21yr old wine

"Joshua B Raridan" wrote in news:VH11d.18739$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr27.news.prodigy.com:

Wait a few years and lay down a case of wine from their birth year instead of a case of wine bought in their birth year that was made a few years before. You do not say where you are or what your conditions are. Under normal conditions wine will not last long. If you have a friend with a proper wine cellar you could use that. I your house is stable in temperature and other things, you might be able to store it. If you think you will brush off a case of wine kept in a hot attic for 21 years and it will be wonderful, think again.

Fred.

You could try a specialist wine-cellaring place. They seem to be a booming industry.

If you are going to spend big $$$, then they will look after it for you at ideal temp and humidity, and you can arrange insurance. No mess, no fuss, and no outlay for setting up a cellar.

I'm not sure how expensive professional cellarists are, but I've often wondered.

I would say the outlay for a case of wine that will last 21 years will be expensive.

You didn't say what price range you were looking at.

We can hardly answer without more information. Are you in Poland, Paraguay or somewhere else? Can you afford 5 lire per bottle or five hundred pounds? I could recommend a fair range of Australian wines, mostly in the $A30-100 range. In any case, vintage port will probably still be youthful in 21 years even if poorly cellared.

Kieran

It's to early to know. The 2004 wines, for the most part, won't be released for about two more years. Wait and see-if it's a good year for Vintage Port that's the safe bet.

"Joshua B Raridan" asked of the group........

Joshua, yes, there are wines which will not only last for 21 years, they will age and develop beautifully.

That's the good news - the bad news is that once one accepts that 99.9% of all wine is *not* produced with aging in mind, then finding suitable depends on many factors.

I deduce that you are located somewhere on the east coast of the US - which means you *should* have a reasonable selection available - depending as to whether you have a good source of quality wines close to you.

As a generalisation, most ageworthy wines are also expensive - but in saying that, not all expensive wines are ageworthy!

I also assume that your child will be born this year - which means that, as far as northern hemisphere producers are concerned, many grapes are still on the vines - thus, the quality of the vintage is an unknown factor.

Poor vintage = poor aging potential.

Luckily, time *is* on your side: 2004 vintage wines will not reach your local stores for a year or three yet - so you have plenty of time to research.

So, what do you look for - I am sorry but this is something akin to "How long is a piece of string?"

Classified growth Bordeaux from a good year, including top quality Sauternes First Rate Burgundy (warning - Burgundy is a minefield!) Any of the renowned Rhone Reds from a better year Quality German or Alsatian Riesling from a good vintage Vintage Port; top quality Tokaji One of the top Australian Shiraz (Grange; Hill of Grace) Loire Chenin Blanc can age forever as can good Madeira. I have partaken of Vintage Champagne aged 30 & 40 years.

I have read reports here on a.f.w. of Californian wines which have stood the test of time - your local outlet may recommend ageworthy Cal Cabs worth considering.

But, storage is the key - any wine *must* be kept at a constant 55DegrF temperature to stand any chance of being drinkable in 2025.

Good luck

You need to wait and see what the quality of 2004 Bordeaux is like. A case will not be cheap though and you would need to some research and buy an old fashioned style, not a Parkerised wine. Depending on the area some Aussie wines will go the distance eg Birks for example. However it depends where you are as I would imagine Birks is a little hard to get hold of in the States. If 2004 is a declared Port vintage, some VPs would be worth a shot. (The

Ron Lel

Mat wrote in news:4144fe45 snipped-for-privacy@news.iprimus.com.au:

I stored wine in a $1/case/month place with a 12 case minimum ($144/year*21+inflation). This was years ago and I got a letter before I removed my wine that they were raising their price to $1.10/case/month. I get the impression that you are not so much into wine that that would be worthwhile. Your best bet is to get a friend with refrigerated storage to keep it for you. Hell, if you are close to me (Las Vegas) I will keep it for you in my cellar. A wine in most circumstances is not going to last 21 years. There are many wines that will, but they have to be stored properly.

Fred.

I still think that is reasonably cheap for peace of mind. Especially if they have an insurance policy. The price is probably a lot more now as ppl are cashing in on the wine boom.

It is not so much that I'm not into wine, more I am studying, so have neither the time nor the money to indulge much apart from lovely domestic quaffers, which thankfully we have a lot of here.

It is part of the fun tracking down bargains etc. Comparing prices, vintages etc etc.

I was considering a wine fridge, but the cheaper ones do not have humidity control, only temp. I just have to contend with putting my collection in the coolest darkest part of the house, as we have hot summers here.

Thanks for the wine storage offer, much appreciated, but I am in Australia, so it might make it a little difficult. :-)

I won't be storing 21 year old for some time yet, so it is something that currently I do not have to worry about.

Mat wrote in news:41467167 snipped-for-privacy@news.iprimus.com.au:

The price did not include insurance. The price is as of 2001. If you go for a minimum storage area, you still have plenty of room for other wines. I like mature Bordeaux. If you have room you can drink wine you bought a long time ago that is hard to find or extremely expensive now. I like drinking a wine that is $125 in a catalog that I paid $23 for upon release.

Fred.