Experiences with sharing birth-year wines upon maturity

I’m always amused with the obsession with us wine geeks buying and cellaring birth year wines for our children. Personally, I think it is silly to drag toddlers into our crazy obsession. In most, if not all, cases, I think it’s a thinly-veiled justification for buying expensive bottles for ourselves. Do we really expect our 21-year old sons/daughters to appreciate a first-growth Bordeaux?

In any case, I’m interested to hear about people’s experiences opening these bottles with their children as they reached drinking age. Please share so that I can try and put this issue into some kind of perspective.

No children, but nephews born in 1977 and 1981. I bought a bunch of Port for the former and a wide selection for the latter (Krug, Beaucastel, Lafite, other 1981 Bordeaux). I think they enjoy the birth-years wines almost as much as I do. While I’m out of wines from 1981, I just took out a 1977 Gould Campbell for the former’s birthday next week, and have over a case of ports from 1977 left (including two magnums of Taylor).

I recommend buying wines that will last a long time and making yourself wait to share them with the children. Make sure you include Riesling (Spatlesen and Auslesen in my case), as it’s a great way to start. Unfortunately, I did not. The younger nephew got married in 2016, and I’m collecting wines from that year for future celebrations.

David

I’m one of those silly people who have been, and will continue to load up on birth year wine for my two kids. They’re 7 and 5 so obviously a ways to go before they’re popping corks…but my thoughts are that even if my children don’t enjoy wine, it will still be really fun to open the bottles on special occasions related to them with the friends/family in our lives who do love wine (or at least like it enough to appreciate the sentiment behind the jesture). I look forward to raising a glass to my kids while we reflect on the amazing experiences that occurred the year they were born and the ones that followed which lead up to the day that we opened the bottle together.

…and it gives me another excuse to buy expensive wines.

My daughter was born in 2015… and that great vintage now accounts for 31% of my holdings, followed by my wedding year at 14%. It covers everything from BDX and Sauternes, to GKA Riesling mags, to Huet Cuvee Constance and other yummy Loire Chenin, to N. Rhone and CdP, to Burgundy. I’m not buying the very top (1st Growths and Grand Cru Burg), but high quality wines that will have long lives. Lots of large formats too including a few 3L. I was really tempted on a mag of d’Yquem but managed to pull myself back from the brink and ‘only’ buy 375 and 750mL formats.

I’m going to be drinking well the rest of my life, and there are definitely more than a few bottles that will outlive me. Based on our lifestyle and lots of winemaker friends, I am not too concerned about her not liking wine. She probably has more exposure to different food and drink than many adults, and she’s isn’t even 3 yet.

And so far I’ve only seen a single 2015 Champagne bottling (Cedric Bouchard), so my $$$ will be further consumed once the 2015s start coming out. I’m already hurting in the wallet with all the 08’s Champagnes getting released in conjunction with the 15’s I’ve been buying. The last 2 years there has been no reason to maintain a wine budget, as I just destroy it consistently.

I was born in 77 myself, so the birthyear wines I still have are all Port. My wife was 78 so we’re about to start breaking into that stash, which was a much better vintage than mine. Our good friend just celebrated a birthday this week (1983) so we opened a 83 Eyrie Pinot Gris last night, and tonight we’ll do 83 Bollinger Rose and Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne. It’s fun to drink birthyear wines, and think about everything that has happened since that juice went into the bottle. A real pleasure in life that’s worth the investment.

I have no intention on buying wine for my daighter’s Birth year for her. I’m gonna buy 2016 cause it’s gonna be a really good vintage in the areas I like but I highly highly doubt any 21 yr old is going to be looking to smash some n. Rhone and burgundy once they hit 21 or even later.

I don’t see others doing it as a reason to buy expensive wine. I see it more as being hopeful that their children will join their passion for wine.

c fu wrote:
I don’t see others doing it as a reason to buy expensive wine. I see it more as being hopeful that their children will join their passion for wine.

I agree with this. We bought some Vintage Ports and California Cabs to celebrate our children’s birth years, which are 1994 and 1997. We had a 1994 Montelena Estate Cab with our son after he turned 21, and he loved it, and has developed an enjoyment of wine. He is not a wine geek by any means, but he will enjoy wine with us on occasion. We will see with our daughter when she turns 21.

Thanks,
Ed

My parents were good about having and cellaring wines from our birth years. As a 1978, I was the lone of three with anything like a decent Bordeaux year. My parents would always drink a 1978 on my birthday, with the prize being a 1978 Lafite that my dad found, totally randomly, at a shop in St. Louis that had the price mislabeled as $3.95. He questioned if this was the right price; they insisted it was. We drank it on my 20th birthday, and it was great fun. I didn’t appreciate it on the same level I would now, but it always meant a lot to me when we’d have those 1978s on my birthday. So, as Charlie pointed it, it was a great way for me to join the passion.

Now? I’m doing it for my daughters. And I just scored a lot of 1943 Barsac for my mom for her 75th this year. I don’t use it as an excuse. It’s just a great, fun way to celebrate. To appreciate our age. To make the celebration a bit more enjoyable. I really like it.

My sons were born in 2004 and 2007. I have 10+ cases of wine from each vintage, all I consider to be ageworthy. My intention was not just to share these with them on their 21st birthdays but hopefully to share the wines with them the rest of my life. My plan has always been to give them all of their birth year wine when they hit 30, whether or not they become interested, to do with as they please. In other words I bought it for them. If wine becomes their hobby too, great. If they choose to sell, that’s fine too.

my 2 children are now experienced drinkers from 1986 and 1989 birth years. It is fun to open the birth year bottles with them for birthdays and other celebratory occasions.

Jayson- I don’t nearly have that many put away

My kids were born in 88 and 90. It has been great fun opening up bottles with them from their birth years, in fact we have gone through most of what I bought - need to do some back filling.

Love hearing those stories. Nice to validate that the large number of birth year wines that I’m buying, and will continue to buy, could very well end up being enjoyed exactly how I envision it.

Keep em coming!!

We do not have kids but have bought some wines to put back from our three nieces and one nephew (2004, 2007, & 2012x2). If they enjoy it, then great. If they do not, then oh well. If they do not drink at all when they are in their mid 20’s, my wife and I will enjoy it. We only have about six bottles per kid, so nothing crazy.

Great thread, P!

I will be reading with great interest as the old fa… I mean venerable, we’ll-aged posters weigh in.

well aged wines and posters, I will disregard the attempted insult

I immensely enjoy birthyear wines, but hopefully few will actually make it into my kids hands. They are more for the journey than the handoff, like my estate upon the death of my wife and me. 1989 and 1991 were great years and many have been consummed along the way for anniversaries, birthdays, etc. I sold my 1989 bordeaux at the request of my older son to help pay for law school. I told him I should have invested in Apple or Amazon stock, but it didn’t do too badly for investment return. If they open a corked 1989 Petrus after my death will it remind them of all the stupid things I did? Maybe. Life. So enjoy the ride. Buy a case of a few and see how it changes over time just like we all do. I even like to get birthyear wines for dear friends for future celebrations. Nothing too expensive, just thoughtful stuff you like, and will do okay for a couple of decades. Mike

Maybe the most defining moment in wine for me was consuming a bottle of 1957 Bonnes Mares in 1996 with a friend whose family keeps a generational cellar. They buy some producers every year, and have done so for many, many years.
I was born in 1968, but my friend was a 1957 birth and he had several bottles still to work through then.

It was a superlative experience, and has influenced what I buy, when I drink bottles, and how I think about wine. The wines I currently make, and hope to make, under the Goodfellow label are distinctly shaped by that bottle. All courtesy of a man I never met.

Thanks for weighing in everyone. Keep 'em coming. I’d especially like to read some specific reactions of the adult children when the wines were tasted.

When my son was born in 1994, I took a couple of weeks of paternity leave. I was working at Wine Enthusiat at the time, and after a week or so, I got a call from my boss telling me that Philippine Rothschild was in town, and as the resident Bordeaux guy, could I come for the lunch.
I sat next to her, and she said that she had heard that I had just become a father. “What was the child’s name?”I said “Philip” and she got very excited. “my father was Philippe, my son is Phillippe, my mother is Philippine and of course so am I.”

She turned to one of her guys and said, “make sure the child has a case of 1994 Mouton” we are still waiting, but I bought my son 6 bottles as well as a few other 1994s. So far he likes the Ports, quite likes the Mouton and is getting a taste for Champagne.

Overall it is fun to choose a few bottles and so long as it not taken too seriously, a nice bond between parent and child.

Unfortunately, I am all out of the '74 and '78 vintages! However, I can say with certainty the kids thoroughly enjoyed all the Bordeaux, Barolo and California cabs that we drank together. I only wish I had more and still look for some to backfill. They are both experienced drinkers and probably both have better palates than I do. .


Cheers!
Marshall

Our kid was 2015 so I’ve got some tasty options for birth year wine!! Still figuring out which Riesling, Burg and Bordeaux to lay down with the express intention of waiting. Would like to do at least one full case of one of them, and start opening on her 10th birthday, then one per year until she’s 21 to see the progression. Leaning a nice JJ Prum Auslese for that plan.

Also luckily have good birth (78) and wedding (2010) years as well.