by OW Holmes » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:52 pm
Prompted by Ronica's question - one of many good ones - about the number of wines we winos keep in our cellar, I took a partial inventory. I discovered a real value to it.
1) I didn't pick up and fondle all bottles, but many. Many brought back wonderful memories. Big memories, small memories. The Lail reminded me of the California Dreamin MoCOOl and the great people I met there. The Clos des Pape reminded me of the porch of the bed-n-breakfast where I met Jim and Rae Lee Lester on our 40th anniversary. More....
2) I found out I don't have some bottles I really thought I still had. Whatever happened to that '96 Cinq Cepages? I know I had two and drank one. And the '94 Pichon Baron. My two year old inventory says I have two left - but they are not here..and the Barbaresco, a 95 Barolo.. And more.
3) In the "Where the hell did that come from" category are two bottles of 2003 Australian Petite Sirah, several low end spanish wines, a bottle of 1987 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon, a couple 2002 J.J.Prum Wehlener Sonenuhr Spatleses, and a 1996 Argiano Brunello.
4) And in the "Oh, yeah, I wondered about that" was a 1998 cheap Cotes du Rhone, Jaboulet Aine Parallele 45, Which is the real point of this post. This should be long gone, one would think. And it is no longer the big fruity thing I think I remember. Now it is elegant, leathery, with restrained red and black fruits and black pepper, not one after the other or layered but all together. Perhaps a bit simple. But perfectly wonderful because it so exceeds expectations. It alone justified the time counting and logging in wines. Next up, the Argiano Brunello.
-OW