You didn’t read very carefully. What I said was very clear - “buy more than one bottle, and take the time…to follow the curve.” Taste them over time. I explicitly said it’s fine to open them young, just don’t open ALL of them young. No where did I say buy cases and don’t touch them until they are what Sarah Kirschbaum considers to be mature. I can do that now because I have spent the years following, tasting at different ages, and learning what I like. That wasn’t what I advised, and what I prefer has nothing to do with this advice.
I think the advice to be patient and diligent and learn little by little over time is among the most useful any young collector will ever get.
The point is, cellaring wine requires a long time and financial investment, especially if we’re talking about something like Rousseau Chambertin. If you don’t like the wine when it’s mature then you’ve just wasted a lot of money and time.
I don’t really disagree with that approach; I just more have an issue with older collectors extolling the virtues of mature burgundy to younger collectors who don’t have the ability to source said wines. I’m a strong believer in following wines throughout their life cycle although I’ve learned I prefer them generally younger.
I said this the other day in a different thread - the reason I extol the virtues of mature wine is because it’s so easy NOT to take the time and put in the effort, when opening everything young is so much easier, and hey, they probably taste really good now. It’s important to let folks know that there is reason put in the time, to be patient, and not to give up before you’ve started, even if the rewards could be years away.
All this makes sense if you know you will enjoy an older wine. Given it’s a learning curve, I would buy three wines preferably from the same producer, certainly the same appellation with a ten year gap between them, say 2020, 2010 and 1999 if the price works, 2000 if it doesn’t. Share the wines and the cost between you and friends and figure out what you like.
Generally if you can find a wine group, it’s far and away the best way to learn.
I disagree. You don’t need to know in advance that you will enjoy it. Put in the effort to discover if you do! That’s part of the joy of discovering through personal effort with some degree to risk.
This is true of so many things. I am interested in seeing if I like the way I look below 15% body fat with a bunch of muscle - I might not, but let’s find out! If I don’t, I can detrain and never do that again. And holding onto wine for a few or more years takes a lot less effort than pumping iron!
Exactly. I was fortunate enough to join a group of generally much older collectors more than 30 years ago when I was diving into wine. They opened a lot of older wines from their cellars and I opened younger wines. It was a win-win, as many of them were hesitant to open their own bottles of younger wines but had no problem at all drinking mine, while I got to drink plenty of wines with age. I also bought more wines than I could possibly drink young, leaving me with a cellar with plenty of 20-30 year old wines that I bought on release and have been able to follow since then.
Now things have come full circle where I’m one of the older members of a group and they get to drink my wines with age and I get to drink their younger wines, which I enjoy.
I love reading through the perspectives! I agree with @Sarah_Kirschbaum that the ideal is buying multiple bottles of the same wine and following them over years — I already do this myself for other regions, just not Burgundy yet, given the prices and my inexperience make the chance of disappointment much higher.
I suppose I am being a little impatient in trying to “download” something from The Matrix, but here specifically the avenues of learning are very limited: top producers are impossible to visit, producer dinners locally are relatively rare and snapped up quickly, tastings tend to centre around new releases, and none of that paints nearly enough of a picture. I am actively looking for a tasting group willing to invest in Burgundy, but even split several ways, the costs remain prohibitive for the young. The lack of consensus evident above, and perhaps across this whole forum, makes it overwhelming just to get started.
I didn’t know where to start either, but what has helped is reading and watching videos, listening to podcasts, etc - whether it be threads here on the board, books like Inside Burgundy, or podcasts like the Inside Burgundy podcast or I’ll Drink to That. There are YouTube videos on the Vins de Bourgogne channel which are excellent with loads of info, particularly on the maps and geography.
Obviously you need to taste wines, but there is so much information within all the burgundy threads here that it’s pretty easy to find out which producers to wade into. I have been trying hard to start at the lower levels and work my way up where it makes sense. It’s a fun journey. Not really sure how to short cut it though unfortunately.
Building a palate, Building a musical ear, understanding Shakespeare: these take decades. We all need mentors & help. I’m now getting to the age where I am tapping the sign in lieu of writing a thesis
Funny thread that somehow ended up turning pretty opinionated and patronising, given that the OP was about choosing between three specific bottles. The 05 is not really representative of the producer’s current quality level and likely to be pretty hard going. The 08 is not a great vintage for the producer or this specific bottling. The 19 should be pretty good, if overpriced. Sure, an older wine would be great, but of these three it should be an easy choice.
Not really.
Just buy some bottles and drink them. And buy some bottles and store them. You already do that with other regions. Try to attend some burgundy specific events or host some events. This will give you a chance to taste a broader range of producers and vintages. The proof is in the tasting, not someone else’s opinion of what you should drink.
I was away for this Board for a long while. I came back just not goo long ago. Howard Cooper can confirmed to this fact as we were old timers in Parker Board.