Musings #7 - Open me, I'm Old-ish

In the throes of the holidays - I took a break and had a wine tasting with Dr. Phattingstein. It started at 2pm on a Tuesday in his apartment. We felt special and of the leisure class. We tried my Couly-Dutheil La Diligence (Chinon) from 2005, followed by a 2000 Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Domaine Pontifical. The first was feminine and aromatic. Gentle and kind. The Pontifical was a vegetable stew with an armpit garnish. We liked both equally. After some conversation and a bottle of modest German Reisling, the good Doctor pulled out a 1996 Chateau Soutard. Or at least that's what my eyes saw - by this time covered with wool and other instruments of opaque-ness. We have a relationship with Soutard (him more than me), since it hugs tight with its rustic arms and old bones. Which got me thinking - why is it easy to open an older wine? Or rather, why is it so hard?

I don't have a collection of old wines. But I do have a few things that have expressed interest in restoring a Chevelle and taking some time off to sail. One of these voices is a bottle of Chateau Leoville Barton from 1999. Not a great year (which is why I have it), so after 10 years, its up to me to make it keep working or pump up the dingy.

To give this entry a hint of substance - what should I expect from the 1999? It will probably be a bit laid-back and accessible. Soft, but full of life and fruit. Very good, but not stellar, Many say it can work for me until 2025, but many say retire it right about now, or soon. But I can't open it! Why can't it pull a Soutard - seize a moment and shine!? Because I won't let it.

That middle-aged wine in a modest collection is doomed. First, the wine usually has a history that its peers do not. In a big, historic collection, it's more about which history you choose. And, frankly, more bottles makes the decision easier. Secondly, opening a primo bottle of which we speak often brings down the entire collection's cache. In a small collection - that bottle's value is intrinsic. My mom threatened to take back her original mono pressing of The Beatles' Rubber Soul, but I convinced her otherwise, stating that single record clout to all its. Especially the Band Aid and Bee-Gees albums. Finally, even if that bottle is stellar, you know you'll be a bit sad, since it was your first of this or your last of that. Or your only one.

But wine is ephemeral! To induce pleasure and not pain. It's settled. I have to find a time to open the Leoville Barton. Maybe after a few other bottles, when it would take over 9 minutes to change my mind. Better yet, how about never?