D'Orsay & Cie; 2000 Chateau Lagarere

[HSzatmary]

An auctioneer by the name of D'Orsay & Cie recently contacted me to see if I was interested in having their wine broker bid on some Bordeaux at auction. The broker indicated that a French collector was selling, and that certain fine-quality wines would be sold for, hopefully, about 1/2 of their market value. One of the wines offered was a 2000 Grand Vin de Bordeaux from Chateau La Garere, which supposedly won a gold medal for the 1998 vintage, for $170 for a 6 bottle case. Being a skeptical soul, I wonder if anyone has had any experience with this auctioneer or this wine. Thanks for any information you may have. --Heidi

[winoweenie]

Hi HSatmary and welcome to the board. I'd be especially wary of this deal as A) I've never heard of this guy and B) as the old saw goes " If it sounds too good to be true it probably 'Haint." See if you can get a complete list of what's selling as the one wine you listed also doesn't ring no chimes in my noggin. Could be legit or more likely a scam to pawn off some lousy juice at a neat profit. Stay sharp. WW

[HSzatmary]

Thanks for your input, WW. I did a little research and also found little on this wine--except for the website of the proprietor in France. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there is little on one of 9000 chateaux in Bordeaux. I suspect this auction house is simply selling stock of various small chateaux, and the fact that they represented this as part of someone's collection gives me pause. Nevertheless, I hear that 2000 was a fabulous vintage for the region, so the fact that I was rash and asked for my bid to be submitted may only result in the purchase of good, albeit overpriced, wine. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/confused.gif[/img]

BTW, do any of these other names ring a bell with you? Chateau La Lagune de Mercey (2000, bronze medal), Chateau de la Souloire, Chateau Domaine de Lagarosse, Chateau Les Graves de Viaud, Chateau La Carrade (Graves, 2000, bronze medal), Chateau Champs de Lucas (1999, bronze medal). These are some of the other bordeaux offered for sale. Even if you haven't heard of the names, do you know where I might verify that these wines have been award winners? Thanks again, H.

[winoweenie]

As much as I'd like to assauge your concerns I find the list a mish-mash of unknown and unproven vineyards. The awards they are puported to have won must have been at the local YMCA tasting as NONE of the major players have had public tastings yet as they aren't released. Hopefully you can cancel or return your purchases. ALWAYS buy your futures purchases from reliable and proven retailers. Don't remember where you're from but they're lots of reliable retailors that offer great values. WW