Buying Vintage Wines To Commemorate A Special Year - A Guide
I remember back in my wine retailing days being besieged by requests from customers for bottles of wine from the years of their children's births.
I also had customers wanting wines commemorating wedding aniversaries, christenings, and almost any other occasion you can imagine. In the last couple of months, both my wife and our office cleaner (the latter something of a wine nut, which gives our nightly bin emptying sessions a whole new flavour) have made similar requests.
So what do you need to think about when you're after this type of present?
In no particular order, the following all need to be taken into account:
1. (IN GENERAL) THE YOUNGER YOU BUY, THE MORE AFFORDABLE THE WINE WILL BE Are you a newly anointed Godfather? Thinking about buying some vintage Port? Good idea, but buy for the Christening, not for your Godchild's 18th birthday. Buying immature wine, that is not yet ready for drinking, is generally far better bang for your buck. Just make sure you store the wine well.
2. REMEMBER NOT EVERY YEAR IS A GOOD VINTAGE YEAR, AND NOT ALL WINES AGE WELL Although the majority of wines are vintage dated (i.e. they are not non vintage/blends of more than one year), many wines are not produced with long term cellarage in mind.
Additionally, those wines that are capable of ageing (Clarets, Burgundies, Rhone wines, top end Californian wines etc) typically don't have fantastic years, year on year (despite what the winemakers may tell you). If you want to buy a vintage wine, and plan to lay it down (or plan for the recipient to lay it down), ask the seller you are buying it from of its cellaring potential.
If you are spending a lot, also check that the vintage you are looking for is deemed to be a successful one. Vintage charts abound on the web - the Berry Brothers and Rudd website has a particularly useful section dedicated to this. Do remember however, that pronouncements on vintages are risky.
Some wines fare very well in vintages that are otherwise known to be unsuccessful. It can pay to look at individual, objective feedback from wine critics on particular wines.
3. REMEMBER THAT WINES (AND SPIRITS) THAT ARE LABELLED 10 YEAR OLD, 20 YEAR OLD, 30 YEAR OLD ETC GENERALLY DO NOT DEVELOP IN BOTTLE Famous wines that fall into this category are Tawny (wood aged) Ports, and of course Whiskies of various types and styles. These bottles do not benefit from further maturation (and as a result of this, don't appreciate in value significantly).
4. USE THE INTERNET The internet, particularly the Wine Searcher website, is great for searching for older bottles of wine in particular. Get surfing.
5. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, GO FOR A VINTAGE ARMAGNAC Trying to source a wine from a generally duff year? Worry not, those clever producers in Armagnac produce vintage Armagnac year in year out, and due to the nature of Armagnac production, generally produce a consistent spirit.
