Settings to drink top bottles

[Brad_England]

A further note with respect to the options. I’d virtually always rather have four top bottles with four people, vs. one top bottle with four people. I know some prefer focusing on a single bottle or two.

Agree with Brad, smaller group, several complementary bottles.

But using Michaels hypothetical 90 LT, give me four fine vintages of LT with four people any day.

Since Brad teed this up, we did just that Tuesday night…five friends, four bottles of LT, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2005. All were superlative, the 1990 was heads above the 93 and 96…but the 2005 was the best wine I have tasted in recent memory, just astounding. Sorry to drift.

The in-home setting was the perfect venue.

Funny, and nice. Your idea of a good Tuesday is similar to mine. Wish I did it more often.

[David_Bu3ker]

More important, what is the best filter to get the most likes on Instagram?

[Bryan_Price]

I’ve certainly had some amazing wine experiences at huge tastings/parties where something just gets opened that blows people away, but I feel like a lot of the time when tons of stuff just gets opened things don’t show to their potential.

Right you aren’t able to pay as close attention.

[Jim_Stewart]

Solo, and only slightly joking.
https://i.gifer.com/2zdW.gif

[J.Vizuete]

Any and all of the above. Where is the option of RSVP chez Chang to the Berserker family?
You could invite all the people every weekend during the course of a year who have never had LT and who would immensely enjoy the special experience. But one thing you don’t want to do is drink it outdoors - that really kills any wine experience unless it is a young bolder wine.

I feel just the opposite. Whether it’s the smell of the kitchen, candles, animals, whatever, every home has a scent and sometimes a moment outdoors acts as an olfactory “palate cleanser”. If I’m drinking a wine at home, I’ll sometimes step outside where I often pick up more nuance or can just read the wine a little better. Obviously each home will have varying degrees of pleasant and unpleasant scents and some settings are closer to neutral.

[Howard_Cooper]

Let’s say you’re going to open a 750 of a top wine in a good drinking window, for example, 1990 LT.

How would you prefer to drink it?

1. With wine people at a restaurant as part of a larger wine dinner/tasting with other top bottles. EMPHASIS ON DINNER WITH NO MORE THAN 10 PEOPLE ALL OF WHOM ARE YOU FRIENDS. WINE IS MEANT TO BE SHARED WITH FRIENDS. WE DO THIS ONCE A YEAR (AT LEAST PRE-COVID) AND IT IS GREAT FUN. WE ALSO HAVE DONE THIS WITH 4-8 FRIENDS (ALL COUPLES) SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE YEAR.

2. At home with a small group of wine enthusiasts (5-6 ppl, 1 glass or so each, you have complete control of the menu, glassware, etc). FABULOUS. WE HAVE A GROUP OF 3 TO 4 COUPLES WHERE WE HAVE DONE THIS FOR YEARS ON A ROTATING BASIS OF WHO HOSTS. LOVE TO DO THIS. WE DID ONE OF THESE WITH A THEME OF TRUCHOT RIGHT AFTER EVERYONE WAS VACCINATED (PLUS TWO WEEKS). A NEAT THING ABOUT THIS IS YOU CAN DO A WINE PROGRESSION. START WITH A CHAMPAGNE, FOR EXAMPLE. THEN GO TO A WHITE BURGUNDY, THEN A RED BURGUNDY OR BORDEAUX AND FINISHING WITH A SWEET WINE. CANNOT DO A PROPER PROGRESSION WITH FOOD AND WINE MATCHING WITH TWO PEOPLE.

3. with 2 ppl at a fine dining establishment. DO THIS, BUT MORE OFTEN BRING THE BEST WINES WHEN WE ARE WITH AT LEAST ONE OTHER COUPLE.

4. with 2 ppl at home. USUALLY, WE DRINK GOOD WINES BUT NOT OUR TOP WINES IN THIS SETTING. WE USUALLY DO NOT HAVE THAT MANY FORMAL DINNERS AT HOME FOR JUST THE TWO OF US. MORE LIKELY TO DO THIS IF OUR DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND COME OVER.

This is a hypothetical question so let’s just assume it’s early 2019 and there’s no Covid-related concerns.

Answers in caps. I have trouble separating wines from friends. I am fortunate to have a group of friends who are wine lovers and we all love sharing bottles with each other. IMHO, friends first, wines second. Do not that we do not drink top wines with friends who like wines but do not know much about wine. When we go out to dinner with them, we tend to open very good wines but more QPR wines. For example, last night, we had dinner with a couple that fits in this category. We opened a 2015 Colline del Sole Taurasi Taurasi. Very tasty and they loved it.

[MChang]

I agree with Howard in that if you’re drinking with two people you’re limited in the number of bottles you can open for the most part unless you’re either getting hammered or not drinking the entire bottles. I like doing 2-3.5 bottles with dinner so 4-6 ppl is an optimum amount for us.

[scamhi]

I prefer smaller more intimate dinners for top wines at home slightly preferred over restaurant. They allow you to pour and re taste later. Also, it is not a rush to empty your glass for the next wine.
so 2, then 3 and 4. but upping 3 and 4 to up to 3-4 people

[Dan_A]

Usually 4 then 2 less commonly but hoping to do more but most of my friends don’t share the love of wine that I do. Hmmm perhaps I need new friends

[Larry_G0ld3n]

Truly depends on the specific wine itself. For sure 4 people total, 6 if really really had to.

Basically in this order -
#3 which is 2 of us at a specific and special fine dining
#4 which is 2 of us, wife and I at home
#2 small group of no more than 6 total.

Again, very wine specific.

[Jonathan_Jaggers]

A group of 3 or 4, at home, with a good meal prepared to pair with the wines we’ll open is my favorite setting

[Jeff_M1]

Let’s say you’re going to open a 750 of a top wine in a good drinking window, for example, 1990 LT.

How would you prefer to drink it?

1. With wine people at a restaurant as part of a larger wine dinner/tasting with other top bottles.

2. At home with a small group of wine enthusiasts (5-6 ppl, 1 glass or so each, you have complete control of the menu, glassware, etc).

3. with 2 ppl at a fine dining establishment.

4. with 2 ppl at home.

This is a hypothetical question so let’s just assume it’s early 2019 and there’s no Covid-related concerns.

2 & 4. I feel like larger wine dinners go at a much faster pace and don’t allow for full enjoyment of a true top wine.

[MChang]

I guess I feel like I typically want something to drink prior to opening a great bottle, usually a white, rose, or champagne, and ideally I’d like 3 ppl to drink 2 bottles.

[Curtis_Chen]

Cool survey. For me, Option 2 & Option 4 with a slight preference to Option 2. Like Brad/Yao/Alex said, 4-6 people with 1 btl max per person would be ideal. Option 1 is fun, but also too hard to track individual bottles and give them enough attention, esp while battling palate fatigue, forgetfulness, or whatever.

[Chris_Seiber]

Viewing your one bottle in isolation, of course it’s better to have it with a few people and be able to focus, to spend time and have more pours.

But in reality, you sharing some portion of your best wines with your friends who do the same, that gets you a lot more experience with more great bottles.

If sharing your Screaming Eagle with your group means you get to experience their bottles of first growths, grand Crus, cult cabs, top Champagnes, etc., that might overall be a more rewarding set of experiences than just keeping your best bottles for yourself. 1/6th of six great bottles is probably more rewarding than all of one great bottle.

But better is if you can do some of each. Have some of your best bottles for sharing groups, and some that you and your spouse can have together over a long evening.

[CFu]

Let’s say you’re going to open a 750 of a top wine in a good drinking window, for example, 1990 LT.

How would you prefer to drink it?

1. With wine people at a restaurant as part of a larger wine dinner/tasting with other top bottles.

2. At home with a small group of wine enthusiasts (5-6 ppl, 1 glass or so each, you have complete control of the menu, glassware, etc).

3. with 2 ppl at a fine dining establishment.

4. with 2 ppl at home.

This is a hypothetical question so let’s just assume it’s early 2019 and there’s no Covid-related concerns.

1. Yes, with max of 4 to 5.
2. Yes, also with max of 4 to 5.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
   All of the above is true for me. But lately my favorite is three, four, or five people. Either at home or at a restaurant/country club that has appropriate glassware and a great somm.

A further note with respect to the options. I’d virtually always rather have four top bottles with four people, vs. one top bottle with four people. I know some prefer focusing on a single bottle or two. But using Michaels hypothetical 90 LT, give me four fine vintages of LT with four people any day.

Agree 100% on this.

4-6 people is my favorite setting. Having a great time and a great wine is the best combination. Drinking top stuff with my best buds is pretty much a perfect night.

[MChang]

I created the post because of a couple of recent wine experiences; we had 08 CDC, 07 Angerville Taillepieds, and 89 yquem with some wine ppl and a home cooked meal and all the wines were spectacular.

The above for mentioned blowout at Bouchon was fun but I didn’t feel like we got the most out of the wines we had (mag of 164, 96 HB, 07 Vogue mus, 07 Beaucastel) although they were still fantastic; I feel like we probably achieved 75% of their potential.

I felt like we actually got more out of the 08 Dom mag, 13 realm, and 13 Materium with pizza in our suite the next evening, idk.

I guess it just reminds me that wine isn’t consumed in a vacuum and the setting can really affect your enjoyment.

[Alex_Valdes]

I created the post because of a couple of recent wine experiences; we had 08 CDC, 07 Angerville Taillepieds, and 89 yquem with some wine ppl and a home cooked meal and all the wines were spectacular.

The above for mentioned blowout at Bouchon was fun but I didn’t feel like we got the most out of the wines we had (mag of 164, 96 HB, 07 Vogue mus, 07 Beaucastel) although they were still fantastic; I feel like we probably achieved 75% of their potential.

I felt like we actually got more out of the 08 Dom mag, 13 realm, and 13 Materium with pizza in our suite the next evening, idk.

I guess it just reminds me that wine isn’t consumed in a vacuum and the setting can really affect your enjoyment.

Hopefully when we get together we can put the theory to the test

[Tom_R_W]

Let’s say you’re going to open a 750 of a top wine in a good drinking window, for example, 1990 LT.

How would you prefer to drink it?

1. With wine people at a restaurant as part of a larger wine dinner/tasting with other top bottles.

2. At home with a small group of wine enthusiasts (5-6 ppl, 1 glass or so each, you have complete control of the menu, glassware, etc).

3. with 2 ppl at a fine dining establishment.

4. with 2 ppl at home.

This is a hypothetical question so let’s just assume it’s early 2019 and there’s no Covid-related concerns.

At home.
#2 preferred, but usually one or 2 other couples (4 or 6 people). Completely agree about the preference for a complimentary or counterpoint wine for comparative purposes.
Second choice is #4. My wife is my partner in crime for high-end cabs (which make up the majority of top wines in our cellar), I think she might like them more than I do. I’ve only once visited wine country without her and we’ve been to most of the top places represented in our cellar, so we have great fun reminiscing over these bottles.

[MChang]

Btw another interesting topic is wines that show well in suboptimal drinking conditions. We had bottles of 13 PYCM St Aubin 1er Ebaupins and 17 Hudelot Noellat CM AC from small plastic (think dixie) cups on a sailboat in a stiff breeze on Puget Sound last weekend and they were both beautiful.

In Somm one of the MSs talks about drinking Jamet from plastic cups with Fred dame on a fishing boat in Alaska, sorta kinda similar I guess.