The new year is best celebrated with still wine.
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If you’re only drinking young Rousseau you might feel that way. Fourrier’s wines are very good, even great in some cases, but have been dominated in every side by side I’ve done with CSJ, even with younger wines. Doing it with wines with any age wouldn’t be remotely fair.
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I think they are really fun, but shouldn’t be the only way you consume wine.
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I did that comparison many times side by side and blind with several cases of ‘81-‘83 Bordeaux inherited from my Dad and cellared in a similar basement vs bottles we purchased together stored at 55-57. By 10 years there was a noticeable difference about 2/3 of the time. By 20 years it was an obvious difference, about 3/4 of the time. When I could tell the difference, I preferred the bottle stored at 55-57. That’s not often enough to bet the house, but it’s often enough to make it worth it (to me) to use active cooling. The passively stored bottles weren’t bad, just not as good as those actively stored. YMMV, but that’s my experience. And I do like to drink 25 yo Bordeaux.
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I love this. My sentiments exactly. Like that pair of old Levi’s (ok Seven for all Mankind).
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Vinhão (Sousão) is the best (red) Portuguese grape variety
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It doesn’t matter what “techniques” the winemaker uses in the cellar as long as the result is a delicious wine
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Most red wine is served too warm. Serve it cool and let it warm in glass/bottle/decanter. Especially wines from grapes/regions grown on the cooler side.
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People stress too much about when to open something (myself included). There’s not a bad time to open a bottle.
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True. And most white wines are served too cold. I keep relearning these truths.
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Good point . Saving bottles for a special occasion may be too late. The occasion may never come to fruition, due to death, health issues, bottle/cork issues, etc.
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My parents are close to 80 and have never opened a single one of their special bottles. They have about 40-50 bottles of Napa cab (nothing crazy) dating back to early 80s. Haven’t opened one for any of their kids getting married, grandkids, holidays, parties, etc.
No idea what they’re waiting for.
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A long time ago (say 2008 ish) I did a blind tasting for my group that used bottles that spent three full years in disparate conditions. Three different wines in three different storage conditions. One set was similar to your closet, though ranging from 54 in winter to briefly at 73 in high summer (typically around 70 in summer). Another set was in the wine cellar (54 year round), and the third was in a dark closet in an un-air conditioned part of the house that touched 78-80 in high summer.
The two “cooler” bottles of each wine were virtually indistinguishable to the group. The ones from the hot closet were definitely different, but aged rather than spoiled.
Edit to add that the tasting was actually in late 2009, and all the bottles were 2005s.
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Have you asked?
Starting to see some conventional wisdom being shared here.
Keep it UNpopular, people.
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I’m just not convinced that there’s actually a marked difference in how enjoyable a wine is based on a few points in scoring. Even a 20 point scale feels like too many, from the consumer side.
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At the very least are subjective!
Your parents must be related to my dad.
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Nebbiolo is overrated and tastes like shoe leather with a hint of cherry.
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Don’t think that’s an unpopular opinion…
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