Cleaning out the wine cellar

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BY SUSANNE JOHNSTON
special to the daily
March 25, 2008

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During the past eight months, I have had an opportunity to review, reorganize and re-evaluate my cellar. Collecting wine can be a daunting task. Just getting started is the most difficult part actually because unless you have very deep pockets and a nice four or five figure budget to start with you are usually looking at those eight to twelve bottles just lying there crying to be drunk.

The reason you have them is because you know how good they are. You enjoyed them in a restaurant or at friends and decided that this is one you'd like to stash away for future pleasure. But you know how good it is ... see the problem? My answer to this dilemma is, buy three. You know how good it is now and if you just can't wait, well, there are two more.

Then in a year or two open another; if it is perfect, well, you still have one more to drink within a short period of time. But if you notice the wine is evolving and since you'll be two years wiser in wine know how, you might decide that the tannins are becoming more integrated and the bottles will be even better in another two years, lucky you, you still have one!

Well, I have tried to follow this basic logic in my personal collection. One of my biggest problems is that my drinking preferences have changed over the past 12 years of collecting. I have a very unbalanced amount of Napa Cabernet; must have something to do with living there for as long as I did. But I drink more Pinot Noir. I also find I have a considerable amount of Syrah from California and a great deal of North Rhone Syrah.

I drink much more white wine than I do red, really. And I prefer French white wine to California's. So my collection of white wines are Premier Cru Chablis, Montrachet, Mersault, Sancerre, some fancy new stuff from Didier Dagueneau out of the Loire Valley and some surprising Chenin Blancs from South Africa. I do have a couple of my favorite Chardonnay producers from California stashed in there as well. I am proud of my collection and am always looking for opportunities to share some of these great finds with friends that appreciate them, (you know who you are.)

One of the most important things to collecting wine is keeping the wines cool, dark and un-ruffled. Well, with all the water issues I have had in the past eight months, both here at my store and at my home, my cellar has not been unruffled. I have noticed numerous bottles that have started to leek. This can be due to heat changes, unstable movement, dry corks (not in this case) or cheap quality (again, not in this case). The bottles, since I have discovered them quickly, are not bad, but they are compromised and probably will not age as well as they would have without a leaky cork. So, we are drinking them!

So, if you have any of the following wines in your cellar, here is an update. Ojai Bien Nacido 1997 Syrah was ready to drink. The tannins were soft and well integrated, the huge alcohol of the vintage was muted and soft, there was plenty of dried fruit, black plum, chocolate and meat fat.

The color was going around the edge and I was glad I opened it when I did; it wasn't going to get any better in my mind. Paul Hobbs Carneros Cabernet 1997 was delightful. Still youthful this wine showed black berry fruits, sweet pasilla pepper, leather, and soft integrated tannins. This wine could go another three years, I am glad I have another one.

Outpost 1999 Zinfandel was a real shocker! What a great bottle of wine! It was at its peak I am convinced; at least I am telling myself that since we drank both bottles I had. Page Cellars 2000 Proprietary Red is made from Carneros fruit and was soft, luxurious, and elegant. The red fruits were promenade, the oak subtle and the alcohol well integrated. The wine was drinking very well and would last another year or two we think.

Vinoce's 2000 is a similar blend or Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet, however the fruit is from the higher altitude of Mount Veeder and was very young in comparison. Some of my Pinots were a bit of a disappointment. 2000 Cohn Vineyard from Kosta Browne did not hold up nearly as well as Ken Wright's 2000 from Willamette Valley - it is an acidity thing. The best thing I opened was the 1998 Château La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape. What a beautiful wine with plenty of wild black fruit, duck fat, truffles, lavender, earth, dried rose pedal, and still youthful. I am very happy I still have another one of these bottles.

So, collecting wine is a great deal of work, the storing, the drinking, and the memories. But it is so much fun to open something you have saved and share it with someone who gets as much of a kick out of this silly hobby as you do. I still have more leaking corks, so stay tuned.



Susanne Johnston owns Frisco Wine Merchant and can be reached at (970) 668-3153 or friscowine@mac.com.