Has anybody picked up their Barolo Mystery wines from April 10th? Not sure when they were delivered, I’m just curious…
Covalli, which got a 92 JS. I can’t find tasting notes, and the asking price is ~$25. At roughly $19 from Garagiste, probably a pass if not purchased blind. I hope not a fin tossed to the wind.
On another plane-2016 Tuscan Mystery, Bibi Graetz Testamatta. Again, Suckling points, and only about 10% below WS low.
2015 Wa State single vineyard Bordeaux blend Mystery is Soos Creek Ciel du Cheval. This I approve of as a real deal, but not exciting enough to cause Jon to wet his pants over.
Did anyone pickup the any of Memorial Day Brunello? They all say arrived; I ordered #2 & #3 but probably won’t get a full case to ship till next the Fall or next Spring
Boy am I glad I passed on all three of those. It seems Garagiste is really fading (and I’m probably late to that realization). I mean, selling mysteries on a “92” that turns out to be from “subtract-six Suckling”. We’re a long, long way from finding hip “garagiste” producers down some dirt road somewhere in a corner of France. This seems like somebody with broad distribution taking calls from people desperate to unload inventory. ![[bleh.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/c/cbb27a94fa73081862abf910a8bfa05e2ae2f5c3.gif "[bleh.gif]"){kind=small}
If not yet confirmed, the “Earth” Mystery white is, as expected, Delille Chaleur Blanc. Jon does better on whites than reds.
Was just going to post but I see you beat me to it. Great deal at $19.91. I asked if they had any more at that price. Alas no.
Agreed. Love the value on that one. I never “go long” on Mystery Wines, but felt confident enough on this one to by a few. Will drink one now, and stash the rest of the in the back of the cellar for at least a decade, to see what happens to them. I think they can age in very interesting ways…
I’ve been buying from them since the turn of the century and my understanding always that the mysteries could be blowouts from anywhere, but the stuff he sold on a named basis was much more likely to be in his own taste. Esp, if was a FreeRun import, but you generally could not find that out til it was delivered.
Generally I won’t buy more than 1 mystery or so a year.
Jon wets his pants frequently
He probably uses depends so he can continue to write his prose uninterrupted by having to change
He is a great marketer and uses all the marketing tools in his disposal to sell wine. He is also a good businessman as he gets access to good deals through his varied contacts and can pass along such deals to his customer base
Like any other merchant, do your diligence before you buy and you will generally be satisfied With their offers. If you buy on Jon’s Peterman like descriptions, you are rolling the dice
Any idea what the Cornas mystery is? At $78.71, it’s probably decent juice - but whose? Lots of producers make a Cornas in that ballpark - Clape Renaissance? Aurelien Chatagnier? Chapoutier? Coulet? Courbis? Yves Cuilleron? Franck Balthazar? Guillaume Gilles? Souillard? Pacalet?
My money would normally be on Vincent Paris but he only makes one Cornas close to that price point and it’s available in the $60s.
According to Rimmerman:
“This is the first time we’ve offered this wine in any vintage.”
Sounds like gilles
Sold Out
he hedges A LOT here. pass. “Highly noted by a variety of palates, this is still a steep investment but the Blue Line $ below is among the lowest you will come across – especially in a vintage of grandeur like 2016.”
“he hedges A LOT here. pass.“
Agreed. When he says “among the lowest,” that means “not close to the lowest.” When he says “at least 98 points,” that just means Suckling has reviewed it.
Yes. Hard pass.
Based on what I’ve been reading it seems like Garagiste is rarely a deal… accurate?
correct.
I think usually the prices are competitive. Sometimes a few dollars less than elsewhere on a 30 or 40 dollar bottle. Some have notes that the whites tend to be better deals. Others have more experience than I, but I think the big thing to be cautious about is the hyperbolic descriptions. I tend to buy things I know I like, and rarely do mysteries. When I was newer to wine and exploring more, the mysteries were a good way to do that.
I still know nothing about wine and have done dozens of mysteries over the years going back to 2012 and have really never been that impressed. Yet I still do them, which is hilarious.