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- Recommendation for a 2006 wine to be stored until the recipient turns 21?
Posting this for someone I met recently, I didnt have a good answer, but that I knew some smarter people I could ask...
This question comes up a lot, child born in 20XX, what wine will keep until they are 21? Are there any general rules (red, good tannins to stand up to aging, $30 and up?)? What about specific 2006 recs?
Thanks
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07 - Reply by JeradHarski, Jul 20.
When all else fails, a good port will always keep well. Or so I read.
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2 - Reply by chris19571978, Jul 20.
Unfortunately you will probably have to spend a lot of money. Even then you may still have a wine that is undrinkable by then.Wines have to be stored properly. Around 55 degrees. Other wise the wine might not last. Bordeaux, Brunellos, Barolos, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Ports can last that long. You're gonna probably have to pay 100 dollars and up for a great wine. You need a wine with lots of fruit, acidity and tannins to stand up to that kind of ageing. Good luck not drinking it before then. Im sure some champagnes can easily last that long as well as a saturne from france. Get good advice from an expert and see what he has to say.
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1139 - Reply by dmcker, Jul 20.
Philip, are you looking for *any* kind of wine to lay down, or a specific type, varietal or region?
I've stored many bottles for longer than 21 years, almost all successfully. Most of the suggestions above are good, but there should be many choices at less than $100 a bottle. Another question, I guess, is if you want to set any budgetary limits....
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1738 - Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Jul 21.
So many choices.
To frame the question we should ask what wines from 1988 are drinking well today?
Virtually all of my 1988 Bordeaux(very good if austere vintage), Rhone( ditto-ish), Piedmonte( ditto),Burgundy (ditto),Tuscan(brilliant vintage), Champagne(great vintage), and German wines are drinking pretty much at peak today. 1988 was tough in California but the wines are fine, as are the 87's, 86's, 85's, 84's ( all great vintages) and older wines.
Pretty much the question is not what wine can, but rather what wine would you want to drink in 21 years. From most regions one can find wines in the $50-75 range that have this sort of cellaring potential but a Port is more likely to survive less than ideal storage, which is the key to the survival of all these wines. It is still possible to find $25-35 Bordeaux and $40-50 Barolo that will age splendidly so that would certainly be the place to start.
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3027
- Reply by Philip, Jul 21.
Not 1988, the persons child was born in 2006, so they are looking to buy something now, which they'll store for 18 more years...
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1738
- Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Jul 21.
Yeah, that was my point. All these wines, now 21 years old, are drinking well.
You can pretty much find wines from every region that drink well at 21 so it's more important to find a wine the purchaser might be interested in drinking!
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1139
- Reply by dmcker, Jul 21.
Greg and I are saying the same thing, in slightly different ways. There are a world of options, so, to narrow down to specific suggestions, more information is needed. What kind of wine does the person like and want to be drinking with progeny 20 to 30 years (or more) down the road?
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0390 - Reply by GregT, Jul 21.
"more information is needed. What kind of wine does the person like and want to be drinking with progeny 20 to 30 years (or more) down the road?"
THAT is certainly the most important question! And also, since the kid is not quite three years old at this time, his palate may change!
General rules - yes. Look at the wines GdP suggested - for reds, ideally you'd like some tannins, good acidity, lots of fruit and balance. Some of those wines just don't seem to hang together well when they're really young, but as long as everything is in place, that's what you want for long term. And if you don't know, it's really hard to evaluate them because sometimes a really young red is overwhelmingly tannic. So you have to get past that when you're tasting. best advice? Go with an area that has a track record - Bordeaux, Piedmont, Napa, N. Rhone, Ribera del Duero, Rioja, Tuscany. In fact, if you've got to get something from 2006, I'd look pretty hard at Tuscany. Washington is fairly new to the game but I've had some 10 and 20 year old wines from there that are just great, and I think there are other areas in the world that may pan out really well too.
And you can always look at some Ports.
For white wines, it's a little different. Most great sweets will be good choices, but for dry ones, you again have to look at places that have some history. Doesn't mean that some of the newer areas will not age, but we don't know yet.
But really the best advice is to put the money away and let the kid buy whatever he likes when he's old enough. First of all, how do you know the kid will even like wine? Or be able to drink alcohol in any form? Or that you will still have a close enough relationship that you'll want to give him something you've kept aside for so long? Or that you'll not have some mishap between now and 21 years out, like a blackout in midsummer that cooks your wine, or a flood like they had in New Orleans that ruined so much wine?
To me, it's a really nice idea to put wine away for a child. But it may be more about doing something that we would have liked for ourselves. Today I'd appreciate it. When I was 21? I tasted a lot of wine from the first serious collector I'd ever met when I was in my early twenties. It was a total waste.
