THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9412020802
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Humble Steward
SOURCE: Jim Raper
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
A PREDICTION: The wine fanciers of the early 21st century will fight among themselves for seats on the Time-Travel Express, destination 1994.
The lucky travelers who get seats will take along some old-fashioned paper money. They will leave behind their bank transactors - sophisticated computers, as small as a credit card but more powerful than the average laptop of today.
They will take their fold-up shopping carts, which, thanks to a gravity delimiter, will float on air with fingertip control, even when loaded with a dozen cases of wine.
And they will have their vintage charts, projected on tiny screens inside their sun visors, which will show that 1994 was one heck of a good time to buy fine wines.
OK, so maybe you take exception to my science fiction. Even if you believe time travel is coming, you may doubt that our descendants would visit 1994 to buy wine.
It's true that prices of collectible wines today are high. And the marketplace is flooded with fancy-dandy wines, to the point that great wines do not stand apart from the crowd the way they used to. Consumers are bored, if not confused.
But the marketplace chaos has been caused, at least partly, by a remarkable run of outstanding vintages for the world's best wines. So, in a way, the chaos is good.
It is especially good to value-conscious wine buyers who can stand back from it and identify the generous number of collectible wines that are widely available from retailers in the fall of 1994.
A lot of wine drinkers kick themselves these days for not buying the noble red wines of 1961, or perhaps 1978, when these vintages were on shop shelves. (Some Bordeaux classified growths from 1961 were available on release at $10, and now cost an unaffordable $300.)
Barring the time travel described above, I bet some people will be kicking themselves in 2010 because they did not buy the great reds from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
For instance, I can imagine that in 2020 we will be talking in reverential tones about some of the great 1990 Bordeaux and Burgundies that cost less than $50 when released.
Also, consider the inevitable desirability in 2020 of fabulous wines from the ``last century.'' Most of us had best grab them now; they could be much too expensive later.
With Christmas coming, and gift-giving on our minds, may I suggest that the wine lovers on your list would prefer a bottle of Chateau Pichon-Lalande 1990 to another Hermes tie or Le Creuset pot.
Here are some great wines from great vintages:
Bordeaux reds - The 1989 and 1990 vintages are outstanding. The 1988s are very good, as well, but the 1987s and 1991s, though cheaper, are mediocre. If the wine is to be saved for a decade or more, buy a classified growth. However, you need not pick a marquee label at $150 a bottle. In the vicinity of $50 you can find Pichon-Lalande, Lynch-Bages, Leoville-Las Cases, Clerc-Milon, Cos d'Estournel, Leoville-Barton, Montrose and Talbot.
Note: Your wine merchant also may be able to obtain for you the fine Bordeaux of the excellent 1982, 1985 and 1986 vintages.
Burgundy reds - The clear choice here is the 1990 vintage. There are, however, fine ones to be found among the 1988s, 1989s and even the controversial 1987s and 1991s. Great Burgundies are rarer and more expensive than great Bordeaux, but your wine merchant can help you find bottles for $50 or so from dependable producers and shippers. I have faith in the producers Drouhin, Faiveley and Mongeard-Mugneret.
Note: The 1985 vintage is outstanding but hard to find. I buy the 1984s and 1986s only at deep discounts and for immediate drinking.
California cabernets - Here it is more important to know producers than to know vintages. From 1984 on, northern California has celebrated one promising vintage after another. The 1988 and 1989 vintages are generally considered to be good, and the others better. But the top-drawer wines of Opus One, Caymus and Robert Mondavi (reserve) have been of high quality each year back to 1984. The recently released Opus One 1991 Napa Valley is one of the best California cabernets I have tasted. The Caymus 1991 Napa Valley is terrific, too. I have not tasted the Caymus 1990 Napa Valley Special Selection, but others in the wine media are flipping over it.
Note: The latest vintages of Opus One and Caymus Special Selection are going to cost $70 a bottle and the Mondavi Napa Valley Reserve about $50. On the other hand, the regular Caymus will be $25. Your wine merchant can recommend other solid California cabernets in the $20 to $30 range.
Barolos and Barbarescos - Just a few words about these lesser-known northern Italian reds, both of which are made from the nebbiolo grape: They are ageworthy and deserve more attention than they get in Hampton Roads. The 1988, 1989 and 1990 vintages are especially good. Avoid those from 1991 and 1992.
Note: Do not scrimp if you want the exemplary bottles; expect to spend at least $20 for Barbarescos and $30 for Barolos.
Brunello di Montalcino and other great reds from the Tuscany region of Italy are best from 1988, and, again, the finer ones are $30 or more.
Vintage port - Port producers declare vintages only for years when growing conditions were excellent. The ageworthy ports to look for now are from the 1985 and 1991 vintages. Fine examples can be had for $35, which makes them good values for collectors.
Rhone reds - The better wines of Hermitage and Cote-Rotie are big, long-lasting and expensive - often $40 and up. But the 1989s and 1990s could become legendary. Somewhat cheaper but also rich and ageworthy in the 1989 and 1990 vintages are the Chateauneuf du Papes.
White wines - Cellaring the great chardonnays of California and white Burgundies of France will (1) bankrupt you, (2) frustrate you, or (3) both. Buy good chardonnay, enjoy it, but do not depend on it being in top form longer than five years after release. In fact, the great majority of chardonnays should be drunk within a couple of years of release.
If you want to lay down white wines look to the better Champagnes (1985, 1986, 1989), Sauternes (1988, 1989), and the select rieslings of Germany (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992). The better examples of these wines cost $30 and up.
Bargain basement - Buy a vineyard-designated Ridge Zinfandel from 1990, 1991 or 1992 ($18 or so) and lay it down beside your much more expensive cabernets. Taste it in 10 years against your old cabs. If the zin does not hold its own you can look me up and zap me with your laser.
The other night I drank a Mayacamas 1982 Zinfandel Napa Valley with a dinner of smoked chicken breasts, risotto and morels. What a thrill from a $15 wine. It was smooth and blackberry rich, with a hint of tar. Perfect. As good as any 1982 California cabernet I have tasted.
And a decade ago when the Mayacamas zin was released, who would have predicted clear Pepsi, dual air bags, or. . . MEMO: The Humble Steward is a regular feature of Sunday Flavor. Send questions
or comments to: The Humble Steward, Sunday Flavor, The Virginian-Pilot
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