I know we have this discussion on the aging palate from time to time, but I have an anecdote to share. I posted part of this in the daily wine thread, and then figured a bigger discussion could be more interesting.
The backdrop: My Dad introduced me to wine. He and my mother always had wine at the dinner table, and as my sister and I got into our teens, we had a little bit on some evenings. Alcohol was never a taboo in our house. As I moved on to law school, and started showing some interest in wine myself, my Dad started introducing me to the good stuff. At that point, he was big into classic California Cabs and had moved into French wines, CDP and Bordeaux in particular. This is the mid-90s, and at that point, we really started buying and drinking together quite a bit. My parents rented a home in St Remy de Provence, France in 1996, with his brother and sister in law - also big wine aficionados - and of course my wife and I had to join the party. They were there for a few months, we stayed for 10 days, and honestly one of the most culturally-enriching experiences of my life. Every day was family breakfast, a day trip with a great lunch usually at some quaint town, then we would come home to cook a family dinner with the local produce, and popped many bottles of wines we picked up around the travels. Lots to find in Southern Rhone, as you all know. My Dad had a great palate then.
In the 2000s he became more and more “Parkerized”. His palate definitely preferred the larger scaled wines. He adored 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape. I basically ended up giving him all of my 2007 CDPs and modernized Bordeaux. He loved them all. And big Zins.
Now it seems the pendulum is swinging back. I have noticed these last few years that he prefers more nuanced wines, less tannins and big fruit, less oak. Last night for dinner he really surprised me. He loved the 2016 Thivin that I popped first, and he historically has not liked Beaujolais at all. And then after decanting for an hour, he really loved the 1998 Chateau Bel Air Marquis d’Aligre, Margaux, that I popped. And that is not even a sure-thing for normal Bordeaux lovers. He seemed happy as a clam and wanted to know about the varietal composition, the vintages, etc. I had a back-up bottle just in case, but it was never necessary.
So just this one anecdote, but it has been an interesting ride watching my Dad’s palate evolve over time. And the cool parts is, he is 83 but very healthy. Both he and my mom are healthy and enjoying the good life, which includes lots of fine wine.