Storage Issues: What should I put in my wine cooler?

Y

Yule Kim

Yule Kim
Having lurked on this board for a while, I've begun to really appreciate the accumulated knowledge of all the posters. Unfortunately, as my interest in wine has grown, I've bought too many bottles and don't know which ones I should keep in my cooler for "cellaring" and what I should just drink now or leave in my closet and hope will survive. While I would like to put stuff in off-site storage, unfortunately, that isn't an option due to price. (DC is expensive, I've found).

So far I got in my cooler:

2005 Christian Serafin Morey-St. Denis Les Millandes
2005 Bertrand Ambroise Nuits St Georges Vielle Vignes
2005 Henri Gouges Nuits St. George Les Prulier
2005 D'Angerville Volnay Premier Cru
2006 Montrose
2006 Branaire Ducru
2006 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Papes (2 bottles)
2007 V. Dauvissat Chablis La Forest
2007 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese
2007 J.J. Prum Graachen Himmelreich Auslese

Candidates outside of my cooler that I could put in it:

2007 Schafer-Frohlich Monziger Halenberg Spatlese
2007 Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Spatlese
2005 Closel Savennieres Clos de Papillon
2002 Pierre Bertheau Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru
2004 Fevre Chablis Bougros
2006 Joguet Chinon Les Petite Roches
2007 Diochon Moulin a Vent
2007 Lapierre Morgon
2007 Vissoux Fleurie Les Garants

So, I can fit 11 bottles in the cooler, with two of them having to be rieslings because they are thinner, so I can squeeze them in one of the shelves.

Granted, the cooler probably isn't that much better than leaving them outside, but until I can save up to buy a Eurocave, I'm stuck wih this.

All advice and help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Not an easy choice, my guess is people will choose which wines they would like to drink aged. I'll probably suffer ridcule, but I'd choose the '05 Burgs and the higher cost wines to go in your cellar. You might be able to get a cheaper type unit from Sears for 40 bottles or so.
 
originally posted by Tom Glasgow:
Not an easy choice, my guess is people will choose which wines they would like to drink aged. I'll probably suffer ridcule, but I'd choose the '05 Burgs and the higher cost wines to go in your cellar. You might be able to get a cheaper type unit from Sears for 40 bottles or so.
Click to expand...

I'm sure not the same amount of ridicule I just set myself up for writing this post. Thanks for the advice.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
Is this a sample new SAT question?
Click to expand...

Yeah, the College Board thought it needed a better indicator of college aptitude by having four parts to the test: Verbal, Math, Writing, and Boozing.

Though, of course, a better sample question would probably be: if you are going to play beer pong, do you choose (a) PBR, (b) Miller High Life, (c) Natty Light, or (d) Charles Shaw.

Of course, this is a slightly trick question since there is something classy in the mix (that would be (b), the champagne of beers after all).
 
I live in Washington, DC in an apartment building. Luckily, it gets freezing cold in the summers because of the central air, but becomes a sauna in the winters because everyone in the building lets the heat blast.
 
I agree with Kay.

If all you've got are singletons, you're pretty much guaranteed to drink them at the "wrong" time whatever you do, so why not make the wrong time now?

That said, I'd leave those '05 Burgs alone, especially the d'Angerville.
 
Keep the medium-term whites in your regular fridge. In the crisper, if you want to get particular about humidity. Refrigerators are more efficient when full, anyway.
 
All this talk of saving the '05 Burgundy, and no thought for the '07 rieslings that are basically impossible to drink now with any pleasure?
 
Kay, Tom, and Arjun:

Thanks for the advice. Looks like the consensus is that, but for the '05 burgs and maybe the '07 rieslings, just drink and be merry. Yeah, sometimes I get so wrapped up in trying to learn this stuff that I forget that the point is to just drink it and have fun. Thanks for the advice. Looks like the beaujolais and chinon are going to have a date with my liver soon.

SFJoe:

By medium term whites, do you mean the rieslings, Dauvissat, and Closel? Does that include the '04 Fevre or can I drink that without too much guilt?

Levi:

Are the '07s really that closed right now? I thought rieslings could be drunk young? Also, are the Frohlichs undrinkable right now? I heard that Prums could be unpleasant young because of sulfur, but I remember reading someone on this board raving about the Frohlichs as drinking well, but of course that was a couple of months ago so maybe they've already shut down?

Thanks everyone. I really do appreciate all the advice. Wine is kind of daunting, but that is what is making it so fun for me right now [especially with all the welcome hand holding I'm getting].
 
Yule, I'm going to be straight up with you here, and not do the F U thing, or joke around. I'm not sure why I am going to do this, but here goes:

Both JJ Prum and Shafer-Frohlich use a lot of sulphur. I recommend you not drink them for a long time. By which I mean a long time. Others may disagree.

If you want something young to drink now-ish for a decent price, why don't you search out some Carl Loewen?

In general, a lot of the other things in your listing could age for awhile. At least into the medium term. If you wanted to open something soonish, I would make it one of the chardonnays, but that is just me.

I think you have some nice wines ahead of you, although I would recommend you try a little more Pallagrello Nero in your diet, and I wish you happy drinking.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:

In general, a lot of the other things in your listing could age for awhile. At least into the medium term. If you wanted to open something soonish, I would make it one of the chardonnays, but that is just me.
Click to expand...

In large part, I agree here with Ivan Levi. Those '07 Beaujolais are very attractive right now, so no worries there. I'm not sure about that Joguet bottling, but you could probably drink it sooner rather than later. The Fevre Chablis can certainly age longer in theory but worries about premature oxidation have made many of us gunshy about letting Chablis sit around too long. The '07 Dauvissat needs a few years to show its best, so I'd hang on to that. And, if it were me, I'd flip the Serafin and Ambroise on Winebid and go out and get some more of that yummy Beaujolais.

Mark Lipton
 
Also, depending on how long you have been drinking and how developed your preferences are, it probably wouldn't be a crime to drink any of these. You'd learn something and you'd have more information about how to focus your future purchases. Sure you could age lots of these wines for a long time, but are you sure you'd like the result?

Aging such a random selection of singletons doesn't seem like the ideal strategy for building a cellar.

But then my strategies haven't been ideal either, so nevermind...

In general I would worry less and drink more. Whether these bottles or all the new bottles you are (hopefully) buying!
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
All this talk of saving the '05 Burgundy, and no thought for the '07 rieslings that are basically impossible to drink now with any pleasure?
Click to expand...

You paint with a very broad brush there, Levi. Are you talking about all '07 Germans or just the ones in the list? I'd agree with you on Prum, and respectfully disagree on Schafer-Frohlich.
 
Levi:

Thanks for the tips. Definitely will look into Loewen (did a quick search and was able to locate a 2006 Leiwener Klostergarten Kabinett, so I'll be sure to pick it up next time I'm at that store and give it a try). Also, the Pallagrello Nero suggestion is intriguing. I really dig Italian wines, but sometimes its so bewildering I throw my hands in the air and cry mercy trying to figure it out. I bought an Aglianico del Vulture today and plan to open it with my sister who is making me dinner tomorrow (steak and potatoes, yum). It is only a $10 bottle from apparently really young vines, so I have low expectations, but it should be fun to taste something new. Hopefully I'll be able to buy some Pallagrello Nero sometime soon (if I can find them---DC isn't the wine mecca that you would think it would be for a city of its size).

Mark:

I didn't know prem ox affected Chablis. I thought that was more a Cote de Beaune chard problem. Is all Chardonnay susceptible to oxidation or is it just a Burgundy problem?

Also, are Serafin and Ambroise really that bad? I did notice that no one talks about those producers on this board (I bought those wines before finding this board), so I assumed they weren't as good as say Chevillon or Bachelet, but I was hoping they would still be solid. Are they 200% new oak types of wine or are they deficient for other reasons?

Rahsaan:

Yeah, I agree. When I made my purchases, I was just chasing down "deals," usually stuff on sale at the local wine stores (irrespective of whether they actually were deals). But since I didn't know what to get, I kind of bought broadly when I should have been more focused. But, at least I know better now: buy in threes (or cases preferably). Now I just need to get that Eurocave so I can do that. In order to save up, I guess it is cat food and those '07 beaujolais until then.

Anyone recommend their favorite producers? [of either cat food or beaujolais {insert winky emoticon here)].
 
What happened to good old fashioned ramen? Cat food is expensive. Ramen got me through college. Well, OK, that and bacon. And a very, very tiny amount of beer. So little you'd hardly even notice.

Chablis is indeed occasionally affected by premature oxidation. I think you're probably OK with the Fvre (http://oxidised-burgs.wikispaces.com/Fevre), though. Vincent Dauvissat is apparently more mixed (http://oxidised-burgs.wikispaces.com/Dauvissat,+Vincent).

I would leave everything that's currently in your cooler intact, unless you follow the advice to unload something. If you're inclined to drink anything from there, make it one bottle of the Beaucastel or the Fvre (but if you're going to do either, do it soon).

I would follow Lendl's advice on the other Germans. I might put the 2002 Burgundy in the cellar. The rest is drink or hold, as you prefer and have room (not drink and hold, as we'd usually advise, because you only have singles).

I would also sell the D.C. apartment and move into the wine room at Convivio.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top