Does anyone know exactly how the ‘begin drinking’ and ‘end drinking’ dates are determined in CT? Looking at my cellar, I have a
1996 Pahlmeyer Merlot. CT states that it should have been consumed from 2002‑2013. But looking at Community Holdings, it appears that 50% of CT bottles are still being held in cellars and have not yet been consumed. Does that mean that people don’t really use the Ready to Drink report? Or that people aren’t diligent about removing bottles from CT after drinking? Or something else?
That 1996 Pahlmeyer is one of the best Merlots I have ever tasted…Based upon my last bottle that I had a few years ago, it should be drinking great right now
Aren’t the drink windows established by the community?
That drinking range is based on the 25 CT users who put in a drinking range. The 2013 end date aligns with Parker’s end date so that may be where people got it from.
On a related note, I tend to chuckle when I see an end date that I believe identifies that wine as having been reviewed by John Gilman. I don’t mean that as a criticism; it’s just an identifying characteristic.
Apparently none of my bottles will be ready for another 3 decades.
Yes unless you put your own window in, which then takes precedence in what you see. FWIW I always put my own window in, partly because I tend to prefer wines further down the maturity path than the average CT user, but also it means that a window I may have been happy with, doesn’t change ‘out of sight’ when others add their own views.
Does that mean that people don’t really use the Ready to Drink report?
What!!
They should be fined. Or at least severely chastised.
And BTW - I agree with the comment on the 96 Pahlmeyer. It’s still got plenty of life, although delicious today.
I am not sure of their exact origin but for my tastes the end dates are almost always too early.
I do use the ready to drink report as one tool in developing a queue of wines to pull from my cellar. It is particularly useful in identifying “forgotten” bottles and for prodding you to start drinking wines when you cellar larger quantities. That said, my primary tool for developing my drinking queue is a variety by variety review of drinking window end dates, vintage dates, average scores, and recent tasting notes.