How much do you strive for "diversity" in your wines (or What's NOT in your cellar)?

WINE TALK
21

Since it so close to xmas I won’t respond back with the same level of rudeness.

Sorry if it bothers you but Im entitled to my opinion. Ive tried riesling from all over the world and I like the ones from Germany are the ones that taste the best AND offer the best QPR.

Why does this bother you so much? Do you have some sort of financial vested interest?

22

I’ve drank plenty of them. Love them (Alsace too), but they don’t have the same ethereal luminosity that I find in German versions.

For the record though, I do not think the best troken versions are germans.

23

How much do you strive for “diversity” in your wines (or What’s NOT in your cellar)?

How much do you strive for “diversity” in your wines? A lot in weekday wines, though I tend to cellar case-by-case and try to anticipate what I’ll desire decades from now.

What’s NOT in your cellar? Grenache was culled years ago, alas to my GF’s (temporary?) dismay**. I still am comfortable making room for new vinous adventures, esp. those that won’t require 30-plus years to mellow out.

** I readily and repeatedly have conceded that she surely has a much more acute palate than me. :wink:

24

Berry,

Don’t waste your time and effort. It won’t get any better. Just follow the threads… It will only get more personal. headbang

25

Interesting responses, although I can’t say I’ve ever seen the word “bigoted” used in a wine conversation before [truce.gif] .

Not to pick on any particular viewpoint, but someone (possibly Loren) made the statement that “I’d rather drink interesting wine than great wine”. That view may capture in a nutshell why I don’t personally strive for a lot of diversity - long ago, I decided that I like to drink great wine. The nuances of great wine interest me. Or put another way (and picking on a particular winery at the same time), the fact that Martinelli has seemingly perfected a methodology to transform pinot noir grapes into syrah-like wine may be interesting in a chemistry experiment sort-of-way, but it’s not something I want to spend any time with from a personal winedrinking perspective.

26

“Interesting responses, although I can’t say I’ve ever seen the word “bigoted” used in a wine conversation before…”

That comes up a lot in Barolo vs Fake Barolo / Brunello discussions…

27

The problem with that approach is that the consensus on what is “great” fluctuates enormously over history, and owes at least as much to fashion as to quality. In the Parker era, Chateauneuf is widely acclaimed as one of the great wines of France if not the world, but it was once considered regional country plonk, and would still be considered as such if Parker hadn’t championed it (or at best, another Bandol). The expression “If Cleopatra’s nose had been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed” is apropos. There are all sorts of Cleopatra’s noses that make the difference between passing the arbitrary “greatness” test and being consigned to oddball “diversity” status. I would rather experience a diverse array of wines and cellar all the ones I find great - it will give me a very nice stash when history catches up.

28

Exactly how is this exclusive from also enjoying a wide variety? Martinelli Pinot may not be the best example (although I’ve had a couple of non-steroid versions that were quite palatable). Keith makes a good point, what definition of great are you currently using?

RT

29

This is going to be fun.

Sorry, I assumed you would be well-read enough to catch that “Continental relativism” referred to the philosophical stance, not the place. My bad.

An astounding display of logic here. So German Rieslings are wildly acclaimed and popular, and are (almost all) sweet wines. Yet Aussie Riesling doesn’t sell nearly as well (and also lacks the same degree of praise) because Riesling is seen as sweet? Gotcha.

Can somebody get this man a psychiatrist? He seems to have developed an unhealthy phobia about a scary beast named Parker who haunts him everywhere he goes.

Wait, I though points meant nothing? They obviously mean something if they can bring you fame and fortune.

For the record, Parker doesn’t even LIKE KB, it’s Laube who discovered it.

Anyways, so now you’re giving up being a relativist and are pronouncing from the altar that everyone who buys and enjoys KB (like me) is delusional. My head is spinning…

I never said that Riesling was “new to the winemaking scene” in Australia, anywhere. Enormous “reading comprehension” fail, Rick.

30

The only definition that matters for my palate, Rich - mine [wink.gif]

I’ve been drinking wine for 35 years, and seriously collecting/cellaring them for almost 25. I’m not looking to write about my experiences, I’m not making an investment, and this is not a hobby - I just like to drink good wine when I eat. Because of this rather utilitarian approach, I don’t feel compelled to search under every nook & cranny for the next new thing. Is it possible that someone out there makes a better Barolo than Roberto Conterno? Of course, but I’m not the guy who’s going to go “Daniel Boone” on that quest to discover it - presumably, that is what guys like Antonio & Tanzer get paid to do.

This is not meant as a criticism for those of you that do like “new & exciting” - as I said when I posed the question that started this thread, I’m not one of those guys that needs a diverse cellar. The reason we drink 10 cases of chablis in any given year is because we like it, and at least for my palate, I’m not getting “bored” when I get to bottle #8 of that case of '04 Moreau Les Clos. And I go to enough tastings and wine dinners where people who do prize diversity allow me to try other things. If I like them, I make an effort to seek some out to cellar (which, interestingly enough, is how I got turned on to Moreau), but I can tell you I’ve had enough Martinelli (and was unfortunately on their mailing list for a brief period in the past) to know that the next chard or pinot noir I taste of their’s that I actually like will be the first.

31

Bob, can’t fault you on your choice of experts. [thumbs-up.gif]

Personally…I love Pinot, but truly hate to hear things like “they’re pulling out old vine Zin” to plant more. There are so many potentially excellent varieties that deserve more respect but aren’t yet/now widely considered “great”.

As a burgphile, must I dive in to the DRC auction frenzy to learn greatness? If I served a DRC Le Tache in a blind line-up of Pinots costing < 50%…would it’s greatness be obvious? My experience with blind tasting “complex pinots” is that a surprising number of tasters can’t be certain that a particular wine is even a Burg.

What might one miss pursuing greatness? I distinctly remember a family style Bacalhau meal near Braga Portugal accompanied by a fresh nearly petillant Vinho Verde. The pairing was magic. Is Vinho Verde a great wine? At an off-line, I seriously doubt you’d be impressed!..maybe if I put it in a Muscadet bottle? [stirthepothal.gif]

Vive la diversite

RT

32

[rofl.gif]

33

Rich, you’d be surprised re: Vinho Verde - I’ve have some pretty decent ones in the past that I would have no problem inserting as a starter white in one of our tastings. In fact, when they are made with alvarinho, I’ve had a few that might kick Pepiere’s ass mano-a-mano. Funny you mention bacalhao, as I was sitting in a little place in Maplewood, NJ on saturday night eating bacalhao, garlic shrimp and picadinho. Unfortunately, the place was a BYOB, so I was forced to drink the only whites I had with me, which in this case equalled '08 Clos de Briords, an '07 Moreau chablis and something else I’m forgetting right now [wink.gif]