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What's the oldest wine you've ever tasted? There's something rare and exciting about opening an exceptionally old bottle that makes any wine occasion special, and one litmus test that defines a dedicated "wine geek" is to ask whether he's ever enjoyed a wine older than he is. Ancient wines can offer an ethereal experience, developing subtle and elusive flavors that can be almost impossible to describe; and of course, in an all-too-obvious metaphor for life, the most ageworthy collectibles seem to gain richness and complexity with age ... but then they turn frail and weak and eventually they die. Most of us get to taste very old wines so rarely that we vividly remember them, and they tend to come out for special occasions when good friends gather. I still count among my most enduring wine memories a few ancient bottles and the friends I shared them with: A 1942 Vega Sicilia enjoyed with wine-forum pals in Madrid; a 1947 Seppelt Para Port shared with other friends in Sydney. The 1948 Niepoort Port opened with a small group of friends on the eve of the Millennium, and an amazing wine-forum tasting in 1993 that featured more than a dozen Chateau Palmer Margaux from 1921 through 1989. Memories are made of this, or wine memories are, anyway.
Tell us about the very old wines you've enjoyed! I've set up a simple online poll in our Netscape WineLovers Community. You can vote in the poll and view the tally without registration, although of course you're welcome to hang around and add your comments. Here's the ballot.
TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE: To contact me by E-mail, write wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.
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SUBSCRIBE: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
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