Quote:
Originally Posted by pektel
And yes, you are right. I am more looking at 700-800 a case price-wise. Though less expensive advice will be considered too.
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To say you like Frei Brothers and now want to spend $700-800 is quite dramatic! Not saying your pockets aren’t deep, but that is a lot of money per case for most at your level in oenology. You may be there when said wine is mature and glad you bought it.
I can tell you as a simple consumer who started buying wine to age 15+ years ago, that even modest wine can benefit from a few years cellaring. One recent example; I bought a case of 2005 Jacobs Creek Cab/Shiraz in 2006 for $57. Last summer, each bottle was quite a crowd pleaser considering the house. Most would say to don’t bother, but if they had a perfect provenance 2005 next to the 2009 it would be hard to refute. Aging wine is all about provenance.
Not all wine has to be expensive to go the long haul even. Jura wines of France can age several decades in both red and white. You could buy two cases $700-800. Dao wines of Portugal can go two decades no problem and still taste fresh. Many CA cabs are wonderful from the 1950’s on. Only 20 years old is baby killing to me on a good CA cab.
One thing to remember is that not everyone likes mature wine. I find the modern wine drinker or just getting into wines, especially new world wines do not like mature wine. The oxidized, musty/mushroom notes and lack of primary fruit is not what they are seeking in wine.
Not to get into a debate on wine as there are much more esteemed and knowledgeable members here, but I think they’d agree on this advice. Buy classic wines to age like top CA cabs, Barolos-Barbaresco, Bordeaux, and Rioja among others. Be aware of ratings and follow critics who have similar palate. If you stick with the tried and true, at least you’ll have that no matter what your wine du jour preference is down the road. There are many articles and with suggestions on how to divide your investment in both style and projected maturity that are worth readying.
Keep trying new wines, read up on wine, and drink wine with experienced wine drinkers.