Wines for 25+ years of aging

I’m planning on starting a wine locker for my 9 year old daughter. I want to build a pretty solid collection for her to appreciate and enjoy when she’s in her 30s to 40s. Something I think all of us would have loved our parents to have done for us! Since I have only started collecting for aging myself, I have all things 2018 covered for this purpose. I’m looking for other wines/vintages to tuck away for her. I don’t necessarily want to have a ton of Lafite and Margaux from multiple years, but am open to ideas/thoughts. I am probably going to add several wines and champagnes from 2009, like Dom, to the locker since it was the year of her birth… Appreciate any/all thoughts on the matter.

25 years is not too old for Bordeaux from a good year, and 2009 is a good year. You should be fine with good classed growths from 2009 Bordeaux. Burgundy too. 1990 is a solar vintage like 2009 that is now almost 30 years old, and if you try them you’ll see that they are holding up well – no longer young, but not on their last legs either.

Don’t know your budget, but super seconds like 2009 Pichon Baron, Ducru, etc. will easily live to 30 and older, mand probably some third or fourth growths you can get for $100 or less will as well. In Burgundy, things like Le Corton (the red cotes de Beaune grand cru) will hold up 30+ years as well.

Then there is Bordeaux/Burgundy 2010…some of those will make the 50 year mark.

Riesling! Tons of Riesling!

Just my $.02, I wouldn’t go heavy on any particular style. She may find what she likes in her 30’s-40’s and a collection with plenty of variation would give her the flexibility to keep what she wants and trade what she doesn’t. A bottle of this, a few bottles of that, etc.

Def cover all, or many, bases.
Are you buying all at once or over a few years?
Don’t forget Port
And may be Chenin Blanc, Sauternes

Prädikat Rieslings, traditional Barolo/Barbaresco, Taurasi, Demi-Sec/Moelleux Chenin, Tokaji.

This.

That would be a fun exercise. I had neither the spare cash nor the storage, to build not just a collection for myself, but also for my spoiled, entitled son, who now adores like really crappy cheap beer at BAMA. The cool thing is, if you have the wherewithal to do it, and it turns out she does not like wine, or does not like what you have amassed, you are still young enough to enjoy it yourself!

What I have learned over the years is that many wines can go that 25-year distance, so long as really well stored, perhaps even at a slightly cooler temperature than normally recommended. That does not mean that all of these wines will actually be better than they were at 10 years, but many will. And if not better, at least interesting. Looking beyond the obvious choice that you note, Bordeaux, I’ve had excellent wines from many countries and regions that showed really well with that kind of age on them. Knowing what I know today, I’d have a healthy cut of Beaujolais and Chinon in that mix. Some superb wines coming out of those regions, not expensive either, and many that can easily mature.

Baudry
Raffault
Rougeard
Plouzeau

Roilette
Roillard
Bouland
Thivin
Foillard

That’s my short list for Chinon and Beaujolais.

Then I would definitely load up on classic Bordeaux from the 1855 Classification and some specific Pomerols, like Trotanoy and Vieux Chateau Certan, the latter two wines being first growth quality IMHO. Lots of great stuff to choose from in recent vintages, 2014-18. Gotta add some California Cabs as well: Ridge Monte Bello, Mayacamas, Montelina, Dunn, Corison. And throw in some value plays. Some lesser-priced wines, think 2014 Lanessan and Sociando, can easily go 20+ years.

Northern Rhones are another worthy purchase. So many of these wines need a minimum of 15 years as is and can easily go and improve for 25+. These wines are getting pricey, but since you referenced Lafite and Margaux without saying that’s too expensive, then I will point out the big guns that not only will rock in 20+ years, but they may also be worth many multiples of what you paid: Jamet, Allemand, Chave, Gonon. See if you can find some Juge, which by her maturing age, will be beyond rare and quite legendary. Throw in some young gun producers like Xavier Cote Rotie. Southern Rhone is a mess right now, but I would still grab some classics, like Beaucastel. And Pegau.

I’ll leave the whites, desserts and other varieties to others from recommendation.

I’m sure Burgundy will appreciate better than Bordeaux. There certainly aren’t warehouses full of back vintages of Burgundy nor more wine from new vintages than the market can bear unlike Bordeaux.

If that is the case, if she doesn’t like thin, acidic wine she can sell it (to me or) for a good price one day.

I’m not saying don’t buy Bordeaux, just don’t go deep on ‘investment grade’ stuff.

As above, make sure you get a good range of German Riesling, Loire chenin blanc and cab Franc, Northern Rhone Syrah, etc.

There are a few wines from Ridge Vineyards that should be a good fit.

Just about any red from Italy should work. but especially wines from the Piedmont, and it was a good year there. also second reccs for classified Bordeaux, but some of the good outsiders like cantemerle are always good too. Northern rhone and burgs for sure as well… and RIESLING! riesling lives forever and just never seems to get old IMO.

edit: cantemerle is indeed classified, but IMO underrated.

Cantemerle is not classified?

Cantemerle is a Third Growth.

Fifth, but who’s counting?

It’s a fifth growth that wasn’t included in the initial classification due to an oversight.

2009 is a great vintage to do this for if you’re focusing on her birth year. There’s a pretty wide spectrum of wines that will make it 25+ years so it also depends on what regions/ styles you like. Also a great excuse to get large formats.

Oopsy.

I was projecting.

I have done this for all of my daughters. I agree with the suggestions of a variety, and I would add a suggestion of a variety of vintages/ages. I did not want to give them each a slug of 25 year old wine, and nothing younger, when they turned 25. I wanted to give them a little “mini-starter-cellar,” with a variety of wines spread over the 25 years, so they could drink a couple each year (and hopefully replenish them if they’re into it) over time. Or, as Alf said, drink it myself if they turned out not to be wine people. This also allowed me to buy the wines over a period of years, which made it more affordable. Starting when she’s 9, you’ll do a little back-filling, of course.

I went with a variety of wines that I like, because that way I knew what I was buying and it made plan B more palatable. If I had it to do over again, I’d mix more whites, bubbles, and dessert wines in. I seeded each with a few birth-year wines. I did buy some first-growths (which I don’t otherwise buy) from their birth years, but those didn’t go into their stashes. Those are in my stash to open with them on milestone birthdays. But I spent a little more on the birth-year wines that did go into their stash than on the rest of them, so that they would be a bit more special-occasion worthy. Otherwise, I just bought an extra bottle or two of something I was buying for my cellar anyway, in my normal price range for such wines.

I suggest something like this approach. It’s overly anal, but I think it gives you good results:

First, come up with a list of categories you want for them and a total number of bottles you want to give them at the end of the project, given your available space and cash and generosity, and decide when you want to give them this gift (I chose their 25th birthday, which means I’ve only presented one of them so far - she really liked it). Then figure the maximum age you want for each category and use that to proportion each category within the total and when to buy the wines. For example, if you want to equally weight two types, but one ages twice as long as the other, you’d give her twice as many bottles of the longer-aging one so she can drink each with the same frequency while drinking the one at X years after the vintage and the other at 2X years after the vintage).

For example, if Bordeaux is one of the categories and based on your total and your proportioning, you want the final “locker” to contain 6 bottles of Bordeaux, with a max of 25 years, you buy one bottle now and one every 4 years from now until then. Buy one every 2 years if you want 12 in the final gift, or one every year if you want 24 in the final gift, etc. Skip weak vintages and double up on strong ones, etc. if you like.

For a category where you don’t want so much age, just do the same thing but wait to buy the first bottle until the current vintage is X years before the year you’ll give her the wines, where X is the maximum age you want for that wine. So maybe you want Chateauneuf du Pape in there, but with a max of 12 years of age. In that case, buy nothing until 12 years (vintages) before presentation day, then you buy one bottle every year, or two, or four, etc. until the big day.

This way she ends up with, for example, 3 bottles of zin spread over 6 vintages, 12 bottles of Bordeaux spread over 25 vintages, 6 bottles of CdP spread over 12 vintages, and so on for however many categories you want to use. Reds, whites, bubbles, dessert wines, etc.

And again, I’d shoot for more categories and fewer bottles per category over fewer categories and more per - that way you are giving her more of a “self-study” kit to explore wine on her own (and with her future SO or friends, or whatever) and you’re gambling less on her liking the one or two particular styles you focused on.

of course, everyone is right. i always picture it as being outside the classification because i always picture it as being entirely underrated.

Cantemerle is also in the Haut-Medoc appellation, while most of the classified growths are in one of the more elite communes, another reason to think of it as a bit of an outsider.