House Cleaning
Home Sweet Home
Tasted Thursday, June 21, 2007 - Sunday, June 24, 2007 by vanpe003 with 696 views
Introduction
In preparation for remodelers coming in next week, the Vinotechs had to be emptied and moved, and quite a few random unrefrigerated cases needed to be relocated as well. In doing all that, it struck me..."I've got a ton of wine that's in its drinking window". So, out came the screwpull, and with that a recquaintance to a number of wines I haven't thought about in awhile. In general, I was pleased that so many of the wines I bought a couple of years ago are really coming into their own, especially a number of the less expensive ones that while not mindblowing certainly have smoothed out after a couple years in the bottle.
Flight 1 - Tough Young, Tough Now (1 Note)
Hopefully, there's not too many that fall into this category. These are the "what was I thinking" wines. I doubt that I'm the only one who has a few of these in my cellar, but that doesn't ease the pain. Little redeeming value to these, as I wouldn't even venture to cook with them, and they really aren't strong enough to be an effective drain cleaner.
Flight 2 - Tough Young, Good Now (3 Notes)
A couple of these bottles were highly rated on release, but didn't perform well a couple of years ago. More bluntly, they were wines that made me wonder what the reviewer was thinking. Generally speaking, a bit of time has served each of them well. Apparently, there's a reason the reviewers get paid money to taste wine, and I don't!
Flight 3 - Good Young, Good Now (4 Notes)
Each of these was enjoyable young, and have gained style/elegance/balance with a bit of bottle age. These are the kinds of bottles that make me go "yeah.....", feeling good about my selections. In general, they are relatively inexpensive wines on purchase that represent good QPRs, especially as they present themselves today.
Flight 4 - Flying Blind (1 Note)
Wines that I have no idea about....good, bad or indifferent. Popping the cork is a total process of discovery...!
Flight 5 - Just Stupid (4 Notes)
Seems like I can't do a wine housecleaning without popping a bottle or two that I shouldn't. Either too young, or too good to be opened when there's 4-5 to choose from already open on the counter.
Closing
Note to self - TOO MUCH WINE. It will take awhile to whittle down the inventory to a manageable level, unless of course I pop a case each weekend;). Probably not the answer. I really wish there were offsite storage facilities in Minneapolis. That would certainly go a long way to solving the problem. So would a reduced rate of acquisition. The other lesson for me in all this is that a well-aged $20 bottle of wine can provide every bit as much satisfaction as a young, expensive bottle. Once the purchasing gears back up, I think I will tend toward a lower average cost per btl, with the expensive bottle being more the exception than the rule. For most occasions, bottles in flight 2 and 3 are more than adequate, and provide a different style of enjoyment. One where the wine is a secondary enhancer to an everyday experience, as opposed to being the experience itself.
2001 Bodegas Castillejo de Robledo Ribera del Duero Silentium Crianza 75 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(6/23/2007)
I don't know what I was thinking when I tasted this at Sutler's. Thought it was great. Bought a case. I've opened 4-5 of them, and none have been satisfying. All have gotten poured out. This one....stewed tomato on the nose, muddy palate. 'Nuf said.
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