I’m still working on Peters disgorgements from 2010 or so.
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But it’s much easier to find a CdB of value under 50$.
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I got a SensorPush HT1 to monitor my basement temperature and humidity to determine if it can be used as a passive cellar (thanks @JustinP).
The humidity was a bit low so I put a small humidifier down there which seems to have helped a bit. This summer, if the temperature starts to get up over 70, how quickly do I need to get some active cooling down there to avoid damaging the wine? Or are a couple of weeks over 70 during the year nothing to worry about?
I’ve found most vintages of the Roagna Langhe Rosso to be pretty solid for the price range, usually in the $40s. I think my all-time best QPR was the 2013 Langhe Rosso when it was at its peak which I was getting for like $35 a bottle. You can tell the wines have definitely gotten a little bit hotter with time but I still think they’re really great value if you like the style.
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Good list, but some of those are not really available for under $50. Chartogne and Bereche in particular I haven’t seen for that price in awhile, though I could be wrong, and there are always sales, coupons, or various other discounts.
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So much this. So very very much.
Building a cellar is not where you start with wine. Its where you end up. You won’t know what you want in that cellar until you get plenty of experience trying wines.
Asking random people to fill your cellar is a bit like asking them to choose all of your meals for several years.
Get out there and taste as much as you can. young, old, cheap, expensive, ‘mid-ranged’, from near, from far. All of it. You won’t know what you should have in your cellar until your palate tells you.
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Temps over 70 — this is one of those “ask three people get four opinions” questions. Personally - if it’s just a couple weeks every year at the peak of summer, temps run in the low 70s not high 70s, and the cellar is otherwise much cooler, I probably wouldn’t worry.
That said I live in Texas and store everything in a 55 fridge or locker because my house gets pretty warm for 6 months of the year.
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Thanks! We’ll see how this summer goes and I’ll try to temper my anxiety if it gets up over 70.
I very much appreciate, and will try to keep in mind, your words of caution. I believe I’m mitigating, somewhat, the risk of over-stocking in a particular area for this baseline cellar by focusing on regional diversity, only buying a few bottles of a particular wine, only buying a couple of representatives for a particular region, and sticking to relatively inexpensive wines. Thus far, my preferences seem to be pretty broad, I enjoy nearly every style I’ve tried. I’m not a huge fan of fortified wines and I enjoy sweet wines but don’t often drink them. However, I suspect I’ll cellar even some of these to better understand how they change with age.
Per your advice, to mitigate a bit further, and because it sounds like fun to get more experience with aged wines, I’ll intersperse my case purchases for cellaring with some cases with wines that are a bit older to drink now.
I may be a bit lazier or less discriminating than your average bear but, if the random people were experienced chefs / meal planners and they would collaborate with me to choose meals, this sounds like a lot of fun!
In the interest of trying more aged wines in the near term…
Case 2
Focus: Drink now
Retailer: WineBid (thanks @JustinP and @Mikko_Tuomi!)
- 2010 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux
- 2011 Bruno Clair Marsannay Vaudenelles
- 2005 Château Branaire-Ducru
- 1995 Château d’Armailhac
- 2007 Chateau de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel
- 2000 Château Lafon-Rochet
- 2011 Domaine Pavelot (Jean Mark & Hugues) Savigny Les Beaune La Dominode
- 2003 H. Donnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese #18
- 2014 Louis Michel Chablis Vaudésir
- 2005 Michel Lafarge Beaune Greves
- 2006 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco
- 2010 Stony Hill Chardonnay
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This is only n of 1 but something other cellar building newbies may want to keep in mind when planning their approach is that the older, drink now-focused case 2 was, all in, nearly twice as expensive as the cellar-focused case 1.
IOW, a very non-random selection of food experts. 
If you’re trying to compliment the population of this board, keep in mind that wine can be very personal and the expertise on display is self selecting for nearly everyone.
I do commend you on picking up some aged examples of classic wines to try. You are already well ahead of so many people taking that route. Remember to note the wines for what they are and avoid shooting for instant ‘thumbs up’/‘thumbs down’ ratings. Also, if you are able, try similar wines next to one another.
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Some good stuff to taste in that case 
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Huh, I just realized no one here has mentioned Eric Texier (or Martin for that matter)
The brezeme and st julien&alban are both great options in this price range
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@Robert.A.Jr what would you recommend as an appropriate timeline for opening three bottles of 2016 Bordeaux for a newbie trying to get broad sense for how it changes over time?
I just had the Branaire-Ducru 2014. Really excellent, classical Bordeaux drinking well.
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I’m currently trying to let my 2016 wines sleep at this point, will probably start checking in at the 15 year mark. If you do not have much depth of experience with Bordeaux, you might as well try one of them to see what you think. I don’t think it is the most ideal time to pop a 2016 Bordeaux, your sort of in between that odd window between new release primary precociousness and 15 years of maturity when most start to awaken a bit. But these 2016’s really were quite delicious, I’m betting it will give you enjoyment. If you bought any right bank Bordeaux, I would probably try one of those instead.
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His wines are very underappreciated.
You’d never know it by how quickly they sell out.
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