Shockingly, I have an opinion on collecting wine (ok, if you've read the blog more than once or been to a tasting with me you know it's not shocking AT ALL). Although I lo
Apart from the few bottles of wine that I hold to see how they will change and develop with time, the horizon for my wine collection is pretty short, with a regular replenishment cycle running at full efficiency. In this way, I can keep tabs on what I want to hold and when I'll want to bust it open. 
One of the main issues that a lot of people with large cellars face is: "How the hell am I going to DRINK all that?" The answer is, they aren't. And if they don't manage their cellars properly they may miss the window when a wine is at its best.
I bring this up because on Saturday night I had a much anticipated bottle of wine 
that I have been holding for 5 years. It was the Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel, a breathtakingly lovely wine that I thoroughly enjoyed and greedily consumed last August. I remembered it as velvety and having a great balance of mineral and fruit. I had high expectations.
But my hopes of deliciousness were soon dashed. This bottle, although purchased at the same time as the other and stored in the exact same place, was tight, acidic, and lacked any fruitiness. It had harsh vinegar notes and was thoroughly unpleasant. The smell was bitter, the taste was jarring, and the wine was way past its prime. Damn! I should have had it last year with the other great bottle. But then I was tweeting with a fellow blogger, the Decatur Wine & Food Dude. He and I decided to open our 2003 bottles at the same time and compare notes...His was phenomenal. Here's a snippet of his experience:
"Initially, this 2003 revealed a rather brawny and tannic wine that needed some time to shed its youthful outer shell. This recent bottle was the most "ready" of any of the bottles opened. The tannins had mostly faded to a sweet backdrop and the darkish fruit was open, sweet, and lush. The wine will probably drink well for many more years, but there's really no reason to wait to open a bottle."Please check out his review for more details (he talks a little more about Tablas Creek and his blog is great!)
So a few thoughts on my experience with the bum bottle.
- First of all, muc
h like a pair of jeans, there is variation from bottle to bottle in wine. Some wines come from different barrels or tanks and there is some variation in the blend -- we're talking about wine, not Velveeta, so there is going to be a little more wiggle room.
- Second, you can't always judge a producer off one bottle of wine. I had a motto when I was younger -- you need to try everything TWICE (just to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke). I'm going to reinstate that with wine. Tablas Creek is FABULOUS and I love their wines. Yes, I had a really bad bottle, but I'm not going to write it off because I know they can do better. My advice -- keep an open mind...until you've had the producer 2 times and it sucks both times!
- Third, I think I proved my rule with collecting. What if I had held that bottle for 10 years and it was that bad? How bummed out would I be? A lot of wines can be held for 10 to even 50 years, but they are probably at their prime on the earlier rather than later side.
I just don't see the rationale in holding something to hold it. Enjoy life and drink the stuff, wine peeps! If you wait to long, the wine may be spoiled and no one wants that.
5 comments:
Nice writeup Elizabeth. Very accurate and important points at the end of your post. I'm a big fan of Tablas Creek, too. I've had many very good wines from them...sorry your '03 wasn't great. Cheers!
As someone who tracked down 6 bottles of the 07 Tablas Creek which has since occupied prime real estate in my cellar, your post really scared me. But your points are well articulated and my fears settled down. If cost isn't a factor, it's a good rule of thumb to buy bottles in 2 or more. That way you can have the best of both worlds - open one and enjoy it now, and stow some of the others away to see how that wine evolves over time. Just make sure you take notes...
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for the post, and the nice words about Tablas Creek. As you note, wines are alive, and there are lots of reasons that one bottle could be great and another undrinkable. Typically the variation has to do with either the seal of the cork or the conditions of shipping and storage.
One thing you didn't mention is that most wineries/retailers are happy to replace flawed bottles. The 2003 Esprit shouldn't be over the hill; we opened one not long ago and it still had several years of good drinking left. None of us want someone's last impression to be a negative one!
So, for us, please send an email to info@tablascreek.com and let us know where we should send a replacement bottle.
Cheers!
All the best,
-Jason
@Craig -- no worries! You are good to go. I totally agree about the two bottle rule -- especially if from a great producer. I absolutely love Tablas Creek -- you are in good shape with the '07. That said, really important NOT to throw the baby away with the bathwater. If one is bad and the producer is reputable, you've got to go with the try everything twice rule.
@Jason -- you are so unbelievably generous. Thank you so much for your offer to send me another bottle. I LOVE your wine (and I've licked the rocks at your winery!) and it's stuff like your reply that makes me love you guys even more. You are a true class act. THANK YOU.
Sorry to hear about your experience, and glad Jason responded.
I am a huge fan of Tablas Creek, additionally am a huge fan of collecting...approaching 700 bottles now. I wish I could lay down more of their wine then I do, but it seems to disappear.
Many of my great wine experiences, simply couldn't be had without cellaring. They haven't been for sales for years, and if they were, would be prohibitively expensive. Any of my Syrah releases later than 2005 right now e.g. go into the cellar for a few years, for the most part, and are greatly improved.
Bottle spoilage is always an issue; and two very important things consumers (not you) forget.
- STORAGE: if you don't have a temperature controlled environment, free of vibration, temp. swings, harsh light, that stays in the 55-62 degree range, don't bother. A few days in the 80s plus and that bottle's life has been substantially shortened.
Date Tracking: I use CellarTracker to monitor my stash, and it provides reports on when items should be considered to be drunk. Is it perfect, no, but it helps.
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