Shifting My Cellar

WINE TALK
21

Our pump and dump scheme doesn’t work if you try and stop ppl from buying

22

Frank,

Why have you stopped buying Chablis? I would think these would be squarely in your wheelhouse.

23

Russ, I don’t need more Chardonnay. Between Rhys and Kutch, I have what I need and will continue to put my Chard $$$ against just these two. My premise is to shift the make-up of my cellar and I sold off all the Chablis with the other wines in pursuit of that. But, if you count the Marguet via Envoyer today, the Les Bermonts, well then, that counts as Chard. [wink.gif]

24

Champagne suffers more from poor storage conditions that most other wines (imo anyways)…so buying at release and storing/aging yourself is an significant advantage I think.

25

My question is how large of a cellar are we talking about? If it is under 1,000 I guess it could make sense especially if your still wines are CA and don’t need a ton of age on em. Over 1,000 means you are crushing champagne.

Obviously if it works for you then go for it.

26

Ha. I didn’t realize you had dumped your Burgs. Good man.

While I think your single minded pursuit of non-dose wines is misguided, I’m glad you are on to more interesting wines. I wish I could remember what grower bubbles I brought to your pad but I do remember you being intrigued by at least one of them.

27

I’m on the same path, FMIII, and I’m probably at 50/50 now — which is where I want to be — but my cellar is smaller than most here.

28

Paul, it is 600 bottles. To add stuff, i cut others, which allows me to stay within the space.

Kyle, one of these days it would be excellent to meet you.

Rock, what event?

29

Dunno. Several years ago. Maybe it was a couple things in succession.

30

My ratio has been steadily changing, and it reached ~1/3 champagne. It does feel for the moment as the right ratio, but if it goes to 40 percent I’d not be worried champagne.gif

31

…and still the occasional Chidaine, no? [grin.gif]

Seriously, I am really admiring of you, Frank, to go “all-in” on a palate shift like this. You are a true explorer—having found a “style” of winemaking that you like (i.e. Champagne), you are now getting after trying a bunch of it made in all sorts of different ways. I have often been a beneficiary of these travels of yours, and am thankful for it.

Just don’t start falling for single malt–a very slippery slope!

Slainte,

Mike

32

Rock, I would say that you were more integral into me getting my head out of red wine exclusively and into whites. This happened I would say 8 years back or so, when we did that offline in Seal Beach on Main Street. You brought what I think was a Muscadet that evening and it left a mark on me. That was pivotal. For Champagne, I would say the pivot person was more Steve Nordhoff, who had been trying like you with the white wines, to get me to appreciate it. Together, you both left a deep impact on the way I think about wine today.

Grammer, on Chidaine, probably done with them, too. Maybe if anything Choisilles but that would be it. And if it wasn’t for the bitchen dog I have now who turned 16 weeks yesterday, I would be in Champagne next month, as I was planning to go in April for 10 days. Now, that is scrapped because I want to be home to help Jill bring this guy along. However, my goal is to still do the 10 days sometime this year, to keep building my relationships and knowledge.

33

I’m now a touch over 20% Champagne but that number continues to rise as I slowly drink through a lot of older purchases, and the last couple of years my purchasing has been over 30% Champagne. I know I see FMIII show up a lot on the CT “Friends with This Wine” list!

I tend to overbuy a bit as our inner circle enjoys aged bubbles, particularly rose. I try to stuff as much as 50% of what I buy into longer term storage. Luckily the new house has will have a much larger cellar than the old one did! champagne.gif

34

and you sold your Clavelier without telling me [cry.gif]

35

You’ll forget all about it once you’re in Monarch Beach this weekend. Pack the rig, head south on Coast Highway already.

36

The only good thing to come out of my garagiste purchases.

37

Frank,

First off I wanted to mention that I was sorry to miss Falltacular, but have it on my radar to sign up early next year.

I’ve only been drinking wine about 8-9 years now, and in that span I’ve gone from overbuying Chardonnay to overbuying Pinot and now wait for it…buying a lot of Zinfandel! My wife on the other hand would be happy to open a Pinot every night the rest of her life. To each their own. What I don’t think I’ll ever get into is $100+ Napa cab. Curious to know, how long have you been into wine and how long did it take for your palette to shift? At this rate for myself, I feel like I should just buy everything at random so that in 5 years there’s at least a 100% chance I’ll still feel like drinking 25% of my cellar.

38

BP, it’s been 30 years. My palate shifted several times, as I wandered through things and found my way to where I am now. In my view, you’re thinking correctly to be cognizant of your palate. So taking your foot off the gas and pausing is smart. Inhale, think about what moves you, ignore scores and all that BS, and then determine what you like. Buy some of what your passionate about now, but with the remaining space/budget you will have, try things that are not obvious, but more subtle. This is what I learned from Whetstone, Nordhoff and a few others. These exposure points open up new avenues and provided you are not going ‘overbuying’ on a category, you will be better positioned to have balance and an open mind.

39

Be prepared for that possible final cellar shift. For some, the taste buds struggle with age and then its off to the land of the Mollydooker.
[stirthepothal.gif]

40

I think Frank is going to need this: