Wise wine purchases?

Be careful about out of the way wine stores with amazing selection...

What was the temperature in this store? Was it room temperature? Were these bottles stored at 60 or below?

The 1994 and 1996 wines could be good, but if they have been sitting in a regular storefront at 70+ degrees since release, they will be heat damaged by now.

Unless these bottles were very well stored from release (unlikely unfortunately), I would humbly suggest you return them to the "nice lady" and insist on a full refund.

One thing is for sure, if she sold you 1981 Pibran as a good beginner wine, regardless of how it was stored, she is either incredibly stupid or a scam artist. Whatever the case may be, I would suggest you not trust this individual in the future with any of your money.

Sorry to sound harsh. I am just trying to save you from the mistake we all make in the beginning lol. But consider yourself lucky. My first purchases of heat damaged and off vintage Bordeaux (back in 1995 when I was a beginner) from ignorant or unscrupulous wine sellers set me back over $500. I got my money back, but it was not a pretty process :)

Tom.

I got the buy of a lifetime in Jackson Mississippi when traveling there in business.

The ABC in the state had done futures on 1989 Bordeaux. However the Casino Restaurants did not get that kind of sophisticated gamblers and the state could not unload. So they limited the allocation on single malt scotch and force the independant wine shops to cut a deal to get rid of the wine inventory.

I walked into a small but active store in Jackson Miss. Mix or Match 1989 Margaux, Latour, Mouton, and Haut Brion. $79.00 bottle. The manager offered me 15% off that if I took a case assorted. I took 3 cases but before we completed the deal he had to remove some capsules...and open one bottle of my choosing to try. He did...

Not to forget Margaux, prossibly the wine of the vintage.

M. (who still has his 2 bottles sitting in the cellar, from a split case, his very first future purchase.)

Yep, I'd chime in about '81: far from dismal. But under-rated, and hence under-priced. I don't have any wines left from this year, but I remember the Las Cases fondly... After the hype of RP82, I long sought out '81s...

-E

Well, thanks for the feedback on the wine. To address some questions:

No, I don't know the storage history of the wine - this particular wine shop did have a seperate building for their wine - no windows and it was temperature controlled. That being said, '81 was a long time ago and I have no way of knowing if it was stored properly all along the way. I think this is something we just have to trust the wine merchant on?

This does raise a question for me, though. If wine is so sensitive to temperature, how do they import it? I've been in lots of warehouses and everyone of them was pretty hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I imagine the same is true of a ship's hold. So, how do they get wine from there to here without cooking it? or freezing it?

As far as the '81 being a bad year, I'm not an expert and I certainly won't debate it, but the few vintage charts I looked at showed '81 as a slightly above average year - 3/5 stars or 7/10, depending on where you look. I think for $20, I'm willing to risk a go at it. Besides, if I get burned on a $20 bottle of wine, it sure beats being burned on a $200 bottle, doesn't it? I think I should drink a few bad vintages, just to educate my palate, no?

OK, next topic - I had a bottle of Andre Lurton Ch Bonnet 2000 this past weekend and I loved it. Tell me how much it will improve with age? And what exactly does aging do to wine and why do you age them? To the novice (me) it was delicious as is.

And thanks for the comments - I'm really liking my new hobby!

And don't for get Haut Brion - a favorite of mine (although I can't really afford it) that is usually solid even in iffy vintages. That was my favorite of the 1981s - just above Lafite.

Tom S

Ok guys- point taken. 1981 was not so bad. But 1981 La Mission is on the edge and Margaux, while very fine, is not developing further.

My point was that this wine in this vintage at this age is almost certainly to be well past its best and not much good.

Is anyone willing to state that selling a wine newbie a 1981 Pibran is either a good or wise thing? I do not think it is.

And sorry to seem to negative on this- I am merely trying to help someone avoid a common mistake- trusting that the wine trade is full of people who know what they are doing :)

Tom.

No problem, Tom. Your advice *is* good, it was simply the remark of 1981 being a bad vintage in general we were jumping at.

M.

Exactly. I agree an '81 Cru Bourgeois is a bad choice for a newbie. As I said, I might buy one out of curiosity. But with full realization that it was more likely than not WAY over the hill. But I'll occasionally take a chance , just in the interest of science/education. And sometimes wines that have no right to be alive are still interesting (375 of '70 Angelus, anyone? '81 Faiveley Charmes? ).

Dale

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