"Members of Florence’s elite Teatro del Sale can buy one magnum per year, a privilege handed down from generation to generation. . . .
“From the first vintage, 1988, Il Caberlot has been a huge cult wine in Europe.”
–Rare Wine Co. offer for 2005 Il Caberlot
So, how many generations do you figure Florence’s elite Teatro del Sale has cycled through since 1988?
(In addition to raising such questions, this excerpt is also a nice example of the argumentum ad Europeum fallacy of wine hype, characterized by the unspoken assumption that since Europeans are more civilized and sophisticated than Americans in each and every way, anything done in Europe should of course be imitated by Americans. This fallacy has been effectively used to market both wine and socialism.)
Feel free to keep this thread going with future nominees! I am thinking of calling the award “the Rimmerman.”
Ever read the back label of Gray Goose Vodka (a brand created to make use of underutilized distillery capacities in Cognac)? The water is “filtered through Precious Champagne Limestone”…evidently some reference to the fact that it is diluted to sale proof with ground water from Cognac’s Grande Champagne zone.
The Champagne is one of the most polluted zones as far as ground water is concerned.
Unadulterated use of chemicals, pestizides and herbizides by the wine growers have played their part…
I actually enjoy the Rare Wine Company’s mailer & love reading what I know to be hyperbole. Manny is an absolute master at that style of writing. And yes, periodically, I get sucked in & buy something.
![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
![[bleh.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/c/cbb27a94fa73081862abf910a8bfa05e2ae2f5c3.gif "[bleh.gif]"){kind=small}
The Champagne is one of the most polluted zones as far as ground water is concerned.![[thumbs-up.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f84c5acc11486ee4baba6dee6cf61dbd133abb18.gif "[thumbs-up.gif]"){kind=small}