Inspired by this board and tired of consuming (and complaining about) drinking young bottles. Going to take advantage of strong 2015-16 vintages and start building a cellar for the long-term. Keen for any visceral reactions to the below! And look forward to being a contributing member of the board/offlines going forward!
I figure targeting a 480 bottle cellar (rationalized by consuming 24 bottles/year, at average $110/bottle, with half at $75 and half at $150, with full price range of $40-200). Will aim for purchasing for 20YR aging cycle = 480 bottle cellar. I will target a healthy amount of 375ml and magnum (as contemplated below, 25% of bottles would be 375, 60% would be 750ml and 10% would be magnum). 375ml for my personal enjoyment, magnum for group settings (obviously)
I enjoy Burgundy and Barolo the most, and will weight earlier purchases here given recent strong vintages. I will also take advantage of 2015-16 Bordeaux vintages and their ageability to beef up Bordeaux on equal footing. After that, I will focus on Cab Franc, and then Rhone.
Inspired by advice on the board’s advice, I am going to add some magnums & bottles at lower price points for future potential entertaining that can age very well. E.G., 2016 Bordeaux and Barolo, at $45/bottle price points (but I wonder if I can make this even lower, e.g. $25/bottle for value, sport and maintain drinkability).
2016 Vintage Strategy:
Barolo: 12 375ml, 24 750, 10 1.5L ($45-$200/bottle for 750 equivalent)
Barbaresco: 4 375, 6 750, 0 1.5L ($45-$125/bottle)
Langhe Nebbiolo: 6 750 ($25/bottle)
Brunello: 4 375, 8 750 ($45-200/bottle)
Bordeaux (Left): 6 375, 16 750, 8 1.5L ($25-200/bottle)
Loire (Cab Franc): 2 375, 4 750 ($100-200/bottle)
N. Rhone: 4 750 ($75-125/bottle)
Burgundy (Nuit): 6 375, 6 750 ($75-$200/bottle)
Burgundy (Beaune): 2 750 ($100/bottle)
2015 Vintage Strategy:
Burgundy (Nuit): 12 375, 18 750, 4 1.5L ($75-$200/bottle)
Burgundy (Beaune): 2 375, 4 750 ($100-200/bottle))
N. Rhone: 2 375, 13 750 ($45-200/bottle)
Bordeaux (Left): 4 275, 8 750 ($45-125/bottle)
German Riesling: TBD
This will be 190 bottles total (750ml equivalent), however this is inclusive of lower priced magnum formats for ‘entertaining’ which should not count against my more “personal/core” cellar. Excluding the “entertaining” bottles, this would also be 130 bottles of “core” bottles. Thus, out of my 480 cellar target, I would be filling 25% of it with 2015-16 vintage wines. This seems high, but I am taking advantage of strong Barolo and Burgundy vintages.
I am starting cellar for the long-term, however, it makes sense to add more approachable wines.
Accordingly, I would like to add to this ~25 bottles that will be approachable younger ($50-125 price points):
California Cab Franc (6-12)
Argentina Cab Franc (6-12)
California Oakville cabs (6)
California Pinot (6)
And, backfill some modestly aged Europeans for another ~25 bottles ($75-150 price points)
2010 and 2013 Barolo
2010 Brunnello
2010 and 2013 mid-tier Bordeaux
2010 1er Burgundy
2010 Mid-tier N. Rhone
2011 and 2014 Sauternes
2013 Oregon Pinot
And, backfill some more mature Europeans for another ~20 bottles ($75 - $200 price points)
1990-2000 Bordeaux
1990-2000 Barolo
1990-2000 Brunello
2005-2010 Burgundy
2000-2005 Rhone
In summary:
130 bottles of “core/personal” 2015-16 vintage in a variety of formats
20 bottles of mature old world wines drinkable now
25 bottles of more approachable new world drinkable now - 5 years
25 bottles of strong 2010 vintage drinkable in 2-10 years
130 bottles of 2015-16 vintage drinkable in 7-30 years (across a variety of formats)
This is 200 bottles out of my 480 bottle target.
Next round of purchases I think would be Sauternes (pick up past years that haven’t appreciated), Port (small), Sagratino (Paolo Bea, may others), Sicilians (need to learn more), Greeks (need to learn more) and Riesling (dry and off).
Questions on my mind:
- Am I not buying enough of 2015-16 vintages? E.G., I could be more aggressive if I don’t plan on buying 2017 etc. unless they are a strong vintage. E.G., fine skipping 2017s. So accordingly, should I press a little more today?
- Should I include $25 Barolo and Bordeaux into my game plan off strong vintages?
- It seems more difficult than expected to procure 2015 vintages than expected glancing at EuropeanWineResource, Millesima, etc. Who is best out there for Burgundy or Rhone, for example? Would be great to consolidate purchases with one provider. But seems very, very difficult.
- Am I overbuying 2010 vintages given prices are probably quite high? Perhaps go off-year or cap my price points to < $100 given depth of vintage.
- Should I de-emphasize 2016 Burgundy and just focus on 2015 + handful of 2016 to compare against?
- Not enough magnums?
Look forward to any feedback, reactions, encouragement or discouragement you may be able to share!