THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Fred Dame — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:25:03 GMT

Hello Rod,

I completely agree. I will be tasting several of the Lots from the Louis Martini Special Reserve 1968 set today. Twelve separate lots and the Private Reserve from that great vintage. Every time I have one of these wines I am astounded at the quality and especially the price upon release. I wonder what some of our pioneers would be making today? Funny, it sounds like I'm describing Constitutional Law. What were the framers thinking?

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Rod Smith — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:50:17 GMT

That’s a really interesting tasting, Fred. Those wines have real character, which I attribute to being made from perfectly ripe fruit in a straightforward manner (through the ’88, at least). No bogus hang time, no devious manipulations to reverse-engineer Spectator scores (which, of course, weren’t yet a factor). Would you agree? And do you see a shift toward “critic pleasing” in the early ‘90s?

And I have tasted some of those old-school Inglenooks. They’re amazing. I don’t have to tell you, of all people, that those classic Napa cabs were made from fruit picked (usually) shy of 24 brix, and they seldom added acid, or anything else for that matter—although we might debate whether they would have used enzymes, mega purple, etc. if such things had been available. But for whatever reason, it was honest wine production. I know you’ve also tasted some of those Inglenooks next to BV PR, which is also interesting given that they were making wine from virtually the same place, so it’s really a comparison of Duer vs. Tchellistchef. I don’t think the typical Napa cult cab, for all its immediate appeal, has nearly the character or complex evolution of those classic wines.

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Fred Dame — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:45:46 GMT

Hello Rod,

This is so interesting considering I have just finished doing a "Five Decades of Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon". Bob wisely put away a significant library and I have been pulling a wine from each decade, 60's up. Last week it was 69 Unfined, 76, 88, 96, 2005,6. It's amazing to see in perfect condition how the vintages have progressed, regressed and impressed. Also, if you have any access to the Inglenook Cask wines from the 40, 50 and 60's they are superb.

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Rod Smith — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:39:43 GMT

As with our discussion of manipulation, Greg, your view tends to cut through a lot of cloudy single entendre and embrace the bright light of reason. You produce wine, you understand the realities of the marketplace that makes it possible for you to continue, and you still champion old-school values. There’s a lot here that I want to elaborate and discuss. For now, I have to go to bed for awhile in order to get up around 4AM to pick the last of our grenache for mid-day delivery to the winery (will pull the last clusters between dropping the kids off at school and picking them up).

Your short essay strikes home on several levels. Appropo this discussion, I’m still wondering whether sommeliers today have any sense of wines that are honestly made to live a full life, as opposed to the current model you characterize as “Winemaker philosophy vs. financial reality. Our wine world.”

We really are drinking financial reality these days, aren’t we? What I’m getting at in this whole thread is the idea that there has been a sea change in modern wine (or, as some would have it, post-modern wine) equivalent to the shift toward dry wines in the last century.

Your explication of pH tells the tale. It sets up the current paradigm of picking too late then adding water and acid. Assinine in the old school. Big scores in this one.

Anyway, have to get out there in the dark to pick some grenache. Not without some trepidation—last night I was taking a leak by the vineyard gate and something growled at me. Something big and feline, I believe. Wish me a little luck.

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Gramercy Cellars — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:50:12 GMT

Just to add some thoughts on this article from the perspective of a winery. And maybe answer Rod's more sublte question of "Are we currently making wines that will age and is that important."

Of course, this is not how every winery thinks, but these are things that go through a winemaker’s head (or the marketing department) when addressing the issue of wine and ageability.

Let’s start by looking at the life cycle of a particular wine – 2009 Cabernet from a warm growing region. The wine is harvested in late September/ early October and aged for a particular amount of time in the cellar. You will notice that many, many Cabernet wines spend 20 months in barrel and are released in the Spring 2011. This allows the winery to bottle in the summer and then let the wine settle for 6 or so months in bottle before the release of the wine. This allows the winery to only have 1 vintage in the cellar before harvest, clearing space and barrels. It also allows the wines to be ready for the critics tastings that occur in the spring. For many wineries, it is vital that the wines are drinkable as the critics make their tours of the wineries or as samples are submitted. Six months bottle age is desirable as wines go into bottle shock for 4-6 months after bottling, depending on the varietal. (Note that not all wineries work on this cycle. Another method is to taste the critics on the previously released vintage. For our example, the winery would taste the critic on the 2008, instead of the 2009. It allows you to get another year of bottle age for scores, but is less impactful to move the most recent vintage. ) Don't be mistaken, winemakers thing about critic scores. It is the market that we have all created.

So with this in the back of our minds, most wineries seek to construct wines that are extremely drinkable 2 ½ years after the harvest. Seems like a long time? Remember that in the past, even thinking about drinking Bordeaux that was less than 10 years old was unthinkable. Why was that? Well, looking at the classic vintages of Bordeaux and California, these wines were picked much less ripe, with much lower pHs (typically below 3.5). The typical pH of the modern New World Cabernet is 3.8+, sometimes much more than that. For a pH tasting comparison, a traditional Chinon will have a pH of 3.5 and a Barossa Shiraz a pH of 4.1ish. It is pH (along with Total Acidity) that drives the ageability of a wine. The lower the pH, the longer the wine will last, obviously depending on other factors like intensity of fruit, balance, etc, BUT the longer it will take for the wine to be drinkable. So the winery, needing sales and critics scores, picks riper (higher pH) and thus sacrifices ageability.

Will some of these wine ages? Probably. But will we be consistently drinking 2001 Napa Cabernets in 2035? I think not. But I bet we are still drinking some 1959 Bordeaux. (For the record, I'm not picking on Napa. Washington is the same)

Lastly, specifically regarding Cabernet, the thought of “greenness” in a wine horrifies most winemakers. To get all the pyrazine out of Cabernet, you have to pick it ripe and with a high pH, for the most part. It takes heat and hang time to get those flavors out of there. But think about all those beautiful herbal flavors of great Graves or Pauillac? Those were green flavors when young, but putting a wine like that in today’s critical arena is asking for a beating.

So that is the dilemma for the winemaker. Approachable and high scoring when young or ethereal and respected when old. Principle vs practicability. Winemaker philosophy vs financial reality. Our wine world.

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Rod Smith — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:57:51 GMT

Sorry to be out of touch for a few days. Sonoma Coast beaches are gorgeous at this time of year, so we went camping with a couple other families. One dad is a chef, another a winemaker, so naturally after the kids were all snuggled in we stoked the fire and opened some bottles. Wonderful assyrtiko, grignolino, valtinella, syrahs (Arnot-Roberts, Clape), and a superb ’95 Ch. Lafon-Rochet, to name a few—sea air, fir smoke and fine wine, true magic.

Max, thanks for very interesting and detailed responses. I’m really interested in this aspect of wine—not just how wines age, but also whether the idea that fine wine is a living thing that evolves in the bottle is still current in today’s media-driven environment of instant gratification.

Question: Does a modern sommelier practice the art of cellaring? Are any/all of you able to judiciously buy ageworthy wines on release, when they’re most affordable, with the intent (and skill to pull it off) of offering them down the line in more fully-evolved beauty? And for those of you without a budget or mandate to maintain cellar depth, how do you deal with the deman—if any—for mature and evolved wines?

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Maximilian Kast — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:53:14 GMT

Rod,

As far as guests asking about cellaring and collecting, over time one builds a relationship with many regular guests and they want to know your opinion. In that regard I am more than happy to give my opinion and be of service to the guest in that regard.

As far as tasting each bottle before serving that really depends upon the restaurant. Many guests feel that the wine is for their judgement and that since they are purchasing it, it is up to them to taste and make the decision, if the guest is unsure I will taste the wine and if the wine is off I will replace it.

As for expectation that falls into the category of finding out what your guest wants and likes before you serve it to them. If a guest says that they enjoy fruit forward and full bodied wines and want to try a special older bottle from a great vintage, I would not lead them down the road of trying an 89 Barolo or a 89 Bordeaux, but would lead them more towards trying an 85 or 87 Napa Cab, or perhaps a Grand Reserva Rioja or Amarone, all of which still retain their fruit (although it moves more towards dried fruits with age). It think all of these choices would fulfill said guests taste profile, while still giving them the experience of tasting a well aged wine, with all of the nuance and beauty that comes from that. The wine will not be "full-bodied, smooth and slightly sweet", but will have many qualities that the guest is looking for. The only thing that will be missing, as far as Napa Cabernets, will be about 2 to 3 % alcohol content.

More often than not though if a guest is ordering an older wine they have an idea of what that will entail. I would say that guest problems with aged wine are less with red wines and more with sparkling wines. From my experience not everyone enjoys aged sparkling wines, and it is with those wines that I have had the most dissonance between expectation and the final verdict.

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Rod Smith — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:19:24 GMT

Well said, Max, couldn’t agree more.

But that gets me to wondering how many people ask your advice on that question. Does the somellier purview embrace acting as a household cellar consultant, or a collecting consultant?

Also, why do you not taste the wine before serving it? I thought every somellier did that.

Finally, I’m wondering whether a modern sommelier is called upon to finesse the dissonance between a general expectation that wine is full-bodied, smooth, and slightly sweet with the beauty of a developed wine? Have you ever proudly poured a wine that you know to be in the shank of its evolution only to see your clients wrinkle their noses at all that radiantly transparent schist-inflected fruit, denouncing it as bitter or even sour?

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Maximilian Kast — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:01:16 GMT

Rod,

It was gathering data and pleasure, for I love what I do...I do not taste wines for guests before serving, but most often guests are kind enough to allow me to taste, so in regards to tasting a lot from the cellar, through my guests generosity I have been able to track a lot wines at different times, but certainly not all of the wines.

I relation to your case of Latour, I would say that that is the magic of wine and it is a valuable thing for any wine lover to do. To watch a wine age from its youth to old age, to live with the wine, and understand it intimitly. When guests ask me about bottles they should purchase for their cellar, I always recommend for them to pick a few wines and purchase cases of each one, and to not be afraid to open a bottle here and there to see how the wine changes through its life, to experience it, so much like you Latour.

As for the wine writers and there "drink now or hold", I would agree with you it takes the romance out of what is really an experience that should make us transcend from time windows, scores, and time itself for that matter, and reflect on what the wine truly is and what it expresses at the moment.

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Rod Smith — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:23:18 GMT

Max, Was it gathering useful data or pleasure that made all those courtesy tastes so much fun? And do you taste your entire cellar, or at least the usual suspects, often enough to know what’s going on inside the bottles?

I ask because when I was coming up there was a real fascination with the evolution in the bottle. People would fall in love with, or at least become interested in a certain wine and follow its progress. I’ve mentioned the ’67 Latour, which I followed until my one and only case ran out. That was a real sensual odyssey, not to mention that I pretty much developed my wine-writing chops on that single wine. That aspect of wine appreciation seems to have largely gone by the wayside. These days, the form for so-called critics is to give a drinking window (“hold,” or “drink now-20012” or some such language) which simply addresses a concept of drinkability, begging the question of what sensual delights the wine’s evolution offers. And frankly, most somelliers seem to be oblivious to anything about an older wine except whether it’s “showing well.”

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Maximilian Kast — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:03:19 GMT

Rod,

I agree with you on your last comment, in theory. Restaurants, in a perfect world should be able to purchase youthful Bordeaux and Burgundy and sit on them for awhile before putting them on the list. But, given the current economic situation it is hard to validate large increases in inventory to company accountants. In the past I used to have a section of the wine list listing, with out prices, all of the wines that I was holding to be released when I thought was a more appropriate time. In my notes on the list I stated that if a guest was interested in purchasing said wines we could make that available.

However I have taken a different approach. Now I purchase a certain amount and put half of the purchase for sale and the other half to hold on to. We are fortunate that we have Bordeaux vintages reaching to the 1960s, Napa to the 1980s, Burgundy to the 1980s, and Barolo and Barbaresco to the 1980s, so when guests ask about buying 2005 Bordeaux, or a 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, I can tell them: "that is a great choice but I would recommend trying this wine from this vintage which is showing well now, but if you are interested in the 2005 Beychevelle it will be a great and memorable wine, but it will not be the best that it will be in the future." In short it is on the list but I do not recommend it unless a guest has a "Strong" desire to try the wine, in which case it is their curiosity that drives them to try that wine.

I will also agree with Patrick that enjoying older wines is something that comes with tasting a lot of wines. I have had the opportunity to taste the service staff on many older wines (through the grasciousness of our guests), 1988 Mouton-Rothschild, 1995 La Tache, 1989 Beaucastel and although they appreciated the wines for what they were they were not overwhelmed by them, atleast not like myself who was like a kid in the candy store.

I also agree with Patrick that purchasing from importers and distributors that either offer library releases or sales of private cellars is the best way to keep the list full of interesting older vintages, but those occasions are often very rare, and we are all very lucky when they come about.

As for food friendly wines, I find that, even with youthful wines, there are a number of great selections from all over the world. I am a particular fan of Louis Dressner, De Maison Selections (a local Chapel Hill importer of Spanish wines, and my favorite importer of Spanish wines), Jon-David Headrik Imports (also NC, all French, are very food friendly wines), and Rosenthal.

In all I think the key is to be able to have aged wines for those who appreciate them, and to have youthful wines that are fit for the table and the food at the restaurant.

I think at this time period, aged wine is important, but the key is to put forward wines that are food-friendly, be they aged or youthful, instead of wines that are best enjoyed by themselves and have very limited pairing capability.

Sorry to go on for so long and thank you for the conversation.

Max

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Rod Smith — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:30:19 GMT

You’re right, Patrick, it’s hard to go out and buy superb older wines at a decent price. That’s why I’ve always tried to convince people that the path to brilliant experiences with aged wines goes through reasonably-priced young wines and time. Your comment about Chadderdon’s holding program rings a bell. I’ve often thought that a restaurant cellar ought to function like a good home kitchen cellar (i.e. drinking cellar) where everything is just a pointe—the stuff that’s too young is held, while the stuff that’s past reasonable pairing is either shunted to a purely experiential program for interested imbibers or “moved” by whatever means. The notion of replicating a retail selection in a restaurant just doesn’t make sense, and yet so many lists offer wines that may well be collectable but have no place on a food-laden table. Young Bordeaux and Burgundy being prime offenders (along with Napa Valley “cult cabs” of any age).

RE: THE SEVEN AGES OF WINE

Patrick Emerson — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:06:32 GMT

Thanks for a fascinating outlook. Ageing wine is becoming increasingly more important to me as I age! I am working on carrying more aged wine on my wine lists and concentrating on Robert Chadderdon's portfolio where he does the hard work for us with his holding program

. Yesterday I held a wine training for my servers at Slightly North Of Broad restaurant and we tasted a Chateau Redortier Beaumes de Venice, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2001. The wine is showing beautifully and really fascinating to drink right now. The bright fruit has mellowed and the earth/herbal components are perfectly balanced. The staff's reactions were equally as interesting. Most of them really enjoyed it, but a few thought the nose with its gamey secondary aromas of mushroom, forest floor were strongly off-putting. I think that to really appreciate an older wine, tasting experience is also required. Unfortunately the lack of affordable older wine that is available has made it harder for us to reach an appreciative audience.

Patrick

PS I was also a clasical actor for many years before falling full-time into the wine business. There is such synergy between great poetry and wine. I wish that more modern day wine writers were brave enough to step beyond the literal and really reach for language that describes a wine beyond "red cherry notes"....

"She makes hungry where most she satisfies..."anyone?

Anthony and Cleopatra, W.Shakespeare