Wine Club Newsletter - August 2011
Investing in Wine: The $36,000 Bottle
OK, we’ll give you 10% off, down to $32,400.
Are you saying “WHAT?” A discounted bottle of wine for a mere $32.4k?
Hey, it’s a bargain . . . really, it’s going for $43,649 at a store in New York.
Let’s put $36k for one bottle of wine in perspective: (OK, it’s a magnum)
That’s a car.
That’s a trip around the world.
That’s a nice back yard.
That’s a tummy tuck, a facelift and a personal trainer for a year or two.
That’s about $720 per ounce, $3,600 a glass.
That’s 48 cases of wine (576 bottles) that would cost $62.50 a bottle,
That’s 96 cases of wine (1,152 bottles) at $31.25 bottle.
That’s 192 cases of wine (2,304 bottles) at $15.62 a bottle.
That’s 1,000 cases of wine (12,000 bottles) of $3 Buck Chuck. (At a bottle a day, 33 years supply. I’m not sure I want to live that long under those conditions).
OK, what is this stuff, this $36,000 bottle of wine?
It’s the 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc, a Bordeaux wine, and it is rated one of the greatest, if not THE greatest wine produced in all of the 20th Century. Yes, for the 100 years from 1900, through 1999, this is to be granted the king of all wines produced. Some critics say it is the greatest wine of all time.
The ’47 Cheval Blanc was bequeathed the highest score obtainable, 100 points, by Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate, America’s foremost single wine critic. It was also given the major nod of “sheer perfection” by none other than “His Majesty” of Bordeaux, Michael Broadbent.
The Wine Spectator gave it only 90 points, but hey, everyone flubs now and then. Gawd, just think, if The Spectator would have given it 100 points, it would be worth perhaps double of today’s value.
Read Mike Steinberger’s (Slate.com) recent accounting of his experience with it: “The '47 Cheval I drank that night now ranks as the greatest wine of my life, a title I doubt it will relinquish. The moment I lifted the glass to my nose and took in that sweet, spicy, arresting perfume, my notion of excellence in wine, and my understanding of what wine was capable of, was instantly transformed—I could almost hear the scales recalibrating in my head. The '47 was the warmest, richest, most decadent wine I'd ever encountered. Even more striking than its opulence was its freshness.”
The wine even got a plug in the animated movie Ratatouille, as a diner in Gusteau’s Restaurant ordered the 1947 Cheval Blanc to go with his meal.
So 64 years after the vintage, how many bottles are left in the world? How many magnums? The answer is, very few. Chateau Cheval Blanc itself has only 10 Magnums and 40 bottles left. There are scattered bottles around the globe, (and some fakes as well), but precious few remain present.
And with the global wine market going crazy with Internet communications, each bottle becomes a collector’s item. Are people buying it just for its glorious, life altering, monumental presence in the mouth? Or is it because some one wants to spend even more money than you paid for it, just to say they have it, betting the value will continue to increase. There’s a lot of that, that collectors thing. I am certain the value will increase, however.
But is it an investment? Here’s an interesting fact: The Brasserie has had the 1947 Cheval Blanc on the restaurant wine list since opening in 1988, starting with a total of eighteen bottles and six magnums at the time. It was $400 a bottle, $850 for the magnum. Diners were laughing at the thought, scoffing at the tariff.
But people bought them and drank them through the years. Just think, if a diner would have taken one of those home back then for $850, and saved it, the $36,000 value means a return of 4,135%, or an annualized (each year) 182.4% return. How does that taste? How does that measure up against the investments we made in the stock market beginning twenty-two years ago? Beats up my stock market performance, real bad.
These days it is tougher to get ahead with this kind of investment, but it is still happening to some degree. Upper end wine prices are going nuts, and have been for the last ten years, even in these economically challenged times.
New release Bordeaux are selling for up to $3,000 a bottle. A BOTTLE! That’s $36,000 a case. Do you want a case of Chateau Petrus or a magnum of 1947 Cheval Blanc? Tough question. I can’t consider either one because of finances, but yes, I would love to have them.
The 2010 Chateau Petrus is still in the wood barrel at it’s home in Bordeaux, France. The wine isn’t even finished yet, not yet into the bottle, and it is selling for $3,000. Pay now, get it later . . . for $3,000 a bottle. Help me! Back in the early 1980’s, the same wine was under $40 a bottle before release.
Keep in mind, once you drink it, your investment loses all monetary value. However, the richness of the memory and understanding what the greatest modern day wine can do to you cannot be taken away. This is what we wine drinkers live for, it’s our Holy Grail.
I was describing my experience tasting the ’47 Cheval to a friend, and how I would love to have another taste of it. I have one magnum left, only. He said he would like to buy a couple ounces. I laughed and agreed, and then another person came forward and said he wants a full glass of it. I got excited. I told them I told them dinner is on me if we find a few more knights who can ride this esteemed steed, the greatest Cheval Blanc . . . the hunt is on!
Gary Parker, Owner
The WineSellar & Brasserie
2010 Casale Marchesi, Frascati Superiore (August, 2011 - The WineSellar Club)
Growing Region: Frascati, DOC, Latium, Italy
Varietal Blend: 70% Malvasia di Candia & del Lazio, 10% each Trebbiano Tuscano, Bombine & Bellone
Fermentation: Stainless Steel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $18.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $14.39
Broad Strokes:
I would imagine that most of you have not had a Frascati, or a Frascati that you found remarkable anyway. Much more care has been taken in this DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), and very fine examples are emerging to our benefit. The Carletti Family has owned Casale Marchesi (in the hills around Rome) for over two centuries, but records show the estate has been in the wine business since 1713.
Appearance:
Generally we expect white wines from Italy to be in the more Bordeaux shaped bottle, so a Burgundy style bottle is a little noteworthy. Nice script depicting Casale Marchesi, and very Italian looking, imported package motif. The wine is very pretty, with hues of yellow corn and tinge of pea green. Clear, reflecting light very well.
Nose:
Beautiful beginnings, the fragrance of white flower and tropical fruits are laced with mineral and a hint of apricot. Ripe, but held tight by the acid in the wine, the fragrances keep changing as the wine airs. Fresh herbs, pineapple, guava and melon are seductive.
Texture:
The texture is a total winner. It has very ripe fruit with solid, zesty, lively acid, which makes for a palate dance that lasts quite a long time. Very nice fruit presence in the mouth, and then an excellent, expansive finish is carried through by the fine presence of acid.
Flavor:
Vanilla, orange, tropical fruit flavors, and apricot are foremost in attendance. The winery calls out for butter and bread crust, which, perhaps by power of suggestion, was easily detectable, and joyous. I also got notes of wild honey, ripe pear, apple, and peach.
Serving Options:
Now through the end of the year is perfect for drinking this Frascati. At this price, it could become a summertime sipper, pre BBQ or with appetizers. This Frascati is excellent with food or on its own.
2008 Bank Note Wine Co., “The Vault”
Growing Region: Napa Valley, California
Varietal Blend: 45% Zinfandel, 30% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon
Fermentation: Barrel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $32.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $26.99
Broad Strokes:
This is a new project from well-known, Napa Valley based label designer Pete Nixon. Bill Knuttle, former Chalk Hill winemaker, is the consultant for this enterprise. Most interestingly, if you buy a case of this wine, each bottle will have a different label. Really! They all say Banknote Wine Co. “The Vault” and it is all the same wine, which scored 90 Points in the Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Appearance:
The glass bottles are all the same, featuring a high shoulder, deep punt, smoke brown colored glass with black highlights. Each label looks like a banknote, of course, harkening back a century or two with its images and font styles. The wine looks remarkably youthful for creeping up on three years old. It has a very deep and dark cherry skin coloring on the rim, and it’s black at the core. It is viscous, with deeply hued curtains.
Nose:
Standing out assertively is dark fruit with roasted nuts and toasty oak. I like it. It’s more mahogany than oak, kind of a dark, smoky wood, which has blackberry, black fruits, and rich tones of dark earth. Good notes of vanilla, but the key here is how deep, rich, powerful and lovely the fragrances of this stand out wine are.
Texture:
It’s pretty big! (But by no means ridiculously so.) A full, assertive mouthful of power and strength, it has a commanding presence, demanding attention and thought. Alcohol is 14.5% getting up there, but still holds its own very well in the balance department. Long finish . . .
Flavor:
All things dark and black. Dark berries, dark cherries, black fruits, dark woods, dark smoke, deep vanilla, roasted nuts, black pepper, and as noted by another taster and myself independently, beef jerky. It keeps you going back for more, that’s for sure. Lots of big fun, lots of big flavors.
Serving Options:
From today, 2011, I believe the wine has at least a decade in front of it. The varietals all have good aging potential, and the blend will not hurt this by any means. So keep 6-12 bottles for a few years and watch it evolve, or go light up the grill and have it with some marinated steaks. Yum!
2006 Orchid Hill Pinot Noir, Paso Robles
Growing Region: Paso Robles, California
Varietal Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
Fermentation: Stainless Steel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $25.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $17.99
Broad Strokes:
Here’s a great find: A 2006 Pinot Noir from the Paso Robles area, aged and ready to devour. Orchid Hill Winery has been producing fine wines since 2000, and proudly own 51 acres of hillside vineyards on the Westside of the growing region. Their total production is a scant 2,000 cases per year, and we were lucky enough to find some of this Estate Grown Pinot Noir in the pipeline. Plus, check out the price, quite a value!
Appearance:
Pretty looking bottle and colors on the foil and label. The wine is a grayish dark red, cherry skin, that has good depth in the center and lightens up as it gets to the rim of the glass. It has good legs, coating the inside of the bowl quite well.
Nose:
Very fine, varietal character Pinot Noir essence on the nose. Delicate, yet enveloping, sweet dark cherry, some earth and tar, crushed herbs and a hint of mint makes for an attractive fragrance. You can notice some age complexities the have taken away the scent of youth, to produce more complex, refined aromatics.
Texture:
Perfect Pinot Noir texture: the entry is smooth and seemingly light, then weighty and long in the palate with a nice, crisp, almost cranberry acid on the finish. Medium to medium full in the mouth and well balanced, the texture is a bell ringer.
Flavor:
Look to the nose for descriptors, as the lovely fragrance of this wine translates to the generous, giving mouthful of Pinot Noir wine. Integrated in the dark cherry fruit is a wonderful touch of outdoor smoke, fennel, and an interesting iron/mineral component.
Serving Options:
It is a near term wine, so the concept is to drink it today. I enjoyed mine with my favorite grilled salmon recipe, which had a simple marinade of olive oil, maple syrup, soy sauce and black pepper.
2008 Clos Saint Jean, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Vieille Vignes
Growing Region: Rhone Valley, France
Varietal Blend: 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah, the rest is Cinsault, Mourvedre & Vaccarese
Fermentation: Barrel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $50.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $43.99
Broad Strokes:
Oh, do I love this! Chateauneuf-du-Pape’s are a favorite of mine, and this is one of the finer from the 2008 vintage. Clos Saint Jean scored 100 points with three different wines in the 2007 vintage, so these people know what they are doing. Old vine Grenache (50-100 years) has a great impact on the wine, as does not filtering it. You get a very rustic, indigenous, lively, organic wine, which has scored in the 90-point range in various publications.
Appearance:
Classic embossed bottle, typical of the higher end wine from the region. Very French looking label, but could be more visually compelling. No matter, because the wine looks great, with its appealing dark purple/red/black core, and near magenta hue shimmering by the rim of the glass. Serious curtains cling to the inside of the bowl.
Nose:
Quite focused and concentrated aromatics, bringing up dark cherry fruit, blueberry and hints of tar and licorice. Notice some grilled bread or fresh dough, with roasted nuts, and some graphite or lead pencil. Mineral, black and white pepper and freshly crushed herbs add to the complexities.
Texture:
It has a silky and plush medium-full bodied entry and mid-palate, with a solid, youthful grip on the back end.Good line of acid holds it in check, while it becomes expansive after you have swallowed the wine.
Flavor:
Black Cherry, strawberry, blueberry, plum and raspberry are the fruit flavors. Cinnamon and allspice mix with ground black pepper, forest floor, Herbs de Provence and mineral. Remember from the nose, the grilled bread? On the finish, sealing the deal is a lengthy interchange of what could be interpreted as a fresh out of the oven blueberry muffin. Really.
Serving Options:
Common thought is to give this wine a few more years in the bottle, and then drink over the next 25 or so years. I concur, and strongly suggest putting away 6-12 bottles. It totally deserves to be in our Gary Parker Collections!
BBQ Ribs Made Easy
This is a no miss, rather simple to produce recipe that yields outstanding results every time.
It is killer with the 2008 Banknote “The Vault” Red Blend
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds pork spare ribs
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon cayenne or Italian chile (to your taste)
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or 3 ounces of Grand Marnier
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon (heaping) of crushed garlic
- teaspoon each of salt and pepper
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut spareribs into serving size portions, wrap in double thickness of foil, and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
- Unwrap, and drain drippings.
- Place ribs in a large roasting pan.
- In a large bowl, add the ingredients above.
- Whisk until the color is even any powder lumps broken, and it is smooth.
- Coat ribs with the sauce and marinate 2 hours at room temperature. Refrigerating overnight is optional.
- Heat up the grill, and cook the ribs slowly 25-35 minutes, and keep brushing on the marinade.