A Rare Old Treat
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By Robin GarrOnce in a
very great while, a special occasion and a special circumstance come
together to inspire the opening of a great, aged wine.
So it was for us last week. The circumstance: An overly generous
gift from a wine-loving friend, who some months ago quietly and
unexpectedly sent us a treasured bottle of 1982 Chateau Margaux. The
occasion: Well, Christmas dinner. That, and a sense that this
wonderful bottle would be wasted if I tried to keep it indefinitely
in a less-than-ideal cellar.
It was a memorable wine-enthusiast experience, enough so that I
hoped you would enjoy hearing about it today, as a brief exception
to my usual rule of reporting on affordable, currently available
wines. Let's consider it a chapter in our mutual wine-education
book, answering the question, "What happens to a great wine when
it's properly matured under excellent wine-cellar conditions?"
The ritual of opening an older wine begins a few days before
opening, as you carefully retrieve the bottle from its horizontal
storage in the cellar or wine rack and turn it upright, allowing any
loose sediment a short time to settle to the bottom of the bottle.
Actually, close examination against the light revealed that there
was surprisingly little sediment in this bottle, which prompted a
decision not to "decant" the wine (pour it carefully into a decanter
or pitcher). Decanting may be necessary with older wines to get the
clear liquid away from the murky sediment, but that wasn't the case
here. The other usual reason for decanting - to expose immature
wines to oxygen (or "breathing") to help develop their flavor - is a
bad idea for older wines, as they may already be "fragile" and might
deteriorate quickly after opening.
The next challenge in getting to an older wine is the cork, which
may have become dry and crumbly with age. I was prepared with both a
standard "waiter's corkscrew" with a long screw and an "Ah So" type
two-pronged puller, which can sometimes be useful if a cork breaks
partway out.
Happily, this cork was in good condition. Peeling off the capsule
revealed a relatively clean bottle neck and cork end dusted with a
small amount of reddish-brown powder that was easily removed with a
damp paper towel. The cork seemed just a bit soft at the end but
retained its integrity and came out easily without cracking or
breaking. Typical of top Bordeaux and other wines intended for
cellaring, it was exceptionally long - a full 2 inches - and showed
dark purple wine stains almost (but not quite) all the way to the
end.
A quick sniff brought good news: There was no musty "cork taint"
and none of the telltale Sherrylike scent of an oxided, over-aged
wine; just a quick forecast of the appetizing fruity, earthy, toasty
notes of a well-aged, mature red. No need for further delay: We
poured out generous portions, filling our good-size glasses only
partway to allow plenty of room for swirling and sniffing; clinked,
smiled, and enjoyed.
Very dark in color, almost black, it showed a clear edge with
little sign of the "browning" and "bricking" that betrays an elderly
wine. Some primary blackcurrant fruit aromas remained, giving
further evidence that the wine is still in its prime, although the
"tertiary" aromas of bottle age are taking over as you would expect
21 years after the vintage. Initially, those aromas show as "torrefied"
notes of dark toast, black coffee and tanned leather, playing a
ground bass under the delicious "sweet red fruit" character of aged
Cabernet. A soft burr of tannins remains, although fully resolved
and just on the edge of perception as a textural element.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this wine was the way
that it opened, evolved, and then gradually faded in the glass over
the course of the evening. Initially showing as described above, it
seemed to gain complexity and interest for the first 30 minutes or
so, prompting a sort of game as one of us would identify and call
out another emerging aroma or flavor: Licorice! No, fennel seed!
Thyme! Tarragon! And then a lovely, ethereal scent of dried rose
petals ... no, roses and cloves, like an old-fashioned rose
potpourri.
Then a hint of something like sesame oil appeared, and as the
complex sesame scent gradually segued from there into something more
like peanut butter and the delicate roses and spice gently slid into
fragrant but simple black pepper, we realized that this short,
glorious experience was passing its peak. As we passed the one-hour
mark, the sweet fruit started to fade into tangy acidity, and the
smooth tannins became more evident in an increasingly "chewy"
texture. After 90 minutes, it was still a pleasant drink, but its
glory is gone; and at the two-hour point, all the fruit has fled,
leaving only a roasted husk.
Good times don't last forever, and neither do great wines ... but
what an experience it was.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS:
FOOD MATCH: For the record, we served the wine with a
small, one- bone standing-rib roast (organic, grass-fed beef, no
mad-cow worries here). It was a classic match for Bordeaux, but to
be realistic, a wine of this special nature is best enjoyed all by
itself, taking center stage for an a capella aria with no supporting
players needed.
LET'S BE CRASS: How much is this stuff worth? It's really
not good manners to ask this question about a gift, and I really
didn't want to know before we pulled the cork and disposed of the
bottle's contents in the only appropriate way. But from a wine
enthusiast's standpoint, it's worth noting how "collectible" wines
increase in value over time; so after it was too late to call the
bottle back and hustle it off to auction, I clicked to Wine-Searcher.com
and found ... gasp! ... that a bottle of 1982 Chateau Margaux in
good condition today is likely to command a retail price in the
range of $450 to $700. Not bad for a wine that cost about $50 on its
release in 1984 (the equivalent of about $80 in 2002 dollars).
That being said, I don't particularly recommend treating wine as
a commodity for investment. Fine wine is a volatile market, and the
product is fragile; a summer power failure - or a shift in the
market's tastes - can wipe out the value of your portfolio in a
hurry. If you want to collect, I suggest treating it strictly as an
investment in enjoyment, and buy it to drink, not to sell.
Still, if you want to compare retail and auction prices, and - if
you're feeling very flush - find vendors for 1982 Chateau Margaux,
try
this link at Wine-Searcher.com. (Note that this link also brings
up some "lesser" wines of Margaux. You'll have to page down until
you reach the "real thing," Chateau Margaux, around the $250 level.)
WEB LINK: The Chateau Margaux Website, which uses Flash and is
best viewed with a high-speed connection, describes the winery and
its history in both French and English.
http://www.chateau-margaux.com |
