Just finished playing wine for a couple of hours.

Got my cellar software caught up.

I'm up to 218 bottles I track, and another 80 or so I don't.

For you guys who are really into this, does it ever stop? What is a good sized cellar?

It never ends, Cecil. Never.

For me, wine collecting has a pleasure of possession, similar to collecting coins, art or comic books, that has nothing to do with actually drinking it. Being able to drink the stuff just makes the hobby that much better!

Anybody else experience this?

Cecil, I completely agree. Tracking how a wine evolves over a decade is really cool.

My limited collection is for drinking. There are a couple of bottles that are evolving, but most can be drunk at anytime. I usually pop them open for a special dinner or other occasion. I don't understand people that have wine they are never intending to drink.

Oh it will all be consumed, some of it not for a long time, but I derive pleasure from possessing it in the meantime.

[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 3/29/2014 7:52p).]

Spent some time yesterday and reread most of the first 15 pages or so of this thread. Pretty dang good education into wine. I've learned a bunch in the past couple of years. Thanks to all you wine common sewers!

I just clicked on page 13. I wish I could relive that page over and over again!

Since this thread started, I've inherited a new CFO/boss, Dutch-born, world traveler/liver +...

Guy has a bunker outside of Normandy with 17,000 bottles. He never sees them. Calls up the caretaker (or whatever you'd call them) and periodically tells them to send palate #12345 to Sotheby's or Christie's to sell.

His only investments are wine and cattle in Brazil.

And, even with all that, he still recommends good <$20 bottles at HEB or Spec's often.

You never know,...

17,000 bottles, holy hell.

A friend of mine in the business has about 1,500 bottles in his collection. He doesn't have much money, but he has a lot of wine! He is like cecil, he derives more pleasure from owning them than drinking. he rarely drinks for pleasure, which is kinda funny.

Oh I find more pleasure in drinking it, the pleasure of possessing just bides the time!

Gradually making my way through reading/skimming the many pages I haven't read of this thread and really like reading everyone's comments on some wines I've known of but never tasted. I used to manage at Coppa, buy wine for Coppa Osteria and worked at both locations in the last year+, but just started working independently selling wines for a small Italian-focused distributor/importer in town instead).

My "cellar" is literally just starting, as I usually drink just about everything I buy or am gifted (and often I'm just drinking the remains of opened samples), but I have three bottles I've been saving for something special down the road I haven't determined yet:


-2006 Beni di Batasiolo single-vineyard Barolo from "Cru" Boscareto in Serralunga d'Alba
(this one I'm saving for as long as I can hold out-- will be a major self-reward or celebration wine someday, and I'm lucky enough to have already tasted it before to have some perspective-- probably one of my favorite 2 Barolos I've tasted, along with the E. Pira Cannubi 2008)
-2003 Castello di Selvole "Barullo" Toscana IGT (probably the next thing I'll drink based on age)
-2010 Le Clos du Caillou "Cuvee Unique" Cotes-du-Rhone (a delicious declassified CDP I first had when I was a buyer-- used to be my favorite wine I sold under $40)
-2010 Nickel & Nickel State Ranch Cab (no real personal significance, just a gift)

Probably nothing earth-shattering for a lot of y'all, but at 26 I've got a long time to keep adding to it. I had heard (and maybe it's been covered on a page I haven't gotten to yet) that 2012 and 2013 are going to be incredible years in Cali, so maybe I'll be able to find some upcoming releases worth drinking and saving as well. Actually, the national sales mgr from Gun-Bun told me in December or January that their head winemaker believes Sonoma will get its first 100 pt wine (though I see Robert Parker's already handed out a few) coming out of the 2013 vintage.

Anyone have an estimate on when to start looking at opening that Barolo? My guess would be 2016 minimum, though that's already sounding like a long wait as I type this. I may have to just buy wine enough to distract me from it!

[This message has been edited by Inspector Spacetime (edited 4/1/2014 12:28p).]

[This message has been edited by Inspector Spacetime (edited 4/2/2014 4:46p).]

We all have to start somewhere.
Your Barolo may be ready, but what I've read says you should hold it for a couple more years.
2012 was a good year, but small crop. 2013 was great, and a big crop, but France bought a bunch of the bulk wine because 2013 in France was terrible.

Inspector, I am 45 and only started "holding" any wine a couple of years ago. prior to that, I was hand to mouth with all of it. you are way ahead of me!

since you are in the business, you will probably collect some nice samples/gifts in the next few years.

Here is an article on a blind tasting of Napa/Sonoma /H3 cabs. I am shocked by the results. Opinions ?

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/25/6266941/dunne-on-wine-judgment-in-geyserville.html

Interesting. Of course some of it is akin to running a thoroughbred in a 300 yard race against quarter horses...

They all wanted to see the results in 5 years. To tie this back to Cecil's collection observations. This is another great reason to collect. Right now I get this most pleasure out of 07 and older. Last week I had an 08 hollaran ore pinot. It was amazing.

Absolutely.

For me it also extends the tasting/enjoying part of the hobby. Since wine is regarded as "living" enjoying/contrasting good wine over it's life IMO is very interesting.

I'm finding that a lot of the 07 Napa cabs are hitting their peak now. Better to drink them now, as it's my opinion that those 10 year retrospective tastings in 2017 are going to be quite disappointing.

I've got quite a few, so I'm interested in your thoughts. Could you explain a bit more? For example Opus One is still showing their 2007 as being aways from peak as of yet?

thanks!

The '07s have been ready to go for a while. We've been drinking them when we can for the last 3 years, holding onto the '06s a bit longer.

OK, does "ready to go" mean
they won't get any better?
they will decline?
they're great now but will improve?

How do you know?

The 07s are in that "drink now" window right now. What little tannins those wines had have matured, and those wines aren't going to be getting any better.
07 was one of those years everyone considered the vintage of the century. It has received very high scores because everything got ripe (some might say too ripe). What you got were a bunch of very dense and ripe wines that were ready to drink on release. While quite enjoyable now, those wines don't have the tannin and acid structure to age for much longer. While there are exceptions (Dunn, Ridge, Montelena, and Opus One, to name a few), these wines are ready to drink now. As sort of a joke, I've been telling people if Phillippe Melka made your 07 Napa cab, drink it now.

All this being said, your best advice is going to come from the winery that made your wine and your own palate.

quote:

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Montelena, and Opus One

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Got a couple of each, which is really what I was wondering about!

How about Stag's Leap SLV?

No idea. Contact the winery and ask them.

regarding the blind tasting referenced above, I would advise anyone interested to be sure to read Ron Washam's musings on the tasting. I like his perspective. to quote him "So what do we gather from this Judgment at Geyserville? In a word, squat. I learned a lot from tasting with such a grand bunch of talented wine folk, but our results were only mildly interesting. Like I have to tell you that."

I do think those wines, in general, were a bit young. I had an '07 Stonestreet Monument Ridge back in the fall and it was really good. I can't imagine a '10 being ready to drink at this point.

Opened a 2008 Susan Balbo Brioso last night.

Argentine Bordeaux Blend.

Parker 93 for under $50.

Very, very good. I'm not articulate at this wine taste stuff, but the tannins were very smooth but not wimpy. A very nice, well structured wine!

BSD, do you still have wine for sale? I looked for an email but did not see one. Thanks.

quote:

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Opened a 2008 Susan Balbo Brioso last night.

Argentine Bordeaux Blend.

Parker 93 for under $50.

Very, very good. I'm not articulate at this wine taste stuff, but the tannins were very smooth but not wimpy. A very nice, well structured wine!

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I'll go even better. Evodia Grenache, 92 points from Steven Tanzer. $8. Available at HEB.

MHLY01, of course I do. check my email in my profile, I just added it back in there.


I get to have a glass tomorrow night. I'm not sure what it will be but I'm seriously craving some cab.

Oregon pinot tasting result. Only hit 22 of the 53 wineries. I hit the wall . It was hard to spit out some of that juice. I was disappointed with the Antica Terra. Ones I would buy collect are Bergstrom, Domaine Serene( he had an 01 reserve for evolution comparison with an 11 it was full of all kinds of wonderful subtleties ) Dukes family, Dusky Goose, Shea , and Penner ash). Thanks bularry and htown98 for your suggestions. They kept me focused.

quote:

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Only hit 22 of the 53 wineries.

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Jealous you got to go to Domaine Serene.

That'd probably be my number one place to taste/visit.

reload,

those types of events are just brutal. my palate is just not sensitive enough and after about 4 or 5 different tables I'm done. But I keep on drinking!!

I do love me some Bergstrom.

I see you mentioned Dusky Goose. I wasn't familiar with them and so googled and see that the winemaker is Lynn Penner-Ash. No wonder it was good juice, she's quite talented.