Buying "older" wine

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Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 10:55:32 AM

ytsai

Posts: 59
Joined: 10/14/2008
Status: offline

My experience with wine is only about a year so as you can imagine most of the wines I have been drinking are usually just a few years old. Recently I have come across a local shop that sells the following 1982s. The prices are similar to that found on the internet. This will be the oldest bottle I am going to buy, by far. What should I look for to verify that the wine is in good condition? Clean label with top shoulder or better? Any thoughts about which one I should try first?

Ducru Beaucaillou 249
Calon Segur 195
Canon 249
Montrose 210
Talbot 149
Leoville Las Cases 489

Thanks.

Post #: 1

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 11:41:37 AM

Serge Birbrair

Posts: 1524
Joined: 4/23/2006
From: Boca Raton, Florida
Status: online

I had Ducru on several ocassions.
The way I check the bottle is:
I take it to the light and if the hue is more red than brown - I buy it.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1769

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Post #: 2

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 11:54:19 AM

JohnNezlek

Posts: 218
Joined: 12/14/2006
From: Gloucester, Virginia
Status: offline

Well, for someone who is new to wine, you are certainly starting off with a bang. I think Serge's advice is solid. I would also advise that, parallel to the real estate adage, there are 3 things to consider when buying older wines: provenance, provenance, and provenance. Where have the wines been, and can/do you trust the merchant? If you cannot answer the last question with a resounding yes, you might want to think twice.

Good luck,

John

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Too many wines, too little time.

(in reply to Serge Birbrair)

Post #: 3

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 11:58:51 AM

Serge Birbrair

Posts: 1524
Joined: 4/23/2006
From: Boca Raton, Florida
Status: online

John, I bought a few bottles over the phone based on reputation of a merchant and nothing else.

Here are few stories of those purchases:
1) to illustrate the value of the hue:
http://wineknight.com

2) to illustrate the reputation of the reputation of a merchant:
http://www.nothingcontroversial.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2055&highlight=paris+cork

_____________________________

Do you really think you understand terroir!? -

(in reply to JohnNezlek)

Post #: 4

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 12:08:22 PM

JohnNezlek

Posts: 218
Joined: 12/14/2006
From: Gloucester, Virginia
Status: offline

Serge,

Agreed, and my sense is that a reputable merchant will/would recommend (at this level) only wines for which the provenance was reasonably well-known. You gotta know that somewhere, someone has an 80-something Bdx that has been sitting in a warm place for the last 10-15 or 20 years.

If a merchant (whom I respect) tells me "I had this wine and it was okay", that is good enough for me.

Any horror stories? I bought some CDP one time in a little shop in London, and I am 100% certain that it had been on the shelf in the store since release (which at that time was 10+ years before). The fellow was decent enough to take back the vinegar -- if you could call it that.

Generally though, I have been fortunate, even at auction.

John

_____________________________

Too many wines, too little time.

(in reply to Serge Birbrair)

Post #: 5

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 12:17:56 PM

ytsai

Posts: 59
Joined: 10/14/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JohnNezlek

Well, for someone who is new to wine, you are certainly starting off with a bang. I think Serge's advice is solid. I would also advise that, parallel to the real estate adage, there are 3 things to consider when buying older wines: provenance, provenance, and provenance. Where have the wines been, and can/do you trust the merchant? If you cannot answer the last question with a resounding yes, you might want to think twice.

Good luck,

John

No crime is buying something nice for ones own birthday

Regarding provenance, since the shop is new to me it is hard to say. I guess how much one trusts a merchant is build on experience? Or in the internet age, is there a site that tells you who is reliable or not, like a wine merchant rating site?

(in reply to JohnNezlek)

Post #: 6

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 12:18:32 PM

GalvezGuy

Posts: 319
Joined: 5/10/2007
From: Galveston, TX
Status: offline

I have had good and bad. Now, when I buy aged wines, I stick with consistent sellers who guarantee the provenance of their stock. The harshest lesson with with a 1971 La Tache that was oxidized, obviously by poor storage. The responsible party did not refund my money or try a single thing to make it right.

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If you're gonna be dumb you better be tough

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Post #: 7

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/18/2008 12:23:58 PM

JohnNezlek

Posts: 218
Joined: 12/14/2006
From: Gloucester, Virginia
Status: offline

Ytsai,

Trust is developed over time. For serious wines (such as your birhtday celebration) I talk with online merchants before doing any business with them, and I try to speak to the same person every time I call. If the shop is new, then the question is how long has the person been in the business?

You will know when/if you need to return a bottle -- and I hope you will not have the experience of GG -- that must have hurt, at least the pocketbook.

Let us know how it goes.

John

_____________________________

Too many wines, too little time.

(in reply to GalvezGuy)

Post #: 8

RE: Buying "older" wine - 11/19/2008 1:31:30 PM

ytsai

Posts: 59
Joined: 10/14/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JohnNezlek

Ytsai,

Trust is developed over time. For serious wines (such as your birhtday celebration) I talk with online merchants before doing any business with them, and I try to speak to the same person every time I call. If the shop is new, then the question is how long has the person been in the business?

You will know when/if you need to return a bottle -- and I hope you will not have the experience of GG -- that must have hurt, at least the pocketbook.

Let us know how it goes.

John

It sounds like the risk of going to a new store for a 26 yr old bottle of wine for a special day celebration is way too high! At this point I am leaning toward getting a younger wine in the late 90s from the same store. I will use this as an excercise to get familiar with the merchant and use a 05 as backup?. Afterall, it is local and in some cases have decent pricing.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

(in reply to JohnNezlek)

Post #: 9