Sun 16 Mar 2008
I was going to make this year’s wine-drinking mantra “All Classified Growths @ Others’ Expense,” but then Dr. Debs at goodwineunder20, in a response to a recent post of mine on this blog, utter words of such wisdom that I have to pass them along, rather then leave them buried in the comments file:
“I would love to have a drinking plan that included only wines that were enough — not more, not new, not improved, not pumped up. Just exactly right.”
All right, so top Bordeaux and Burgundy weren’t really going to be my game-plan for 2008 — how about ’09? — but the Good Doctor’s simple eloquence should have benign influence on all of us wine writers and consumers. By “just exactly right,” I venture to say that Doc means wines that reflect the grapes from which they are made; wines that reflect, as much as possible, the place where they are made; and wines that embody honesty, integrity and authenticity rather than ego, ambition and manipulation. Now, truly, what more could we ask for? Well, yes, fair prices.
You’re great, Doc. I’m covering your back.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
But I just got a wonderful 2005 Vosne-Romanee (village, not a growth) for a great price (I think in US dollars it was something in the neighborhood of $25) and it very much reflects the terroir. There are still great wines to be had in Burgundy, the Rhone, the Loire, etc. with a sense of place; super-saturation has taken hold more in Bordeaux where the concentration has always been on a regional style and catering to the market. As a US example, down the road from me in Rutherford 75% of the wines taste like prunes and a kick in the nuts, but some of the wines made by the vintners under their own labels are splendid and much cheaper.
Don’t give up. There are rumblings in the underground about all of this. Sooner or later it’ll snowball just like the oak-effect did some years ago. The tides will turn.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I sure hope Kimberly is right about the rumblings–and I certainly keep gamely drinking on.
Thanks, Fred. I feel safer with you minding my back, but I think I’ll still sit with my back to the wall when I eat out in Napa.