I need to head in that direction⦠spending was up there but #of bottles was way higher due to all my basemanās bargain hunting. I think the basement is full now
In no particular order:
-70% of my cellar is CA and ā18 & 19 were highly acclaimed vintages.
-Lack of travel & eating out during the pandemic left extra $ to spend elsewhere.
-Joined WB in Feb 2021.
-2020 & 21 were big exploration years for me.
My collection has been in itās growth phase and the bottle count has tripled since April 2020. avg bottle price has gone up about 20%. But spending went down by 34% in 2021 and I aim for a drop by about 75% from 21-22, since I now have more than enough to drink, especially as I am to decrease consumption. Letās see if I can pull it off.
Why isnāt āI have no idea, and I prefer it that wayā an option? It also give me plausible deniability should my wife ever ask this question, which, thank god, she hasnāt.
With no set plan to reduce the cellar, itās happened naturally. Less than 2 cases of wine bought in total in 2021, well short of even $1k. I always anticipated that I would start reducing the cellar āsometimeā, but after a drop in buying in 2020, 2021 has seen an even bigger drop.
I still have plenty of good cellaring wines, plus an idea of the sort of earlier drinkers Iām happy to top up with.
2020 & 2021 were 50% & 80% higher than the previous several years as I believe the red burgundy affordability/ attainability/ global warming trains are all coming to a point where I wonāt compete or be interested in, so I re-filled what I could with '14, '15, '16 & 17 vintages. Iām confident this past decades wines will be, along with the previous decade - the meat of my cellar for my lifetime. I donāt see my trying to buy much at all from the CdN this year or in the future and perhaps only very small amounts from some preferred CdB producers.
I also donāt want a cellar where the highest cost wines will only start to become mature in 20+ years when Iāll be 70+. With new red burgundy purchases out, I suspect Iāll still buy a fair amount from elsewhere as I chase my preferred style of wines from a suitable climate but the costs should be considerably less. I should drop one level in the poll this year and for another few years, then another level after that when I should only need defenders.
I spent more in 2021 than any prior year. Lots of reasons for that, but one of the drivers is setting up that āretirement cellarā that sets me up better 15 years out. Have also done a lot of backfilling and a little unicorn chasing. While pricing is up quite a bit, availability has appeared strong, I assume in light of so many strong vintages in so many regions that I buy. Gracefully, the economy was crazy strong last year.
I need to reduce the wine spending for both budget reasons (want to build a new house) and because Iām out of space but donāt want to add more until we get the new house. Iām trying to only purchase 2012 Dom (if I can get it at $175 or less), whatever Goodfellow releases on BD and in the spring and fall, and a couple of cases of Burgundy from Ansonia, mostly daily drinkers but a handful for the cellar.
Not sure if I can hold myself to this, but I wrote it down in my plans and goals for the year, which gives me at least a 10 percent shot at success.
Up significantly in 2021, primarily because of a spring trip to Napa, continued good De Negoce offers, and stocking of 2018 Napa vintage. Expecting a big cut in 2022