Surprises - both old and cheap.

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Surprises - both old and cheap. - 9/8/2010 6:02:46 AM

AlexGarner

Posts: 135
Joined: 6/19/2010
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Status: offline

Sorry if this has been done before (I couldn't find anything in a quick, cursory* search), but I was wondering what wines people have pulled from their cellars that they expected very little from because they were either way too old, or just very cheap and ordinary - but that turned out to be magic.

I started my cellar in 2003 and for the last 6 years, it has been in a different state to me. (I'm in Victoria, the cellar is in South Australia.) I haven't moved it yet and this has meant that I don't raid it without careful planning and a 900 Kilometre trip. (Of course I also ship stuff). This means wine stays around longer and surprises can be found. I now use cellar tracker to make sure I don't leave wines for too long, but there are always things that get left around, since I only visit the cellar a few times a year.

For example, I pulled out an entry level low end 1997 Peter Lehmann Merlot a year or two back that was designed as a drink now, and it cost less than $10. It should have been a disaster, but it was quite spectacular how a decade of cellaring had changed the wine into something quite incredible. I also found an old South Aussie botrytis Riesling that everyone said was at least 5 years past it and would be awful, but was a spectacular explosion of candied oranges and mars bars.

What stories do folk here have of wines they found in the cellar that they were expecting would go straight to the sink - without passing go or collecting $200 - but that made for a memorable evening?

(*lazy)

< Message edited by AlexGarner -- 9/8/2010 6:18:39 AM >

Post #: 1

RE: Surprises - both old and cheap. - 9/8/2010 10:51:50 AM

grafstrb

Posts: 8837
Joined: 11/6/2007
From: LAla land
Status: offline

The first bottle of the 2003 Waterford - Shiraz (from S. Africa) satisfies this criteria for me. I wasn’t expecting much b/c I think it was about $20, and I’d never had a S. African wine that I liked. This wine blew me away! I’ve since consumed a handful more, and each time I am not disappointed!

Another that might qualify is a 1994 Oakville Ranch - Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) that we drank recently. I purchased it a few months ago for $40, and with a Winebid sticker on the bottle I wasn’t sure what to expect re: provenance. Also consider it was only $40, I thought it might be over the hill, or merely very average .... wrongo dongo!! It was a stunning bottle! I scored it out to 96 points.

A few bottles of Columbia Crest’s “Grand Estates” Merlot with maybe 7 to 8 years of age on them have also performed surprisingly well for their $8 price tag.

_____________________________

Terroir is not a flavor.

(in reply to AlexGarner)

Post #: 2

RE: Surprises - both old and cheap. - 9/8/2010 12:57:50 PM

GalvezGuy

Posts: 5864
Joined: 5/10/2007
From: Galveston, TX
Status: offline

+1 on the CC Grand Estates Merlot, they hold up very well and I actually like them with 6-7 years on them more than I like them on release. - I recently drank a 10 year old Spanish Monastrell with a friend that he got for $5 (sorry no notes). It had far more in common with Bandol than Spain. Really funky with that juicy acidity that I love. I would like to repeat that experiment again some time.

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Burgundy makes you think of silly things; Bordeaux makes you talk about them; Champagne makes you do them.

(in reply to grafstrb)

Post #: 3

RE: Surprises - both old and cheap. - 9/8/2010 1:22:39 PM

Hollowine

Posts: 7251
Joined: 7/25/2008
From: Hood River, OR
Status: offline

1997 Ernest & Julio Gallo Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard Barrelli Creek Vineyard

A very enjoyable bottle of wine for the $25 bucks I paid back in 1999

(in reply to GalvezGuy)

Post #: 4