Tenth Wedding Anniversary wine

Berserkers,

Tomorrow marks ten years of wedded bliss. We have my in laws watching the kids and a bona- fide night out. My wife just doesn’t get BYOB, so we are going from the list. I want something nice, but it won’t be a night to focus just on wine.

So- I am looking for input!

Welcome chefjasonwilson.com - BlueHost.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I won’t be ordering any of the Bordeaux as my wife isn’t a big fan. She likes domestic cabs and merlots just fine though- don’t ask…

Thanks for the input!

First off…Congrats!

Second off…I like that 2005 Paradigm Cab on the list.

Crazy inconsistent mark ups on that list. Champers are all steep. Aubert Chards are $200 and under but Kongsgaards are all $500. Oooooo-K!

The ones that stood out as decent to me would be the Ramey Claret, Cliff Lede Stag’s Leap, 99 Ristow and Ridge Monte Bellos.

From that list I’d probably take a shot at this:

2006 Domaine Bertagna, Beaux Monts, Vosne-Romanée 1 er Cru … 128


And maybe start with:

NV Louis Boillot, Blanc des Blanc Brut, Nuits St. George … 58

Hmm…I have not looked at the list, but if my Sig Other liked CA Cabs and a 99 Ridge Monte Bello were available at a reasonable price, I would go for it. They are not wines I have consumed, but have been on my drool list for years. Bonus, if someone is married ten years, they were most likely dating during the growth and harvest! Ding, ding, ding. Now to peruse the list.

I thought the same about the reds. The Ristow will be showing it’s age and maybe not in the sweet-spot of a lover of young cab. It would be my personal pick,along with the 06 Cliff Lede. I’d add the 05 leonetti as a good choice.

Also agree about the wild pricing. This would be a perfect chance at promotong byob. Buy a bottle of 05 Insignia for $150 and pay the $25?? corkage to be in at $175. Show your wife the $712!!! price on that list and tell her you just paid for a $500+ meal by bringing the bottle.
$712 is brutal. It must have been a $110 wholesale wine at release.


Happy anniversary!! Too bad your wedding year was such a poor cab vintage.

Sensual wines, a blanc de noirs; Bruno Paillard Rosé? Depends on the food but Ca’Marcanda Promis 2005 should be very appealing but if I could go for anything: Soldera Case Basse '98, that’s always a sexy wine!
Good luck and happy anniversary!

Agree, the mark-up is very inconsistent. I would really try to convince the wife of the $$$ benefits of BYOB. Otherwise, I would go with the 06 Cliff Lede.

I would go with the chefs tasting menu and the wines to match option.If ordering from the list I just tasted thru the whole A Maurice lineup,solid wine from top to bottom.Happy anniversary to you both.

I would go for the Chapoutier CdR Belleruche for $149…or go to the grocery store and get it for $10…sheesh…on the flip side Pichon Comtesse 2005 at $185 is way under priced.

+1

I don’t know your budget, but given your wife’s preferences, the 2002 Bond. Even though you seem to like Bordeaux ( ) I suspect you will be happy with it, too.

$181 for '07 Copain Hawk’s Butte Syrah and $125 for a half bottle of the regular '05 Karl Lawrence Cab, YIKES! Both nice wines, but at those prices if my wife didn’t understand BYOB, I’d drop off a bottle early and then slip the Somm/Server a $20 to pretend I was ordering off the list!

Congrats on your Anniversary!

Cheers,

Steve

[quote="Steve Anderson]

I’d drop off a bottle early and then slip the Somm/Server a $20 to pretend I was ordering off the list!

Congrats on your Anniversary!

Cheers,

Steve[/quote]

+1

Based purely on percentage markup, the best “deal” is likely the Screaming Eagle… it looks like they are marked up 20-40% vs. the 200-500% of some of the other wines.

You should go with that!

Thanks everyone! The pricing on Crush’s list is all over the place. I floated byo back out the wife this morning, and her response was, “as long as we don’t sink into wine world.”

I’m sure I have no idea what she means!

The 2007 Cayuse Cailloux is crazy good and at 225, it is maybe a little less than 1x its current value. I’ve enjoyed Crush in the past, have fun.

These prices are steep - but if you want just good enjoyable wine to enjoy while spending time with your wife I’d go with the 2007 Justin Isosceles…at $125 its a fair price I guess and enjoyable to drink. Not a life changer but tasty nonetheless…

Yeah, that one jumped right out at me - totally obscene.

Anthony - Crush is great and we will probably go there for our anniversary as well next time.
As others have suggested, I will probably byo or buy the wine pairings.

Back to the list though, the 2000 Arcadian Gary’s Syrah seemed tempting to me personally.

The California pinot section, though small, has a bunch of good wines and reasonable prices. These are two of the more restrained and elegant style:

Copain Monument Tree 2007 $78 (ST 91)
Peay Pomerium 2006 $110 (ST 92)

There are also some “bigger” style pinots that might appeal if she’s into more lush and fruit-driven wines:

Patz & Hall Hyde 2006 $99
Hartford Court Land’s Edge 2007 $88 (RP 93, CT 91.9)

These are all $45-60 wines at release or retail, so the markups are quite reasonable. I know they aren’t cab and merlot, but I think these are pretty broadly accessible wines to the casual wine drinker.