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- "The Billionaire's Vinegar"
Just wondering if anyone has read this book by Benjamin Wallace? It's a fascinating story of a 1787 Lafite supposedly from Thomas Jefferson's collection. I am halfway through it and it's got the makings of a film! Very interesting, as it talks about tastings of the oldest wines known. Any thoughts from others? Can you imagine getting the opportunity to drink something from the 18th or early 19th century and have it still be drinkable? A true testament that well made wines like the first growths are something special.
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1135 - Reply by dmcker, Jun 23.
I've had madeiras and ports (and whiskies and rums and brandies) from the 19th century, that were all quite drinkable. No still, unfortified red or white wines, though. Would not expect any of them to be anything other than the title of this thread, unless, perhaps, they'd been lying on the ocean's bottom all the while...
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39 - Reply by solomania9, Jun 23.
Sounds like an interesting read. We at the Snooth team tried some Madeira from the 1800s a few months back - I was really surprised at how familiar the flavor was. Photos and more are on the blog: http://blog.snooth.com/2009/02/17/really-old-madeira/
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218 - Reply by ChipDWood, Jun 24.
I am staring at the cover of "Billionaire's Vinegar" as we type. The author, Benjamin Wallace, is actually going to BE at Monticello this coming Thursday (June 25th) to give a lecture on the topic- which has grown in interest dramatically since William Koch decided to hire a team of the wine world's version of Navy frickin' SEALS to go after Mr. "Rodenstock" (see: David Mollyneux-Berry, a vid of him discussing the fraud here: http://www.snooth.com/talk/#http://www.snooth.com/talk/topic/great-vid-link-to-a-true-snoother/ ).
I can't wait to dig into the book, as I am totally languishing with "Jefferson on Wine", trying to plow through the lists of "Arracks", "Rhines", and other inventories from Virginia Taverns in his day. Oy, this thing has crawled.
SO... I've heard the "Billionaire's Vinegar" is a good read, and can't wait to dig into it myself. I hear the Forbes folks come off as rather, how shall one say... "aloof" in how to treat such a supposed treasure- but I shall read of their toils and foibles (showcasing the bottle in a glass case, under a hot lamp... OOOPS) myself in the coming week.
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33 - Reply by Derek67, Jun 26.
Dynamite read. Let me suggest a couple of others: Steve Heimoff's "A Wine Journey Along the Russian River" and "Wine and War" by the Kladstrup's.
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33 - Reply by Greg Roberts, Jun 26.
I read it as well. It's a great summer sitting on the beach read. How could someone as respected as Broadbent have accepted the provenance of the wine? It's being made into a movie to be added the wine movie cannon: Sideways, Bottleshock
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218
- Reply by ChipDWood, Jun 30.
Greg asks:
"How could someone as respected as Broadbent have accepted the provenance of the wine?"
That's just the thing: who's to question his expertise, beyond his rival, David Molyneux-Berry?
In Broadbent's case, his culpability is defensible, and the responsibility (I'm sure he figured when considering the gamble) could be easily passed to Rodenstock.
While I think DMB is one of the greatest and most approachable world-respected Masters of Wine there is- I think there may be a slight conflict of interest in his involvement with this case, since he and Broadbent have been rivals in the past (DMB with Sotheby's, Broadbent with Christie's).
Anyway... can't wait till the Holiday's past so I can have a stitch to read this thing.
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1738 - Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Jun 30.
I enjoyed it.
It lacks the juicy details that could really tie everything together but these are lost to time and Hardy's memory.
I have Wine and war lined up for August beach vacation reading.
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0390 - Reply by GregT, Jul 1.
I don't think anyone would ever have wanted to drink that wine. The idea is that you're holding something that Jefferson owned. So provenance matters. It's very much like owning a piece of the jacket that Elvis wore during a concert. He sold one album with a two inch piece of material with every record. And it was genuine too. It was really from something he wore. In the Middle Ages every church would try to have a few bones from a saint or two, and if possible, a few splinters from the original cross. The only way to know if they were original would be to have the priest examine them closely. Kind of like Broadbent examining the wine. See, he would know. He could probably feel the energy of it.
They also had a good way of telling whether you were a witch. They'd throw you into a lake and if you floated, you were a witch because you were made out of wood. So they'd burn you at the stake. If you sunk? Well, they must have been wrong. Sorry.
Elvis clothes, saint's bones, Jefferson wine, it's all pretty much the same except the pricing is different. So the test for witchcraft and deceit should be the same too IMO. Do you think Broadbent floats?
Although if someone did happen across the REAL bones of St Paul those might be worth something.
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05 - Reply by Piccolo161, Jul 1.
Like dmcker I've enjoyed spirtis from the 19th century - Courvoisier cognac to be precise.
1824, 1848 and 1864, at a unique tasting several years ago. The thing that sticks most in my mind is that even though I was near the back of the room, some 15 metres ( 40 -50 feet) from the bottles, just a few seconds after they were opened I could smell their intense aromas - amazing.
On a less uplifting note has anyone seen Le Billionaire champagne launched recently by Leon Verres. Who? I hear you ask. Can't tell you I'm afraid.
$2.75 million per bottle ( but it is a Salmanazar!)
Judge for yourself at http://www.leonverres.com/
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1135
- Reply by dmcker, Jul 1.
GregT, poultry bones masquerading as human finger bones? How much are they really worth? Or is that what faith is for? Fortunately genetic testing wasn't an option back in the middle ages...
And I always liked Broadbent's sensibilities when it came to tasting wines I've also had.
