Garagiste?

I recently signed up to get email offers from this source. This is definitely a great way to be constantly tempted to add to one's cellar! Before you know it, one or two bottles at a time, you have a case or two. I've bought some of these wines but have yet to receive or taste any. So, to anyone who has sampled the goods, are these vinos as interesting and/or as good as the write ups?

I've bought some of these wines but have yet to receive or taste any. So, to anyone who has sampled the goods, are these vinos as interesting and/or as good as the write ups?

Your profile says you joined this board in 2006. So you've been around the wine internet for at least four years but haven't heard any critiques of Rimmerman's prose!!

I'm just teasing, but for what it's worth this guy is infamous for his overboard (and ludicrous) wine writing. That said, they do have some good wines amidst the clunkers. Hopefully you chose well!

Used to be on the Garagiste list for a couple of years.

It was great - I had very little experience with a number of regions, and once you got familiar with Rimmerman's prose and hyperbole, it was a really good way to be introduced to a lot of different styles, grapes and regions with some context and backstory behind each wine.

Wines obviously were a bit hit and miss. But the hits were very memorable - Torzi Matthews Schist Rock Shiraz, which I bought 2 of from Garagiste, and got hooked onto (ended up buying a case later, and my parents ended up going long on it as well - from other sources - and getting hooked), some older Mt. Langis, and a really great introduction to NZ Syrah in Bilancia La Collina.
In general the customer service from them was very, very good and the wines were certainly interesting if not all to my taste, but quite a few were great experiences. And they regularly had some nice old bottle offerings with really good provenance (bought a bunch of older stuff from them, and the condition on all the older bottles was consistently excellent).

My main issue was the business model - if I found a wine I really, really liked, I couldn't get more of it straight away. (Got lucky with the Schist Rock and some of the NZ Syrahs because I found an importer/seller in Singapore.)
But it basically meant that I ended up buying lots of wines in 1 bottle quantities to minimize risk, and when the wine finally arrived - if I liked it, it was much too late to get more.

But yeah, the emails are fun. Some truly ludicrous and over the top (particularly the Tasmanian water emails, and a particularly hilarious one where he wrote a page long ode to a transcendental slice of pizza), but usually entertaining reading. And the wines can be very, very good.

I have had very few misses with Garagiste. I have bought some bargain priced high-end wines (think Salon and Amon-Ra) and lots of grower Champagnes at very good prices. I have had the opportunity to try wines from Sicily that are virtually unavailable otherwise, And it goes on and on. The only thing is you need patience. They ship maybe 2 or 3 times during the year, and only after you have accumulated at least a case (you can ask them to ship less, but if you don't, they won't). So, if you're looking to get the wines Jon raves about (and he can be damned convincing!!) right away, well, it's not that kind of a retail outfit.

I will say, too, that when I've had a flawed wine, Garagiste has always made it right. For the wine geek in you, I recommend them.

Yes, the wine writing is definitely way over the top at times. I agree with you though Salil, it is for the most part entertaining. I always open those emails right away to see what's cookin'.
Lots of good & interesting wines means I am just going to have to control myself, yeah right, could be dangerous! In my case it's probably a good thing that I won't be able to easily reorder! I'll just take good notes, savor the memory, and hopefully not run myself out of house & home with wine!
As you both mention, Salil & James, the main thing I find interesting with this wine source is that it allows me to get my hands on some truly esoteric wines, like the ones I ordered recently that are grown in switzerland in vineyards clinging to a mountainside. Should be a lot of fun tasting some of this stuff!

[Jenise]

Yes, lots of hits and misses. Most of my misses have been in what you might call the "budget Bordeaux" category and at this point I don't trust Jon on that category at all unless it's a name already known to me. Lots of hits on small producers in other places, though.

"Budget Bordeaux" is a tough one in general wouldn't you say Jenise?

If you're not bothered by the "can't readily reorder" thing though, I think there is a lot to like with the concept. You can order a bunch of unique and very hard wines to come by wines one or two bottles at a time and they'll hold it under perfect storage conditions until you want it shipped. Just think of what the shipping would amount to if you ordered a case of wine over the course of several months and had it shipped one or two bottles at a time!

Now that I think of it, if approached in a restrained fashion, perhaps ordering a bottle or two every few weeks might satisfy the desire to purchase and thus prevent me from overbuying. I mean, not that I've ever done that or anything ...

Tom, I've been on the Garagiste mailing list ever since Jon rimmerman went into business a decade or so ago, and I think you've received good answers to your question. In Garagiste's early days some of us on this board agreed a wine drinker could do a whole lot worse than simply buy whatever Jon put up for sale. Since then he's expanded his selections several fold, and so discretion is in order. But customer service remains excellent and prices low (check them agains Wine-Searcher Pro), and wines are generally in fine condition. Despite Jon's hilarious hyperbole it's accompanied by sometimes breathtaking candidness, as when he advizes everyone in certain areas of the country not to buy a particular offering as they can get it for less at local wine shops.

[Jenise]

"Budget Bordeaux" is a tough one in general wouldn't you say Jenise?

Oh sure. But he doesn't sell it that way. He has gone so far in one case as to imply the wine would/could/did best a first growth in a blind tasting...and the reality in the bottle was anything but that kind of quality.

It's funny, but I've never seen an actual business model where the owner doesn't want to sell product. After an exchange of emails to try (and try hard, and harder, like Avis) and get on his email list, he totally ignored me. Pissed me off so much I thought fine, keep your damn wines.
It's almost as if there was a force field around Garagiste that was designed to keep out anyone from outside Puget Sound from touching the holy grails.

It's funny, but I've never seen an actual business model where the owner doesn't want to sell product. After an exchange of emails to try (and try hard, and harder, like Avis) and get on his email list, he totally ignored me. Pissed me off so much I thought fine, keep your damn wines.
It's almost as if there was a force field around Garagiste that was designed to keep out anyone from outside Puget Sound from touching the holy grails.

Why not just sign up on the website??? http://www.garagistewine.com/signup You don't need permission to be on the list.

"Why not just sign up on the website???"

Yes, that's all you have to do. I signed up two months ago and started receiving offers within a few days. Fair warning though Mark, it's awfully easy to end up with plenty of wine a few bottles here and a few more there!