Now that we have renovated the root cellar it is ready for wine. I forced myself to leave alcohol for the past 8 years, but am happily back at the point where I can once again enjoy without abusing. Doing so, I lost almost a decade - and am out of touch with most wines these days.
Big fan of the Toad Hollow guys - just tried their '04 Concinnity, Its Toady! I do believe it would benefit from a few years.
Anybody familiar with it; am I wrong?
Suggestions for some fun wines to lay down…say under $35. We just put down a case of Frog’s Leap Merlot and a case of their Rutherford (I still have some '96s which did very well)…
Boonesfarm makes a nice vintage - I like “Country Qwencher” the best, but “Strawberry Hill” has also found a place in my heart. There is also no fear of having a “corked” bottle either since they have screw tops.
I am a big fan of anything Ridge Vineyards puts out. Their 03 Lytton Springs Zinfandel is $33.99/btl I think. If you can find ANYTHING by Frances Tannahill from the Willamette Valley, OR, buy that and lay it down too. AMAZING stuff.
Wine becomes more mellow softer and complex with age. The big fruit of a Napa Merlot is not going to taste better with age. Napa vinters, at least the ones making 11,000 cases per vintage, design their wine to be drunk NOW. Most everything from the US is meant to be drunk when it is released and doesn’t benefit much from aging. Merlot in general is not a wine that benefits from aging and is meant to be drunk when released.
French Bordeaux, German Riesling, Vouvray, Semillon, Italian Amarone are your best bets for wines varieties that will age and mellow nicely. Well balanced Cabernets and some Syrahs will also age well. Some of the small Napa vinters make wine that is meant to be aged but they only make a few hundred cases so it’s hard to find.
I’ve known that about most US wines; we just started in '94 or so and have watched 100 or so bottles loose their youth - some rather well (the Frogs and a few memorable Stags), and most not so. Good learning experience.
I know nothing about Bordeaux and should learn. Point me to three bottles and I’ll start with the research.
Kai
If you’re going to try some French wines the Rhone Valley and Languedoc regions are good value for money and have some excellent wines.
Chapoutier is a good start, they have their own vineyards and rebottle wine from smaller producers. I’ve had some excellent wines from them and never a bad one. http://www.chapoutier.com/gb/vins/index.cfm
