Every now and then we might come across a bottle of wine that is simply stunning, a perfect example of its type, earning 100 points (or 5* - or whatever you give to a wine of that quality).
How much is it worth to you? With ever increasing prices for top rated wines itĀ“s easy to cross the 4 digit threshold, but is 500 or 1000 bucks too much - or 5000? or 10000?
Will it depend on the variety - or the region - or the producer? Or the vintage?
Is it easier to spend a lot of money for a Petrus or DRC or Rayas (or Montrachet) than for Vieux-Chateau-Certan, Dujac or Pegau (or Keller)?
FWIW I donāt buy into the idea of perfection, points, stars or the like. However each of us does have to make a value judgement in what we buy, not just against other wines, but also against other expenditure.
Penfolds Grange is an interesting one for me, as I have 2-3 data points at different times in my life.
When first getting into wine, back around 1990, the 2nd tasting I went to had Aussie wines with a focus on Penfolds, and leaning more to their top end wines. I canāt recall all that were there, but do recall Bin707 at Ā£15 was 'impressive, but Penfolds Grange at Ā£25 was a genuine āwow!ā. Considering at that point in my life Ā£6 for a bottle of wine would have been a ābit of a splurgeā, I came away thinking that Ā£25 was good value for what I tasted, even though it was more than I would want to spend.
Fast forward a couple of decades, when the hobby had taken hold, and a friend who traded wine for a living had a 1991 Grange on his list for ~ Ā£130. Itās a good vintage and I could afford it (even though I still baulked at what is still the most Iāve ever paid for a bottle of wine), so I grabbed a bottle. Still not opened yet, but I think that will happen in the next decade.
Would I buy Grange at current market rate (even with mateās rates)? Hell no. It was a vanity purchase when I bought that bottle, and market rate is around Ā£500 a bottle now. Whereas I thought it fine value at Ā£25 three decades ago, the increases have way outstripped inflation. Value for me lies elsewhere.
Jonathan says: āthere are some wines where Iād rather have the money in my bank account. And then there are some wines that I canāt believe I can have for mere money!ā
So, since no one is asking for a limb or my firstborn, what are those wines worth in dollar terms? I donāt have a number - itās very high. That doesnāt mean I afford to pay those sums, just that I think the wine is worth it.
As Sarah said, at times thereās a big disconnect between what I think a wine is worth and whether I can afford it.
Bottle variation is also an issue and concern. The old adage that there are no great wines, only great bottles comes to mind. Some wines are great when they are on, and are worth every penny and more. When they are off, itās a huge disappointment, at times undrinkable and grimacing when I recall the sum paid for the bottle. How to value something with huge variations is a challenge
Anything more than $150 isnāt perfectābecause I think about the use value too much. It seems obscene to spend more than that and I feel guiltyāthus detracting from the enjoyment of the the wine.
A few weeks ago, I had the greatest wine, for me, that Iāve ever had. 1880 Quinta do Mourao wood aged Port. It was at lunch with the owner/winemaker at the Quinta on the Douro. It is not for sale, but served out of generosity to his guests. So it didnāt cost me anything, other than the huge amounts of his wine Iāve bought from them over the years. Iāve had plenty of 19th century Ports and Madeira but this was the best mouthful ever.
For me, The price of wine, or anything else really, breaks down to two components: the directly observable quality and the experience. If we are talking about highly commoditized goods, I expect the price to be entirely a function of cost to produce the associated level of quality and nothing coming from experience. If we are talking about pure experiences, I expect a lot of the price to come from the rarity of that experience.
With wine, there is a level where the quality (the land, the production quality, the knowledge of the winemakers) drives price. Once we are past that level, generally the experience becomes a larger and larger share of the final cost.
So what would I pay for a unique experience? I think itās unbounded (forget that I canāt afford unbounded). What would you pay to experience 45 DRC out of Magnum? What would you pay to have Celine Dion sing for you? What would you pay to experience going to a far flung beach or into outer space?
This perspective is why I drink rare wines almost exclusively with friends: because the experience is as important to me as the whatās in the bottle
there are some wines for which the experience is forever etched in my brain and were worth the stupid amount I paid. Fortunately I caught many on the upswing but would not pay what they now cost, 90 and 99 DRC being one subset.
I would say that the Keller G-Max Mr. Dentice let me have a sip of at his Riesling event, is worth the $2K. It was magical at that moment. But far above my pay grade to buy it - maybe one day.
this is interesting because I think its true for me as well. It would be much easier for a sub$100 wine to seem perfect to me because i wouldnt fret as much about the amount that was spent on it. when the EXPECTATION is perfection, its harder to achieve I think. plus, i think part of what would make a perfect wine seem perfect is when it has a level you werent ready for or expecting.
but, ive also yet to rate a wine 99 or 100 points, so I guess its harder for me to say.
I donĀ“t think one can āplanā a perfect wine ā¦ yes, there are potential candidates that might live up to this highlight (one day), but the odds are usually that it will be fine, outstanding, great ā¦ but very rarely (close to) perfect ā¦ there are so many vaiables:
bottle (storage) condition incl. cork, state of maturity, careful service (opening, decanting etc.), temperature ā¦ and last but not least the other wines on the table, the ambience, the company, the mood etc.
I had not that many āperfectā wines, more often only āclose toā¦ā , but usually they came unexspected ā¦
So I cannot announce a certain amount of money a perfect wine might be worth - I had one or two that were only 100-200,- ā¦ and several 4-digit wines that were not even close to (the exspected) perfection ā¦
When we first started our winetasting group (still together now, but simply as friends who like wine, food, music etc.) I knew oh so little about wine, so even with the label open, I rarely had an idea of what it would cost. This worked well with the very last thing weād discuss about each wineā¦
How much do you think itās worth?
Itās such a good question, and with the naivety of inexperience, even more useful (no label worship back then).
Iāve never been comfortable with scoring as a concept for wine, but did toy briefly with utilising that question as a sort of rating e.g. $15/$35 would represent a wine I thought was worth $15, but when revealed, the cost was $35 (ouch!). Really only the $15 (and perhaps a date) were important, but being reminded of the cost is no bad thing. Both numbers focus the mind and help calm aspirations for āthe absolute very bestā.
I think this depends on a few things. Obviously how much money you have, but also how much wine you have and age. If I am 80 and have the same amount of bottles I have now at near 39, I would likely sell off a ton of them to get that rare experience. Whereas now that money would have to come out of my bank account rather than my wine, because I anticipate and want to drink all that I have
I will push my limit and say 300 bucks for myself.
Itās arbitrary, of course.
I think I may have paid around 400 for a 1930 port last fall for my MILās birthday celebration, but that was more of a ātotal experienceā thing than tasting a 100 point wine.
Iād also pay above my stated limit for other special events, but 300 if itās just me and my wife.
Iād also add, more power to anybody who wants to pay any amount they like! I donāt downrate other peopleās joy and I love reading those tasting notes!
