Third Time’s Another (Wine) Charm
With tonight being Open That Bottle Night, I think it’s as good a time as any to say how our To Age or Not To Age wine seminar went. Smashingly, thank you for asking. I have to say, I was a little worried about this one going into it. What if people wanted definitive answers? What if the information was too dry?
Not to worry….everyone had a grand time and said they learned a lot. Not only did we present a variety of suggestions for how to decide if aged wine is your style, we gave the class a run-down on how to cellar wine, what to avoid, and some quick-fix ideas.
The wines we tasted provided some fun comparisons. First we did a day-long tasting of the 2004 Holbrook Mitchell Trio, which is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Being a Bordeaux-style blend of high quality makes it a good candidate to lay down for several years. So I opened a couple bottles at 6:30 PM the prior day, had two opened at 6:30 that morning and then opened two after class began, close to 6:30. Therefore, the class could taste at 0 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours open. I explained that if they like the way a wine evolves after 12 or 24 hours, then they will probably like the way it ages.
We also pulled some wines from the library. First up was a vertical of the Richard Sauret Zinfandel from Paso Robles. We tried the 2005, 2004, and 2003 (which was #30 on the Wine Specatator Top 100). Everyone really enjoyed that one! We also tasted the 2003 Lyons Reserve Zinfandel, which ages amazingly well, and the 2003 Pickett Road Petite Sirah, which still had tannins marching along, though at a softer pace than the current vintage.
And everyone went home with a Vacu Vin to continue experimenting on their own.
Check out the class schedule to join in on this fun and informative journey.
Open That Bottle Night, To Age or Not To Age, wine seminar, 2004 Holbrook Mitchell Trio
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