The Price to Loss of Knowledge Ratio

[Jim Hanlon]

originally posted by Brad Widelock:

At some point, I realized that I would never be able to afford enough Burgundy to acquire the knowledge that I wanted about what it should, and should not taste like. It’s not that I have not drunk Burgundy, just not enough to feel confident with it. I began to think about how much knowledge is lost when the cost of studying something is out of reach. There is no public library of wine to borrow, study and learn from. I want to find a way to preserve and share the knowledge about wine that I see being lost every day, primarily due to cost. You can only learn so much from reading about wine. There is no substitute for tasting with someone who has more knowledge than you do about what is in the glass.

What we've lost are the pinnacles. Mortals can't drink DRC, d'Yquem, Haut Brion Blanc, etc. (Provocative: I don't consider Raveneau to be a pinnacle of Chablis. It's so atypical.). But with the means to spend up to $150 occasionally, one can get a sound Burgundy education. There's still lots to learn in the $30-$75 range, and you can get 90% of the way up the mountain at $150ish. And that's still a worthwhile view.

I've benefitted much from being in a Burgundy tasting group. We don't really have a member with an older collection, unfortunately, but we do have folks who bring expensive bottles. And every December we pool money and spend $2,500 or so on one or two bottles for our holiday dinner. It's enabled me to taste pretty broadly. One thing I've learned is that the Bourgogne level generally provides pretty sound insight into a house style, especially in a less solar vintage. If you missed the boat on Lignier premier cru being under $100, you can still taste what Lignier is like for $40 at the Bourgogne level, etc.

Bottom line for me is that the wine world is richer and more interesting today for American consumers than at any earlier point in history. Those lucky folks drinking Grand Cru Burgundy in the 60s didn't have access to, and had never even heard of, so many cool wines that enrich our lives today. If their knowledge and experience was a little deeper, it was also much narrower.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

I think there may be a slight misconception about what typical lawyers make in today’s world if Gentaz is deemed to be on the table. That’s private equity/venture capital/hedge fund territory and only the wealthiest of lawyers.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

Further to Pavel’s point, I do think we are looking back at a bit of an inflection point. In the past, and even through the price increases up to about 2004s, a much broader set of wine folks could experience the canonical greats and have that experience to inform their view of a now more affordable broader set of available quality wines. Those of us who grew up then were lucky in retrospect. Our view of quality wine now is through that lens. Would we have gotten there if we had missed that? Maybe so. Maybe just as a function of what we like. But it was definitely, and continues to be I think, our filter.

Jim, I hear you. But sadly I think, it only goes so far. The world has lost something egalitarian if you have to glean the quality of Lignier through the lens of the Bourgogne and not the Clos de la Roche or even the (previously $25-40) MSD VV.

 

[Tristan Welles]

originally posted by Florida Jim:
Your alternatives are mine, as well.
And they are just fine with me.
Life is adjustment.
Best, Jim.

Exactly. I have stopped buying. Mutatis mutandis.

 

[Claude Kolm]

originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
(Provocative: I don't consider Raveneau to be a pinnacle of Chablis. It's so atypical.).

Absolutely. I suppose you can say the same about DRC Montrachet in most vintages.

But with the means to spend up to $150 occasionally, one can get a sound Burgundy education.

I'm not sure how long that's going to last in the US. You can get very good Burgundy, but if you want to see what appellations such as Vosne, Chambolle, Morey, Gevrey,and Volnay, as well as Chassagne-Puligny-Meursault in white, are are like, you're probably out of luck for many/most premiers crus and the village wines from top producers in those appellations are starting to press up against that barrier. But wines from good producers in Marsannay, Fixin, Santenay, Maranges, the Hautes-Côtes, Côtes de Nuits-Villages, the Côte Chalonnaise, and M“connais whites are often equal to or better than wines from all but the very top premiers crus or producers of even 12-15 years ago. Global warming and improved viti- and vinicultural practices are responsible.

One thing I've learned is that the Bourgogne level generally provides pretty sound insight into a house style, especially in a less solar vintage.

Yes.

 

[Tom Blach]

The sad bit is that occasional chances to drink the really top stuff illuminate everything else wonderfully, making one understand what it is getting at, so it's a shame that it is generally so impossible nowadays.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

originally posted by Tom Blach:
The sad bit is that occasional chances to drink the really top stuff illuminate everything else wonderfully, making one understand what it is getting at, so it's a shame that it is generally so impossible nowadays.

True. The flipside is that drinking Real Wine(tm) helps sort out the truly great and the expensively-made-to-impress nonsense, among the "top stuff." I have privileged friends who often can't tell the difference.