Is anniversary wine a thing? We just drink whatever is best regardless of vintage
Asking for a friend.
I’m sorry for your oldest. We got married in 03 and have had a struggle finding wines actually enjoyable.
The best ones we’ve had were this year - Krug Clos du Mesnil and Château Latour. Absolutely splendid, both, but sadly not cheap. Also DP P2 was really good and I bought cases to drink over the next couple of decades.
Before that we had others that were disappointing. Pavie. DRC RSV. Marc Colin Monty. Prüm WS Auslese. Jadot Musigny. Even Petrus was less than great.
Pontet-Canet and Cheval Blanc were less disappointing than most and I have a few for future anniversaries. But I’d still rather drink something else.
I have heard from very reliable sources that Sociando Mallet is a good selection. I have a few, but haven’t popped one yet.
All, truly thank you for your input. I’m learning a lot googling all your suggestions…keep them coming as you reminisce of your favorite 2003 that I can enjoy with my daughter. Im just not old school enough to have a true full perspective on your great suggestions. But I’m learning I do like the dessert wine angle and an additional red they will pair with the likely pair with the very robust dinner that she will likely want us to cook.
I had a 2003 Pichon Lalande last week that was very enjoyable. I didn’t really pick up any 2003 Europe vintage issues. I also agree with the suggestion of some other upper Medoc wines from better producers (such as Leoville Barton).
I saw someone suggested 2003 CdP. I’ve disliked every CdP I’ve had from this vintage – they’ve all been way too far on the prune and raisin side, even Clos des Papes, which I enjoy almost every vintage. I found these wines very disagreeable from 2014 on and don’t think they’ve improved in the last nine years.
I think it’s fair to say that you have got a cross section of all the different palates on this board. Sadly, you are not in a position to taste the wines, but I would certainly look for the safest choices and eliminate all the extremes such as Chateauneuf du Pape and Bordeaux. Your safest bets are Prum 2003 and vintage Port. Some California choices would also work such as Togni and Montelena.
For the most part I’d avoid 2003 Bordeaux; most of the wines I’ve had from that vintage have been quite solar and ponderous - even many of those Sauternes wines so many of you are suggesting.
However, 2003 Figeac we tasted a few years ago fully blind was a stunner. Had no signs of overripeness, baked qualities or modest acidity. A wonderful wine by all means.
Agree with 2003 CdP’s - it was a hot vintage in an already warm region. The wines are huge and gloopy. I wouldn’t really recommend to anyone, unless one is looking for huge, jammy reds.
In most of Europe 2003 was a pretty mediocre vintage because it was just way too hot to make classically styled wines. However, 2003 was a declared vintage in Porto, and although the 2003 Vintage Ports are quite big, supple and fruit-driven wines for the style, many of them are still pretty wonderful and starting to reach their early maturity now.
Especially if your kid isn’t that much into wine (yet), a sweet, rich and fruit-forward Port might be a wonderful introduction to her birth-year wines. Just pair it with something delicious and savory like aromatic cheeses or rich pastries or something along those lines.
I agree and would generally avoid anything French/old world with a novice drinker, who is likely to find Bordeaux or CndP too tannic/earthy/funky/acidic/etc. (riesling being the exception, though it seems like the OP is leaning towards red).
I like other posters’ mentions of port, and for dry reds would stick to Napa or Washington, where the fruit is more generous and secondary/tertiary qualities likely to be less offensive to a new wine drinker.
Don’t overlook merlot, such as Pride Mountain, Leonetti and others, which can be lovely at an old age.
As to sourcing, keep an eye on the commerce corner here. Also use wine-searcher, and if the results turn an unfamiliar retailer, search for that retailer here. They often pop up in threwads here and it is usually quite easy to determine whether or not the retailer is trustworthy.
Lastly, I would also recommend either (a) doubling the budget or (b) staying at the low end so that you can get two bottles and have a backup ready to go. The old adage holds true- “there are no such things as great wines, only great bottles,” and this is especially true as wines age.
I agree. I forgot to mention the 03 d’Yquem we just had a few weeks ago was disappointing. If you have to drink an 03 it’s not the worst, but certainly a far cry from even the average d’Yquem experience.
I never did it before I learned about it on this board, so yeah.
It’s brought some fun into the anniversary dinner when we talk about the wine and also the challenge of finding a good one, lol. But we also have other special bottles of known quality available to ensure we are drinking something enjoyable.
Some 03 vintage Champagne might be nice but probably a bit pricey now. The other thing is it was small vintage sandwiched between 2 very good vintages. So poor availability.
Which is why I recommended Rieussec. It and Climens are the best 03s. I bought a couple cases of 375s from winex on release and have been drinking through them.
My son is '03, tough year in Europe due to heat as folks say. I got him some DRC RSV, Latour, and Conterno Barolo on release; also much more recently some things already recommended here: Pontet Canet can be found just slightly over current release price and is pretty delicious (just reloaded, will serve that at his birthday party), also Montrose and Pichon Lalande, neither of which I have tried. I hadn’t thought about Sauternes, will try a few of these recommendations.
Agree, vintage port would be a nice option. Regardless of the overall vintage (can’t change the birth year), the 2003 Suduiraut I recently had was very, very enjoyable. It wasn’t the absolute best Sauternes or even Suduiraut I’ve ever had, but it was still a joy to end the meal with that wine and I would be quite happy to have a few of those in my cellar. Winesearcher shows that it’s available at very reasonable prices, including in half bottles, which gives some nice options in terms of allocating the intended spend.
I do like the dessert wine angle and an additional red they will pair with the likely pair with the very robust dinner that she will likely want us to cook.