55% California, with 29% Bordeaux behind it. The California focus is driven by the proximity of my in laws to Sonoma, and the lists that we got on from our visits. I’m early into my exploration of Bordeaux, and have been buying futures for the past few years.
Bordeaux is by far my core region making up over 50% with California cabernet #2 comprised of the old school producers like Montelena, Monte Bello, Spottswoode, Laurel Glen and Forman. As cellar space opens up I’m trying to add some balance with Piedmont, Burgundy and Northern Rhone
My collection is definitely dominantly California Napa/Paso Robles, with a little bit into Oregon and Washington. I don’t think I have more than 2-3% of my bottles from outside the US. I hope to expand it, I just don’t think I know enough about European wines to go and purchase. So my cellar is definitely based on California.
Left bank Bordeaux, with right bank Bordeaux a distant second!
Broadly speaking, Bordeaux and German Riesling are where the core quantities are- but that is a bit misleading.
My cellar’s core strengths are better described by producer, and those core strengths are,
Chateau Magdelaine
Willi Schaefer
von Schubert
Soldera Brunello
Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune
Rousseau
Vega Sicilia NV Reserva Especial
Philipponnat
And then in particular vintages for a given region, I will sometimes branch out and acquire a few bottles each of a very wide selection. That was the case for 2014 and 2015 Burgundy, 2018 and 2019 Germany, and just about anything made in France in 2008 is still fair game.
I am not a daily wine drinker- not by a long shot. I never have been been- it does not fit my lifestyle at all to do that. I have been at this for over 25 years now, and worked ITB during college and graduate school- and “sort of” ITB thereafter as an appraiser. So by virtue of time, and my being ITB back when fine wine was much cheaper and trade tastings were far more prolific and generous, I have tasted through just about everything I ever wanted to sample. Also, for me wine is more of an intellectual exercise than a hedonistic one. Sure I enjoy the buzz, but that is a very minor part of it.
Most of my bottles are consumed as part of vertical tastings or the occasional big wine auction or social dinner in NYC. Next in line would be local tastings, and finally a couple of times a month I will open a nice bottle at home or get with a small group where we open a handful of wines.
The core strength selections are there to cover all those bases without me having to be stingy or worry about running out of something. And all the rest is there to some degree for the big events, but mainly just to enjoy for the more subdued evenings and have some variety to keep things interesting.
As long as we are all happy with our choices doesn’t this show diversity of tastes is a wonderful thing.
These are good dimensions to consider. Its easy to gravitate to varietal/region. That was my first branch to grab.
Reflecting on this, and not trying to kick the same beehive that two other threads already covered, I’d consider diversity a strength… Varying cuisine, special events and celebrations, family tastes, something for any time to create experiences aligned to my palate and those close to me. I have depth in places by producer/varietal/region, however I love diversity and that does permeate in my cellar.
My cellar has diversity, but the core strength is probably verticals of many of my favorite wines. I have at least 10 vintages of:
Baudry Chinon La Croix Boisee
Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot
Bedrock Bedrock
Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero
Cappellano Barolo Rupestris
Chandon de Briailles Pernand Ile de Vergelesses
Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Tardive
Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese
Donnhoff Oberhauser Brücke Spatlese
Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett
Ferrando Carema White Label
Foillard Morgon Cote du Py
Gonon St. Joseph
Lapierre Morgon
Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche
Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
Montevertine
Mount Eden Cabernet Sauvignon
Mount Eden Pinot Noir
Musar Rouge
Pepiere Muscadet VV Clos des Briords
Produttori del Barbaresco
Produttori del Barbaresco Riserva Rabaja
JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese
Jacques Puffeney Poulsard
Jacques Puffeney Trousseau Les Berangeres
Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spatlese
Stony Hill Chardonnay
Texier Cote Rotie VV
These aren’t necessarily my largest producer holdings, and Burgundy, my largest regional holding, is underrepresented because I skip vintages more often and fish in more pools. But I feel like I could serve just about anyone something they’d like from this core. Unless they only drink Champagne.
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When thinking about my cellar, I try to think about where I will want it to be in 5 to 10 years from now, as I did 10 years ago in 2010. I would say that I’m slowly working to a cellar that it balanced to what I want to drink with regards to aged wines & the limited storage space I have access to (3 Eurocaves, in the closet, under the bed, & a few different basements of friends & family).
Thinking about it from a Producer level, my top 5 producers account for roughly 28% of my cellar. These are Bartlett, Keller, Brovia, Coudert, & Musar. There is enough variety in these 5 producers that I’ll be happy drinking one or two of these five producers in about every case of wine that I open.
After that, I’ve tried to buy some “benchmark” wines from countries, regions, & producers based on what I like. So for me that meant splurging & buying some bottles I’m uncomfortable with the price…so that I could age a few and enjoy them later in life when I’m sure they’ll be absurdly expensive. I’ve done this in the regions like Barolo, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany, & so on. I’ve tried to collect a range of aged wines so I have wines going back to 1946 to present so that I can open & share something unique with someone if they haven’t had an old white wine, or an aged Bordeaux. My aged wines tend to fluctuate from purchases I make at a few trusted places sometimes I’ve got old Bordeaux kicking around, I usually drink older wines within a few years of purchase…but that was pre-covid.
I’ve thought about aging wines and so I have a large % of my cellar that is Barolo or Barbaresco, because they will take a longer time to come around & I expect I’ll stop buying those soon to create space for the balance in the cellar I’m hoping for. As I go forward the goal will be to buy a few less wines & higher quality as we age so that I can have a diverse experience in the cellar. I do like diversity, so that means having a few of most types of wines & more of the wines I want to age or expect to improve over time.
Champagne is the one region I have the most trouble aging & keeping my hands off of the bottles. I did not buy nearly enough 1996 Champagnes to age the way I wanted to. So I bought 5 cases & a few mags of 2008’s in the hope that I learned my lesson…while I continue to buy from each vintage a little at a time as I have learned the hard way that I think I might enjoy some of the “off” vintages more in their youth like 2007 or 2010.
Finally, my goal in balancing out my cellar was to have at least a handful of wines from each style to share with someone that shows up to the house (pre-Covid). So my hope would be that anyone from this forum could look at the wines I’ve bought & think, “Wow, I’d really like to try____, I’ve never had that before.” After all, wine is about sharing, and what I loved about wine was how freely others shared form their cellars while I was trying to build up my own. I think that’s where we really shine as a community. There is an air of generosity that exists in the wine-geek world.
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Well, my results are skewed quite a bit by who I work for and what I’ve made myself. Thought, sorting by Master Variety I get 142 categories, so there’s a wee bit of diversity.
Pinot Noir 28%
Cabernet Sauvignon 13.1%
Syrah 9.6%
Red Bdx Blend 7.3%
Chardonnay 6.8% (shocked by how high that is)
Zinfandel 5%
Sorting by appellation, Santa Cruz Mountains dominates at 23.5%.
That is very true. And as i young collector i have still been able get my hands on older vintages. But the amount and age range of you Huet collection is still pretty damn amazing.
With more than 75% being equally shared by Cornas, Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage it is the obvious core.
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#1 country - France, 80%
#1 grape - Pinot Noir, 57%
#1 region - Burgundy, 57%
#1 producer - Christophe Roumier, 6%
#1 vintage - 2005, 17%
#1 color - Red, 91%
The best thing my cellar has going for it is that it isn’t empty.
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American and French Bordeaux style wines, American and French Syrah-based wines and Champagne probably represents 75%+ of my cellar. I’m working on building my collection of older (‘65-‘95) Napa which is bringing me a lot of drinking pleasure these days. The rest is mostly Pinot, Chard (again, both mostly/all American/French) and Riesling (German and Aussie).
Around 70% American whiskey (300+). Of the 25% left over mostly CA with some smaller amounts of Bordeaux, burgundy, Germany.
I would say diversity/balance is the core strength. When I buy wine or take stock of the cellar I’m always thinking of the food we like to eat and make sure we have plenty of options to pull from. Cellar is currently roughly:
15% Red burg
15% Piedmont
10% White burg
10% Riesling
10% Bordeaux
10% N. Rhone
10% Brunello / Chianti
5% Rioja (all LdH)
5% Champagne
With the rest a mix of food friendly wines from all over the place. We actually drink a lot more whites than the cellar represents but things like Muscadet and Sancerre turn over quickly.
Developing core strength is my cellar’s NY resolution. Really want to protect the spine for longevity. Help with rotation and speed.
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Rhône dominates with 20%, most of which is Syrah from the north, followed by Loire, Burgundy, Provence, Champagne and Piemonte, each of them less than 12% though. By WB standards my cellar is probably pretty diverse but I enjoy all these regions a lot so will keep buying from all of them. No doubt Burgundy is going to challenge Rhône for the top spot at some point.
Huet is just under 4% of my cellar. 95 bottles, 39 different wines, 13 vintages, 1989 to 2019, 24 Le Mont DS, 15 Le Mont 1ere Trie.