What’s old is new again?

Extracting the cork from an old bottle of wine can be challenging and the usual corkscrew often will be too harsh for what will be a soft, moist closure that is prone to disintegration. With that in mind, I had the Ah So ready to use when opening the 1961 Giacomo Borgogno Barolo. When I [...]

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A gamble on age

I tasted three 1970 Gaja Barbarescos the other evening. Though this fact may impress some wine aficionados, I’m not bragging. Old wines have a stigma – and price tag – insinuating that they are something great. The rarity and cost will preclude many from ever getting to sample such wines. That’s not always a bad [...]

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Is it time yet?

A friend recounted a failed-dinner party experience of his, when he selected a 1999 Giacomo Conterno Barolo to serve to his guests. He was excited to try the wine, and opened and decanted it about two hours before his guests arrived. When he tasted it, the wine was way too tight and the tannins far [...]

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The benefits of bottle time

At a dinner on Saturday night, someone brought a 1995 Chateau Montrose. The Bordeaux was full bodied, with delicious rich black fruits and some vanilla and licorice notes. The tannins were velvety. Robert Parker had scored it a 93 points, if points matter. Even after 15 years in the bottle, which softened the wine, it [...]

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Fabulous at 53

The opportunity to taste a 53-year aged wine is about as rare for me as acquiring such a bottle. Until this past Saturday night, I’d tasted a few vintage Champagnes from the 1990s and a couple of Burgundies also from the decade that proved to be lackluster. However, while serving a party in the Vintage Room at work on Saturday night, [...]

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