Our friend Kellie invited Michelle and me to an incredible wine tasting event - the Garagiste Great Producers Tasting. Garagiste is a small company who sources interesting wines from around the world and then sells them via their mailing list. This tasting event was held in their warehouse in Seattle; definitely nothing fancy. But, for $175, they poured dozens of amazing bottles of wine for the 40-50 people who attended; they maybe had one bottle of each wine, so not everyone got to try everything, and we really got just a taste of each. However, I've never had so many old and (in many cases) rare wines.
The theme of the evening (revealed at the end of the night) was "Is it worth it?" In the tastings (some blind) they laid out comparable wines from different areas, producers, or eras. I admit my taste buds are simply not tuned enough to discern what was so great about many of the old wines; the bouquet was often lovely and I loved the brownish color of the old wines, but the flavor was often disappointing to me. Still, I loved the opportunity to learn about the wines (Jon Rimmerman, the owner, presented detailed backstory on the wines and delivered the talks with obvious passion).
My favorite of the evening was a 1978 Chateau Montelena Cab from Sonoma. Absolutely delicious. Some of the other notables in the line-up were 1947 Bourdy Cotes du Jura, 1989 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay (the Australian white that stunned and outraged everyone in blind competition in France), 1966 Grands Echezeaux, a pair of 1942 Spanish wines - Bosconia and Tondonia (interesting how they had to scrounge for bottles during the war), 1982 Sassicaia from Italy (yum), 1982 Yarra Yering (the wine that helped really put Australia on the wine map), a pair of Celestins Chateauneuf-du-Pape (contrasting different styles of Chateauneuf from different eras - 1978 vs. 1998), and an amazing '94 Dunnhoff Auslese. Oh, he also poured some DRC, Screaming Eagle (pretty universally panned that night), and Chateau Lafite.
I think if I knew more about wine (especially old wine) I would have been even more impressed; I didn't get to ooh or ah with everyone else when the wines were announced. Once we move back to Seattle, I'll undoubtedly sign up for the mailing list. The write-ups are fascinating and educational; I just can't handle more email that I can't act on right now though.
It was a great experience. I'm definitely inspired to learn more now.
(For the record, my answer to the question "are they worth it" is no. The stories and history were fascinating, but none of the bottles were worth hundreds or thousands of dollars to me.)
Optimista Reply
Sounds like fun - and those old bottles are beautiful! Great reporting, as always.
david Reply
I also attended this tasting and it was fantastic. Like you I wish my taste for wine was more developed but it was a great experience tasting wines from top producers and comparing them.
Do you have any more pictures? There was a Burgundy that I absolutely loved but don't remember the name.
Nice post.
Holly Reply
Hi Tony,
We're so glad you enjoyed the tasting and thanks a million for the great write-up. Guess what? You don't have to live in Seattle to receive our wines. We ship to all the states where it is legal to do so. Here's a link to sign up for our email offers and a list of where we do not ship.
http://bit.ly/NlQ8z
Hope to see you at the next tasting.
John Watson Reply
I'm trying to put together a full list of everything we tasted there. Here is what I have so far, from my pictures and from your write-up. Please, anyone who has more info, add to it (and, please correct any typos)!
1942 Vina Tondonia
1942 Vina Bosconia
1999 Domaine Charvin CdP
1998 Domaine Roger Sabon CdP
1947 Bourdy Cotes du Jura Rouge
1988 Philipponnat Reserve Special Brut
1978 Chateau Montelena Sonoma Cab.
1983 Chateau Cheval Blanc
2003 Chateau La Tour
1966 Grand Echezeaux
1982 Sassicaia
1982 Yarra Yering (missed it)
1989 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay (missed it)
1994 Dunnhoff Auslese
2007 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru (Valmur)
2007 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru (Les Clos)
???? Chateau Lafite Rothschild
John Watson Reply
Here's a more complete list, from my friend Jon Farr, combined with mine and yours. It's organized by year:
1942 Vina Tondonia
1942 Vina Bosconia
1947 Bourdy Cotes du Jura Rouge
1964 Domaine Leroy Grands-Echezeaux
1965 Domaine Burgaud Cote Rotie
1966 Grands Echezeaux
1966 Jaboulet Aine Chateauneuf du Pape
1976 Henri Bonneau "Reserve des Célestins" Chateauneuf du Pape
1976 Ramonet Batard Montrachet
1978 Chateau Montelena Sonoma Cab.
1981 Vina Tondonia Rioja
1982 Sassicaia
1982 Yarra Yering
1982 Chateau du Cayrou Cahors
1982 Brono Giacosa Barolo
1982 Chateau Leoville Payferre St. Julien
1983 Chateau Cheval Blanc
1988 Philipponnat Reserve Special Brut
1989 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay
1990 M. Chapoutier Cote Rotie "La Mordoree"
1990 Frederic Magnien Bonnes Mare Grand Cru
1993 Ch. Lafour Pomeral
1994 Dunnhoff Auslese
1994 Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero "Unico"
1998 Domaine Roger Sabon CdP
1999 Domaine Charvin CdP
1999 Flaville Haut-Brion
2000 ???(leroy) Mersault Chaumes de Perrieres
2001 Henri Boillot Meursault 1st cru
2003 Chateau La Tour
2006 Terra Di Lavoro Roccamonfina
2007 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru (Valmur)
2007 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru (Les Clos)
???? Chateau Lafite Rothschild
???? Screaming Eagle