I want to try some older wines

How do I go about finding older wines that have been properly laid down without spending a king’s ransom? I’d like to try some older wines sooner than the 10+ years it would take me to age them myself. And I’m not sure my nearest wine store can be trusted, since they’ve been a miss 2/3 times. I’m willing to drive a bit and probably pay $50-$60. I’m a little over an hour from Tulsa and two hours from okc. Dallas is too far, but shipping might be an option. And I’ve got a wine dot com shipping membership.

Try checking out chambers street wines. They have a great selection of older Italian wines. Some at very reasonable pricing. I’ve had great experience with them

I’d be looking for relatively little-known brands of Cabernet from Napa circa the 1990s.

I don’t have Wine-Searcher Pro, but here are some hits from Free Wine-Searcher, using a just very basic search string of “Napa Reserve”:

1991 Mt Veeder Reserve, $60
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1991

1994 William Hill Reserve, $59.99
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1994

1995 Signorello Founder’s Reserve, $64.99
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1995

1996 Whitehall Lane Reserve, $60
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1996

1998 Raymond Reserve, $55
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1998

1999 Liparita Reserve, 1.5L Magnum, $50
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/napa+reserve/1999

PS: There are approximately infinitely many different search strings you could use, and one of the most important aspects of bargain hunting is figuring out the best search strings for maximizing your probability of finding the good stuff.

PPS: I would be very interested in trying that 1991 Mt Veeder.

Tinah - Chambers is an option, as is Cellaraiders and a few closer to you like in CA.

Just don’t ask them to ship now. Tell them to hold off until fall. And that gives you a lot of time to look around.

A few questions:
What state are you in?
What’s your budget?
How old a wine do you want to try?
What wines do you like now?

All these will help to guide you towards an aged wine that you are more likely to enjoy.

Benchmark Wine is wonderful for older wines, but I’m not sure where they ship.

Easiest thing to do is hunt down bottles aged for you at the winery. Rioja is great for this. 2007 Bosconia is the current release. 2010 Vina Ardanza has all of the character we hope to get from cellar age. Both are around $30 and widely available.

I’m in Oklahoma, budget $50-$60, Old enough to where it’s a good representation of the flavors and characteristics of an aged wine. You know how it’s said “some people don’t like old wine.”? those are the flavors I want to experience.

I think it’s probably easier to list the things I don’t like: I’m not into sweet, and the only California cab sav I ever liked enough to finish the bottle by myself was a newish Silver Oak. Zinfandels are a good bet. New Zealand Sav Blancs are good.

the only pinot noir I’ve had I think I was too young: tannins were very dominating and harsh. letting it sit softened them some and rounded it out, but it took a good 4 or 5 hours to be pleasant.

I haven’t really had any Italian wines.

Part of the problem with drinking enough things to have decided what I like is that availability here is very, very limited. Even if I drive to Tulsa, the wine stores kind of have a limited selection and the staff give recommendations that are well suited to the typical customer: sweet, bubbly alcoholic grape juice. And they sold me a bottle of Cloudy Bay that was way past it’s prime or got hot, pick one. Not saying there’s not a better wine store there, just that I haven’t found it. And Oklahoma city really is a day trip, which is hard to swing with a husband that works full time and 4 young kids.

I know wineries can ship to Oklahoma; not sure about retailers. Have you checked?

Chambers street ships to Oklahoma, and they seem to have a really good selection of biodynamic wines too, so I’ll probably put together a mixed case and have them do a weather hold.

I really like Chambers, but I think with what you’re describing here. Your best bang for your buck is going to be buying through winebid.com. With that in mind, here are a few wines that I believe can give you the “aged” wine experience within your range. There is a gamble with older wine that you may need to allow them to settle and decant them off the sediment to get an enjoyable older wine. I would assume that these may be “worth the risk”.

Winebid.com All prices include the bidding price + 17% of the bid. So a $30 bid costs you $35.40 (plus shipping). I’ve listed wines in this week’s auction and their current bid.

1999 Januik Columbia Valley Merlot ($20)
1993 Rosenblum George Hendry Vineyard Reserve Zinfandel ($25)
2001 Quinta de Baixo Garrafeira ($25) - No clue about this wine…but at that price, I’m curious. It could be a train wreck but for $30ish I’d gamble on this.
1995 Campillo Rioja Reserva ($26)
1995 La Rose ($30)
1990 Terrabianca Campaccio ($35)
1997 Ca’ Romé di Romano Marengo Barbaresco ($37)
1999 Château Nenin ($40)
2005 Avignonesi Desiderio Cortona Merlot ($40)
2005 Andrew Will Champoux Vineyard Proprietary Red ($50) This should be excellent…but it’s a little higher than you were suggesting.
1988 Château Prieure-Lichine ($55)

to the OP: one thing to keep in mind with most auction sites because of your specification for budget, you have to make sure to calculate in the buyers fees on auction sites. normally its around 20%ish of the hammer price. its not a bad thing, but just a thing to keep in mind.

also, it is probably a good idea to try some of these wines as youngish wines alongside some of the older ones. for example: wines from Italy made of Nebbiolo tend to age beautifully, but if you have never had a Barolo before, its really great to know where the wines started as a reference for where they are with age.

If you want aged wine now while you wait until cooler weather for shipping, the recommendation of Spanish Rioja is a great idea. I’d be look at that now if I was you. Any decent local wine shop will have that wine in stock now. 20 year old Riojo off the shelf. No special orders and delayed shipping. No auctions. you can’t ask for a better way to try some aged wine now that doesn’t require shipping.

@KirkGrant what a great list. Very kind of you to do that. So many good suggestions (of which I’ve had none tbh) but I’ll resist bidding.

To the OP (original poster): winebid is a great option. I’ve bought tons from them, high quality site and great place for this kind of thing.

Thanks, I really enjoy engaging others about our shared passion. My friend’s wife cautions against “Kirk math” which somehow can help me justify almost any purchase.

Thank you for the list, Kirk. I went ahead and threw in a bid on the 05 Andrew Wood Champoux, and a few others. Budget, schmuget. It’s wine. If an extra $5-$15 over budget gets me an experience where I’m sorry the bottle is empty, I’m down.

The best part of starting out in wine is being easily impressed and able to have a great bottle without burgundy prices or months tracking down something new.