Chidaine may get the distribution in the US but it is Cossais that excites in France not so much for his superior wine but for its superbly wild style and potential ageing curve (Ive heard as many as 50 years for the 2005).

Made in a fully extractive, pent up style, this wine is bursting at the seams with a dry Chenin Blanc tonic of what drinks like layered fresh-pressed crystalline must that is still in tank or barrel. This is not a waif-like delicate wine, it is for the very long haul and the patient collector that has time to give this Montlouis its due (in the darkest and coldest corner of the cellar). Those of you that tasted the 1919 Huet at one of our Per Se dinners 3-4 years ago will understand the style Cossais is going for.

For a few other opinions, please see (unrelated to us but respected bloggers):

(You have to cut and paste this entire, enormous URL into your browser - all of the black and blue text you cant just click on it or it will tell you Blog not found)

http://translate.google.com/transla...+Cossais+Montlouis&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en

(this one should be ok to click on)

Loading…

jimsloire.blogspot.com

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for rarity and unique expression of Chenin Blanc:

This parcel has impeccable provenance directly from the source at about the same price as the cellar door (the fact that a wine like this is still available for $18.74 speaks volumes about the pricing disparity between the greatest white wines of France):

2005 Stephane Cossais Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Volagre sec - $18.74
(compare at $25-35)
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My usual approach to Garagiste offers is to mentally strike out whatever text is substanceless hype and read only the words that are actually descriptive in some way. (Especially strike out the references to what European hipsters or Jon's French sommelier friends are worshipping, the old "argumentum ad Europeum.") That technique doesn't leave a lot of text left in this offer.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
Though it's kind of touching that he doesn't know how to use Tinyurl.
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He would say that as, "In an age where modern web designers resort to all sorts of manipulations and high-tech interventions to make long web addresses easy to navigate, Garagiste has stubbornly refused to change and continues to copy and paste text just as his father did. This link combines the complexity of La Tache with the power of Screaming Eagle with content that expresses the unique terroir of Garagiste, for those lucky enough to find it (it has already long overrun its bandwidth in Europe)."
 
My usual approach to Garagiste offers is to mentally strike out whatever text is substanceless hype and read only the words that are actually descriptive in some way. (Especially strike out the references to what European hipsters or Jon's French sommelier friends are worshipping, the old "argumentum ad Europeum.")
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But, you know, he's right as far as that goes.
 
I bought the Volagre. I quite liked it. I didn't think that there was much new oak influence. Certainly not as much as in certain luxury cuvees of Saumur blanc that I wished I hadn't bought. I thought the Volagre quite delicious, in fact. PAB mentioned the untimely passing of Ms. Cossais to me in October. I wish I had known his wines better.

OTOH, Kane did once accuse me of having no palate. I wear the charge as a badge of honor.
 
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