page_title: Garagistes
section_title: Criticism
hierarchical_section_title: Garagistes / Criticism
caption_attribution_description: An assortment of French wine from the Saint Émilion and Pomerol wine regions on the right bank of Bordeaux
context_page_description: The garagistes refers to a group of 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", the term is sometimes used somewhat as a backhanded compliment; in light of this, vins de garage wines come from previously unknown estates without proven track record or pedigree. Alternately, such wine is referred to as "super-cuvée" or "microchâteau".
context_section_description: Despite the critical acclaim and high prices that have been fetched by some vins de garage, both the term and the movement have faced criticism. In addition to wine experts such as Steven Spurrier described it a fad, some writers, noted by Graham Harding, have gone so far as to suggest the cult following of these wines are an example of "The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome" and that the wines are made more for collectors than for wine drinkers.
  Another critic is Master of Wine Michael Palij, who compares 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."
caption: Some of the criticism for vins de garage is that with their high prices and limited production, they appear to be made more for wine collectors rather than for wine drinkers.
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