Garage wine doesn’t just refer to wine made at home, in a garage, using rudimentary means. More than just experimentation, garage wine is also the subject of a veritable viticultural movement.

A movement launched in Bordeaux

The cradle of France’s great wines, the Bordeaux region saw the birth of the garage wine movement in the early 1990s, particularly in Saint-Emilion.

The aim for the winegrowers was to produce extremely high quality wines in very small quantities and on very small areas.

Thehe fact that the production of this type of wine could fit into a garage, or took place in a garage, is the origin of the nickname.

Noted, rated and praised by Robert Parker, these wines quickly gained immense notoriety and demand. They were particularly prized because they able to compete with the great classified growths of Bordeaux.

In Bordeaux, great wines generally come from the cellars of châteaux with well-established reputations and inexhaustible resources.

The micro-domaines therefore wanted to create exceptional wines in highly limited production, using their own resources and focusing on extremely precise vinification. In the vineyards and in the cellar, the work was particularly meticulous. Great care is taken with pruning and leaf removal. The grapes are hand-picked from the best plots and meticulously sorted several times to ensure that only perfectly ripe, healthy grapes are used for accurate, rigorous vinification.

The first garage wines

The legendary wine from Château Le Pin in Pomerol is considered the original garage wine. Winemaker Jacques Thienpont, said to be the pioneer of great garage wines, created this confidential micro-cuvée in 1979. It counts among the most expensive and sought-after in Bordeaux.

The driving force behind the movement is Jean-Luc Thunevin in Saint-Emilion. In the early 1990s, he created the cuvée Château Valandraud. He tells Sommeliers International magazine: “
We simply applied the methods of the great châteaux to the 1.20 hectares”.
The expression “garage wine” was first used by Florence Cathiard of Château Smith Haut Lafitte when she visited the estate.

The movement gained momentum, and the price of garage wines even surpassed those of Saint-Emilion Grands Crus Classés such as Cheval Blanc and Pétrus.

Among the “original” garage wines are Châteaux Le Tertre Roteboeuf, Gracia, Château, Rol-Valentin in Saint-Émilion, Château Château Marojallia in Margauxand many others…

What about today?

A veritable revolution has taken place in Bordeaux: the most eminent vineyards, as well as emerging ones, have drawn inspiration from garage wines to create their cuvées.

Today, it would seem that only the best garage wines remain in Bordeaux, most of which have achieved the rank of Premier Grand Cru classé de Saint Emilion.

By extension, the expression vin de garage is now often applied to exceptional micro-cuvées produced in limited quantities by winemakers, as garages have now given way to cellars.

Ohe Château Croix de Labrie and Clos du Canton des Ormeaux vintages in Saint Emilion are particularly noteworthy.

Château Croix de Labrie extends over less than 6 hectares of organically and biodynamically farmed vines. Axelle and Pierre Courdurié took over the estate in 2013. Axelle, the château’s winemaker, pays close attention to detail: green work in the vines, precise, parcel-based vinification and very limited yields.