Dispatching a couple of orphans

WINE TALK
1

I don’t know about you, but I suffer from Last Bottle Syndrome…the inability to put the one remaining bottle in your cellar/fridge out of its misery simply because its the last one. But tonight, seized by a courage I rarely know, I grabbed a couple of lone rangers and dispatched them swiftly and honorably.

2001 Gaja Brunello di Montalcino Rennina 2001 - a slightly musty strawberry jam nose with some leather…clearly a bit young with some tannic dryness on the palate but with plenty of fruit in evidence to suggest that this will see another 5 to 10 years without difficulty.

1997 Chateau Poujeaux, Moulis. My last bottle of a total of two cases consumed over the last five or six years, and bought for a song. Some funky barnyard thang going on on the nose…some black fruit and mushrooms too. But on the mouth its clear that the glory days of this overachiever are behind it. Interestingly I subsequently bought a couple cases of 97 Pichon Lalande and while the Poujeaux got the plaudits initially as being the dark horse, over time the Pichon has held its fruit together better and given the price I paid for it, has been the better buy.

That being said, back in 2005 there were few better QPR drinks than 97 Poujeaux and when I was buying wine in a serious way for the first time it was a good way to get started. [give_heart.gif]

What are your recently-dispatched orphans?

Cheers

Peter

2

I suffer from the same syndrome, Peter. You are not alone.

This past Saturday evening, I dispatched my last bottle of 2001 Daniel Rion Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, of which I enjoyed many in the past. I’m pretty sure I can still buy more of them, but, probably, not at the same price as before.

In the first week of May, I killed my last bottle of Bodegas Alion Tinto Reserva at a Spanish restaurant - thinking that I could easily buy more locally. Well, a couple of days later, when I went to the local distributor’s shop, they were all out of stock of Alion and Valbuena 5º as well.

I have but 1 bottle left of orphaned '88 Hugel Gewürztraminer SGN which has been lonely for a very long time. I figure I’ll put it out of its misery soon.

Best,

Noel