Drinking Young Burg

[Brady_Daniels]

@Gary York

Nothing wrong with trying a bottle here and there. But constantly drinking big, expensive wines that are no where near ready shows a lack of understanding and appreciation for the wines. But no real surprise as it is not about the wines anyway.

Incoming!

[Brady_Daniels]

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[Philip_Ente]

how much and how frequently do Burgs evolve from a young fruit predominant phase to several years of closed down funk before emerging with tertiary characteristics? This is a big deal in Europe where people are concerned about leaving their Burgs alone during this closed down interval.
The burgs I have had young and then about 15 years later had noting in common

[Howard_Cooper]

@Gary York

Nothing wrong with trying a bottle here and there. But constantly drinking big, expensive wines that are no where near ready shows a lack of understanding and appreciation for the wines. But no real surprise as it is not about the wines anyway.

Thank you for telling the rest of us what we are supposed to do. It is great that you are the only person here with an understanding and appreciation for Burgundy. The rest of us are truly in awe. Could you please post a list of all Burgundies and when we should drink them so that we can meet your standards and have it be all about the wine.

[Berry_Crawford]

@Philip Ente

how much and how frequently do Burgs evolve from a young fruit predominant phase to several years of closed down funk before emerging with tertiary characteristics?

Its a common perception that only high end burgs perform this transformation, but Ive had enough really impressive low end burgs from the 80s and 90s that I think almost any reasonably balanced red burgundy goes through this. Its just with lower end wines the transformation happens faster because there is less concentration.

[PCLIN]

@k s h i n

+1. I really don’t understand why people want to dictate the “correct” way to drink wine. It is more fun to drink the 09, 10 or 12 then 99. The 90 La Tache is not ready yet so if you purchased at release, you have waited thirty plus years.

I actually drank a bottle of '90 La Tache in 1996. Lol! The good old days when it was relatively cheap.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Berry Crawford

@Philip Ente

how much and how frequently do Burgs evolve from a young fruit predominant phase to several years of closed down funk before emerging with tertiary characteristics?

Its a common perception that only high end burgs perform this transformation, but Ive had enough really impressive low end burgs from the 80s and 90s that I think almost any reasonably balanced red burgundy goes through this. Its just with lower end wines the transformation happens faster because there is less concentration.

+1 However, some lower-end (middle-end) wines do well with a lot of age. For example, I am often surprised how well wines from Beaune age.

[A_Songeur]

Just opened a bottle of Faiveley Combe Aux Moines 2009 tonight…really enjoying it …although at 6 yo, it should be bad… oh well, it should have been better in 20 years time?.. got quite a few left and, in the meantime, enjoying the moment…

…and the only La Tache I have ever tasted was 2008 and it was really great…Thanks Jono Beagle! Very much enjoyed!

[Lewis_Dawson]

@Howard Cooper

@Gary York

Nothing wrong with trying a bottle here and there. But constantly drinking big, expensive wines that are no where near ready shows a lack of understanding and appreciation for the wines. But no real surprise as it is not about the wines anyway.

Thank you for telling the rest of us what we are supposed to do. It is great that you are the only person here with an understanding and appreciation for Burgundy. The rest of us are truly in awe. Could you please post a list of all Burgundies and when we should drink them so that we can meet your standards and have it be all about the wine.

+1. Sheesh, what a tool.

[Ian_Dorin]

@Jon Lawrence

In general I find young Burgs easier to drink than most everything else of comparable age. This is especially true of the '10 vintage. I don’t know when I am going to stop drinking my '10 Burgs so I keep buying more.

I’ve been helping him, and I can tell you there is no “baby killing” going on. The wines are shockingly open for business.

[zack_harris]

@Lewis Dawson

@Howard Cooper

@Gary York

Nothing wrong with trying a bottle here and there. But constantly drinking big, expensive wines that are no where near ready shows a lack of understanding and appreciation for the wines. But no real surprise as it is not about the wines anyway.

Thank you for telling the rest of us what we are supposed to do. It is great that you are the only person here with an understanding and appreciation for Burgundy. The rest of us are truly in awe. Could you please post a list of all Burgundies and when we should drink them so that we can meet your standards and have it be all about the wine.

+1. Sheesh, what a tool.

+2

[k_s_h_i_n]

Drink what you like and be happy!

[Jay_Miller]

As mentioned in the past I subscribe to the “drink them young or drink them old but not in between” philosophy.

Different types of interest/enjoyment.

Drinking any wine while it’s in a shut down phase is where it’s a bit of waste other than to warn people that wine x is still shut down. But figuring out whether a given wine is shut down requires occasional sampling by yourself or others.

[Travis_Scott]

Drink grand cru Burgundy young, you’re not getting everything you paid for, you’re not learning much if anything about how the wines will compare later on, but at least your tongue won’t weep blood like it does when you drink Barolo young.

No reason to paint on motives such as “condescending,” “worrying,” “dictating,” etc. It’s a fact about a category of wine. No one’s feelings are at stake here. Not even calling anyone’s ugly dog an ugly dog.

If you buy a house on the Amalfi coast and only stay there in February, you’re not getting everything you paid for. Moreover, you’re not getting the thing that has been the primary driver of the real estate market you paid into. Doesn’t mean you’re stupid or wasteful for buying the house, or that you didn’t truly enjoy your stay there in the winter — maybe even more than you would have enjoyed it in July or August. But neither does it change the fact that you’re not getting everything you paid for, and that your comparative experience of Ravello, Praiano, and Positano, in the winter, gives you little or no insight into what those communities will be like in the summer, or how they’ll compare at that time.

This is all fine. Constantly trying to maximize the value of everything you pay for ≠ happiness.

[NoahR]

@Travis Scott

Drink grand cru Burgundy young, you’re not getting everything you paid for, you’re not learning much if anything about how the wines will compare later on, but at least your tongue won’t weep blood like it does when you drink Barolo young.

No reason to paint on motives such as “condescending,” “worrying,” “dictating,” etc. It’s a fact about a category of wine. No one’s feelings are at stake here. Not even calling anyone’s ugly dog an ugly dog.

If you buy a house on the Amalfi coast and only stay there in February, you’re not getting everything you paid for. Moreover, you’re not getting the thing that has been the primary driver of the real estate market you paid into. Doesn’t mean you’re stupid or wasteful for buying the house, or that you didn’t truly enjoy your stay there in the winter — maybe even more than you would have enjoyed it in July or August. But neither does it change the fact that you’re not getting everything you paid for, and that your comparative experience of Ravello, Praiano, and Positano, in the winter, gives you little or no insight into what those communities will be like in the summer, or how they’ll compare at that time.

This is all fine. Constantly trying to maximize the value of everything you pay for ≠ happiness.

Well said.

I have no horse in this race. As the OP, I brought up the issue because I had been hearing very different things and, as someone fairly new to collecting, I have a stake in trying to get the best out of what I may buy. I look for wisdom here. And would rather read 50 pages of spirited blather here than a year’s worth of Wine Spectator.

[Gary_York]

And you are correct to pursue that path. Doing the right thing, not matter how difficult it is and filled with doubt you may be, is never the wrong thing.

[Bob_Hughes]

Nicely written, Travis. I agree.

BTW, Noah, if you’re hankering for 50 pages of spirited blather, head over to the Maison Ilan thread

[Gary_York]

Or you can check back tonight. I have a few things to say to some previous posts and posters.

[todd_waldmann]

Noah,
I side more with Alan. I don’t drink any of my Grand Crus young. For my tastes, the upside of a mature Grand Cru Red Burgundy is so much greater than whatever enjoyment a younger version provides that I choose to age them all. I will definitely try a young 1er Cru or village wine if I have some quantity, but even at those levels (Bourgogne too), I prefer them with some age.

[Scott_Brunson]

@todd waldmann

Noah,
I side more with Alan. I don’t drink any of my Grand Crus young. For my tastes, the upside of a mature Grand Cru Red Burgundy is so much greater than whatever enjoyment a younger version provides that I choose to age them all. I will definitely try a young 1er Cru or village wine if I have some quantity, but even at those levels (Bourgogne too), I prefer them with some age.

Me too, although I like to try a bottle young if possible to get a hint.