Just A Few Old Bottles Lying Around

1985 Chateau Cos d'Estournel
1970 Chateau Beychevelle

At a recent blind tasting a few Midwest wine geeks gathered to celebrate old wines. Damn I wish I had the discipline to put more wine away and the patience to wait 5 to 10 years as they mature. I love big bold fruit forward wines (Hundred Acres, comes to mind) but nothing is more transcendent than a 20 or 30 year-old Bordeaux! The Cos was still strong and could go at least 5 more years. The Beychevelle was on a decline due to poor storage and age, but was still great stuff.

Trapiche Malbec

2004 Trapiche Broquel Malbec ($15) -- Mendoza, Argentina. Soft tannins, full fruit and medium finish. Great wine for a chilly December afternoon. Production notes and website are weak, but I read that 30,000 cases produced and Spectator gave it an 87 rating this year. I think it deserves at least an 88 1/2! Trapiche also makes a lower level line in the $7 range that is passable. This wine is good for the price. Packaging is very rich.

Modern Marvels -- Wine

I was just heading off to bed at midnight after taking in some shows on the History Channel about Dogfights and the latest harvesting machines on Modern Marvels, when the next topic was Wine, so I stuck around. It was a very accurate coverage of wine production which included pieces on Port, Champagne, Bronco Wines, Chateau Montelena, La Tour d'Argent's wine cellar and more. It is available on DVD and is appropriate for newbies and wine veterans.

Here is the teaser:

A glass a day is said to keep the doctor away. A defeated Napoleon drowned his sorrows in it; Thomas Jefferson became obsessed with it. Wine is an integral part of our culture and more wine is consumed today than ever before. Supermarket shelves that once carried only box wine and jugs are now lined with wines from Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Aerial imaging and infrared photography once used by NASA to map the moon is now employed by wineries to analyze soil, vine vigor, and even disease. Paying tribute to wine's unique history we will travel the world over to explore wineries, the worlds' most historic wine cellar and a legendary Paris restaurant.

Factoid: Did you know that the average bottle of Sparkling wine (Champagne) gives off 47 million bubbles when opened? Here is a stab at the math!

New Security System

I have decided to upgrade my shop security system in light of the bulging holiday inventory levels. Motion detectors are fine and good but there's nothing like parking a WWII tank in your parking lot to let potential thieves know that there are easier marks down the street.

The tank is actually getting a little tune up by the mechanics in the back. The owner says it's missing when he hits 50 mph. (It's powered by a Jag motor.) This tank got some press a few years ago when the owner was stopped by police when he went through a Frisch's drivethru. The owner also did a hard 15 when he was convicted for roughing up some vandals in his scrapyard. Two went to the hospital, one went to the morgue.

So don't even think about breaking in here for some aged Bordeaux!

American Wine Society 2006 Double Gold

2004 Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Franc -- Ohio River Valley. The AWS has awarded this wine one of three Double Golds this year in judging more than 1,000 wines. Their other three entries in the competition medalled. Congratulations Nancy and Ron. I have found this wine to be one of my favorites of their wines and it is selling well.