On the thread asking age, there is a discussion about whether older members have more pinot and younger more cabs in their cellars or whether this correlates at all with age. So, I started a new poll to try to get at this.
Obviously, Cab includes Bordeaux, California Cab, Super Tuscans, etc. Pinot includes Burgundy and all lesser versions of pinot noir.
Up until my early 30’s I drank much more Cab (mainly Bordeaux) than Pinot. By my mid 30’s it was probably 50-50. Now in my mid 40’s it’s at least 20-1 in favor of Pinot (almost exclusively Burgundy)
Our cellar has exactly a 1:1 ratio of Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir. Granted, most of the Pinot is Arcadian, whereas the Cab. is split-up nicely between various countries, regions and producers. My wife and I fall in the under 30 group.
Pinot has also gotten (at least I think) more popular relative to cab over the last decade or so, so that trend may account for some of the current perception that people tend towards pinot as they get older.
Age 40/pinot. (If I can answer for my wife: age 30-40/pinot).
We have been seriously interested in wine for about 10 years. Started with Languedoc/Rhone/Beaujolais, then within a year “discovered” the road (an Autoroute, really) to Burgundy. About 50% of our cellar is red Burg, 25% red Rhones/Languedoc, <5% cab based.
We’ve enjoyed many California cabs and several Bordeaux over the years, but they have never seemed to elicit the same kind of emotional response that Burgs do. Sure, it could be that we haven’t had the right cabs, or have not had enough that were appropriately mature. But, there’s just something about the aromatics of a good Burg that’s infatuating . We’ve been hooked since the first sip (which was a Jadot, BTW).
Over the weekend we had very good friends visiting for a BBQ so I decided to open a bottle of 1985 Chateau Margaux that had been given to me so that we could share/experience it together.
The next day I asked the wife how she liked the wine and she replied: “It was pretty good but I’d rather drink a Sojourn.” (Craig Haserot loved this quote.) And frankly, I couldn’t disagree with her.
This brings me back to the timeliness of the poll/question. The only reason that I had a bottle of '85 Margaux is that I work with a gentleman who is approaching the tender age of 80 and has a cellar full of Bordeaux. Even though he is well-stocked with an ample supply of aged Bordeaux, including a healthy dose of '82s, he basically never drinks them. Why? Three main reasons: 1) His wife does not like to drink “heavy” wines anymore, 2) their diet has gravitated to more chicken, fish, and lighter fare, and 3) they spend at least half the year in a warm climate. And so every once in a while he gives me a bottle or two because the value to him gets less and less with each passing year. As someone who started getting serious about buying wine in his early 40s, this has been a very useful cautionary tale about getting too heavy into long-aging wines because your tastes and even your diet will most likely change while the wine is aging. So far, this poll appears to be confirming this evolution.
Since I started cellaring wine in my early 20s, I’ve almost always had more pinot than cab. In my late 20s, it was probably a 5:1 ratio; now 10 years later it’s closer to 30:1. So even though I’ve always been a pinot guy, the ratio has continued to increase for me.
I chose Pinot since it just edges Cab for me in terms of varietal wines. But really it’s a flawed poll.
I have more Loire Cab Franc and Nebbiolo than varietal Cab and Pinot combined. (I’m ignoring the various blends heavy in Cab Franc that probably stylistically have a right bank influence for now.) Where do those fall? I’d say Loire Cab Franc is much closer to Burgundy than Bordeaux generally because of the terroir-based cuvees despite it being the parent of Cab S. And Nebbiolo is probably more Burgundian as well due to its thin skins, aromatics and terroir expression despite the high tannin content and requisite aging.
Anyway, if I group Pinot, Loire Cab Franc, and Nebbiolo and put them against Cabernet, Merlot, Right Bank influenced Cab Franc and Bdx blends, the former comes out ahead.
I’m also not sure what to do when it comes to claret style Bdx varietal wines vs. modern styled ones. Or Power Pinot for that matter. In most cases I’m trying to collect elegance over power, but I like diversity so there’s a mix.
One other thought on Pinot vs. Cab is that those who are older probably have a bit more financial flexibility. You can get a decent mid-priced Cab fairly easily, but Pinot is rarely worthwhile below $25 if not $35 or $40. That may make a difference as it effects what people can buy regardless of preference. Not everyone realizes you can get 2 or 3 bottles of “Grand Cru” Chinon for the price of one Burg like I do.
I’m 29 and Burgundy has been it for me since the beginning. I started out drinking much more names, now I tend to focus on places. Still so much, too much to learn. I couldn’t be happier.
You are really overthinking this. Which do you prefer, cab or pinot. Define as you wish. What possible unflawed poll would you suggest that could get into all of the different points you made. Those points are for posts, not a poll, which by definition involves generalization (or is a mess).
I fit in one of the, um, older groups. I have much more Cab in the cellar, but have bought very little in the last decade. Part of it was there wasn’t much in the way of good CA Pinot until 15 yrs ago or so. I drink more Pinot now. But the one wine that’s been constant the whole time with me is Zinfandel.
I’m also in an older group and have more Cab, but have bought more Pinot than Cab in the last 10 years. I won’t say the poll is flawed, but that it is focusing on only one variable, age, whereas there are others. Duration of collecting, size of inventory, and rate of acquisition are also big controlling variables for some of us. I’ve been at this almost 30 years and have a large inventory, so it would take an enormous amount of buying to flip the distribution. At my age (late 40s) with my inventory, I’m just not buying 1000+ bottles of wine per year (anymore ).
. We’ve been hooked since the first sip (which was a Jadot, BTW).![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
And frankly, I couldn’t disagree with her.
![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
![[blush.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/6/69fdd33e0271fef98daa1424c2be1bf616ee7243.gif "blush"){kind=small}
).