Golden Rules

Golden Rules:
1. Make sure you don't leave a white wine too long in the cellar
2. When you buy from Ebay...make sure you WANT the wine and you are not paying MORE than it is worth.

Rule one is when you drink a white...then decide to leave it to mature...you sometimes forget the 'colour'..and a few years later you have some Retsina!
Luckily...the first bottle of the Chablis was 30 months ago...and I said to leave it for 6 months. Time flies...and the other 5 bottles have been lying in wait since then....
I was off to our little Bistro with friend Volker and wanted a 'different' white than the usual Riesling or Grüner Veltliner. The initial bottle had shown some fine points...and so out it came...and was opened a few hours in advance. No chance of decanting it...it was a very hot evening....and we sat outside at the Bistro...I was happy it kept it's cool temperature.
Domaine des Malandes
Chablis 1er Cru Vau de Vey 2005
Burgundy, France
Some wines are just best left to the French. I doubt anywhere else in the world produces this balance...delicate Chardonnay...laid-back nose...but with interest all the time...dry but never austere...some white peach...acidity just enough to matter...all-in-all...very good balance. A creamy steeliness...are you getting the gist? Drinking very well now...and I won't tempt fate with the other 4...maybe one a year..
Points 17.5



Point two...and I do try to keep to it. Someone...a crazy man...a desperate person...a Cabernet Sauvignon freak?....had offered two bottles on Ebay of one of my favourite properties...certainly in the U.S. of A. I bought them both with postage for € 70,--. Yes..that's € 35,-- a bottle. Depending on your limits for wine...it is not cheap maybe...but this sells for € 50-60 nowadays..if still available! So I WANTED it...and I got it for a GOOD price. How was it?....mind-boggling good!
Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir
Isabelle Morgan 2004
California, U.S.A.
Opened 3 hours in advance...and we had put it in the Bistro fridge...so it arrived at the table just a little cool. Hot Pinot is not recommended! The nose was...yummy...the taste was yummy..the bottle is a LARGE yummy...weighs more than twice normal ones. The question arose...could Jim Clendenen save money by using a cheaper version. No matter...it was not really important when you held the glass in your hand. A spicy, even Cassis nose...dark smoke...some tobacco. As far away from some styles as you can imagine. A real man's Pinot here...so I am sticking around....the palate threw up some vanilla and a rounded earthiness...just a touch of sweetness...but the depth of flavour was just jaw-dropping.
This is just about getting to it's high point...but no hurry. I doubt I can resist too long with the second bottle...and as I have the 2005 vintage as well...maybe side-by-side in a couple of years.
Points 18.25