MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -DRC -Screaming Eagle -Lafite -Margaux -Liger-Belair -Yquem -Krug Critic Matt Kramer recently praised the “contrarian cellar” in his Drinking Out Loud op-ed. He thinks of a contrarian cellar as the opposite of what you’d normally see in a collection; instead of dust-covered bottles of DRC, you’ll find obscure Quarts de…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -Lafite -Le Pin -2013 Aubert -2012 Shafer -2002 Moet & Chandon One of my friends works as a chef at a California winery, and over the years, she’s gathered a modest stash of about 50 bottles from her employers. But rather than keeping these bottles neatly on a wine rack in…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -2015 Philippe Pacalet Moulin-a-Vent -2007 Santa Duc Grand Grenache 66 -2011 Teso La Monja Alabaster -Chateau Petrus -Joh Jos Prum -2013 Kumeu River Chardonnay Mate’s Vineyard -2009 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Buisson Renard -Guigal Over the past few years, naysayers have been skeptical over whether sommeliers can actually identify wines from…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -DRC -Georges de Vogue -Henri Jayer -Louis Jadot -Claude Dugat A young wine collector I know visited France for the first time, and decided to spend a full day shopping for new bottles in Lyon. In one wine shop, she found several 2008 bottles from her favorite Burgundy producer, each selling…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -Pichon Lalande 1982 -Angelus -Latour When I asked my uncle to name his all-time favorite bottle of Bordeaux, his answer surprised me. “It’s 1982 Pichon Lalande, by far,” he said. Although he had uncorked other greats like Angelus and Latour, he loved the 1982 Pichon Lalande most of all. This vintage…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -Inglenook 2013 -Shafer When I first started drinking and collecting wine, I was convinced that no bottle was too rare to drink. After all, wine was meant to be drunk. Sure, I might feel sheepish after opening a rare bottle, but I always believed that the pleasure of tasting that ultra…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -DRC -Lafite There’s a niche group of wine collectors who only buy the best Domaine de la Romanee Conti vintages, and it’s easy to see why. DRC consistently produces some of the most collectible wine bottles in the world. Legendary, 100-point vintages sell for as much as $20,000 per bottle, on…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -JJ Prum -Grunhaus -Donnhoff A few months ago, I got into a heated debate with my friend over which wines are more storage-worthy: sweet German Riesling or dry German Riesling? My friend was convinced that sweet Riesling is the only Riesling worth storing long term because it is the original…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -Ausone -Angelus -Cheval Blanc Close to one year after Burgundy’s devastating 2016 frost, Bordeaux went through an equally destructive cold snap that damaged up to 90 percent of the vines on some estates. On April 27, 2017, winemakers in most regions of Bordeaux awakened to temperatures as low as 24.8°F, cold…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -Lafite -Latour -Haut-Brion -Margaux -Mouton Rothschild -Leoville Las Cases -Cos d’Estournel -Pontet Canet -Pichon Lalande -Lynch Bages It’s the time of year when the entire wine world is focused on one thing – Bordeaux futures. After several years of decreased demand in the U.S., the 2015 vintage ignited new interest with…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: –Montrose 2009 –Montrose 2010 When I originally looked into some of the latest releases from Montrose, I assumed that the 2009 was more collectible than the 2010. After all, the 2009 costs about $100 more per bottle than the 2010. But after digging through numerous tasting notes and looking at the…
A single wine can dramatically change in flavor and bouquet as the years wear on and you develop your palate. The first time you try 2010 Château Lafite, you might only taste and smell wine. But as your palate matures, you’ll learn to find more notes, like the scent of oyster that made this estate famous, or the strong black tea flavor hidden in the wine’s layers. If you train your palate well enough, you might even spot the elusive violet top note that the most experienced enthusiasts struggle to find. Learning how to taste wine requires patience and consistent practice, but it will ultimately make your collection more refined and your experiences with wine more enjoyable.
