Buying A Case from Sons Birth Vintage

I want to invest in a case of 2nd growth Bordeaux from my Sons vintage.('05 great, '08 ok) Wondering what advice or stories people have from purchasing and cellaring and celebrating with their family when they have matured.(the boys and the bottles) Thanks

I guess my initial thought is why a 2nd growth? Why not a 3rd, 4th, or 5th? With multiple children and the variances that will come with vintage…my goal would be to find equal quality wines from each vintage. That might mean spending more on the 08’s than the 05’s to get a similar quality…or maybe find a wine that performs year in, year out and buy them both a case from the same house. each of them getting a mixed case 9 from their own birth year and 3 from their siblings?

My son is 12 now and every time he enters the cellar the first thing he does is walk over to the section where his birthday wines are and look at them. Last time he looked at me and said "Dad, you are not drinking my wines, are you?

Got to love that! My son’s newest holding is a magnum of 2010 MacDonald Family Cab Sav.

I guess I was thinking Poyferre or Las Cases or Montrose something that will go the long distance and be a special bottle when we do finally reach that point. We did buy them a magnum of their year of a petite margaux chateau and every time we visit the in-laws cellar they want to take a picture of them holding “their bottle”.

If your heart is stuck on a 2nd growth, LLC is def the way to go, especially in a vintage like 2008.

Not to be a Debbie Downer but… I purchased birth year wines for my daughters who are 22 and 20 now. Red wine is not really their thing, maybe someday in the future but for now… they really aren’t interested. Given that, I’d recommend something that will last a good 30-40 years. LOL! So… maybe your kids will be different.

Yep. Good plan. Don’t assume they will like wine because you do. My kids are still below legal age, but neither like to even smell it. Maybe that will change, maybe not. Your idea is a good one. Not a gift, but as a shared experience.
Open a bottle on milestones & birthdays with them once mature (both the wine & the kids) and see if it sparks interest. A friend who posts here on occasion - Brian Pattrick, does that with his grown kids with success. I believe his daughter (mid 20’s) has been bitten by the bug, but his son (early-mid 20’s) hasn’t shown interest.

When they were younger, I bought birth-year wines with the intention of starting their cellar to some extent. Now I realize that almost everything will be opened by me, but with them.

Which is a good, if not the best way, Chris. My older nephew, I’m starting to allow him to taste from good bottles, just a very small taste. It is just as much to foster something that we can share together as to begin his “education” :slight_smile:

Oh too bad my boys will be drinking “their” bottles with me. No I know they might not be as interested or obsessed as me but maybe when they get older they will appreciate sharing my interest with me more. The plan is to open on special occasions like graduation or engagement. I do think 08 LLC is the way to go.

Thanks

I’m not a huge afficiando of d’Yquem or other sauternes, but if those were good years, I would buy some. Lasts forever and sweet wines are almost always pleasers even to those who don’t love wine.

My 13yo could not care less about the treasure trove of birth year wines we have. Hopefully someday…or at least he can sell them and buy a car

The best use of birthday wines is to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, etc. Whatever is left goes to the child. Just like your child you get to see them grow up and no back talk. Just my 2 cents.

I agree, mike. This week we popped a great 2001 brunello for Dario’s 13th birthday. He didn’t care, but it was special nonetheless.

Didn’t buy cases, but I’ve cellared wines from their birth years and shared with them when they turned 21. It was the Kenwood Artist Series & Silver Oak wines I remember. '86 was a good year, '89 not so good so #2 son kinda lost out. lol

I agree Sauternes would also be a great choice. I will look into d’Yquem as I’ve never had it. I do have some 08 Guiraud that I will save for a special dinner. But 05 d’Yquem sounds good to me!

+1 bottles and not cases and my 2 daughters are exactly those same birth years. 89 is oretty good year in Bordeaux. I have a couple of La Mish for her. Also, Vega Sicilia made a good wine in 89

Buy some German Riesling as well. That way if your son is not really into wine you might stand a better chance of him enjoying a nice Auslese!

^This. Very common here in Germany to cellar 24 bottles of a birth year and drink one a year.

I haven’t had them in either of the vintages you mention, but for “affordable” AFWE, I’d go with Palmer, and for “affordable” Parkerized, I’d go with Jonathan Maltus’s Le Dome:

http://www.teyssier.fr/chateau-teyssier/the-wines/le-d�me-saint-emilion-grand-cru.aspx?altTemplate=WinesPrint&lang=en

Where “affordable” is maybe $300 instead of $1500.