“I need your help,” said a friend, with a note of desperation in his voice. “My wine cellar has got out of hand.”
Steve has, by my standards, a fairly modest wine consumption of “a bottle or two a week” but has accumulated more than 1000 bottles in his basement wine cellar. The covid-19 lockdown encouraged him to dig into his cellar. He rejected two bottles for every three he opened.
Wine drinkers can be divided into two groups: hedonists and hoarders. Hedonists have difficulty hanging onto wine. Impulsive by nature, they drink the best bottles first. Hoarders, on the other hand, find it difficult to open their treasured bottles. They are collectors who are acutely aware that once the cork is pulled or the screwcap twisted, there is no going back. Steve is clearly a hoarder.
I suggested we start by sorting the wines into three categories: “Needs more time”, “Drink up” and “Stuffed”.
We started with the “Stuffed”. Steve’s cellar is not temperature-controlled. I would guess that the temperature swings between 10oC and 25oC on an annual basis. I recommended that he install a maximum/minimum thermometer, which can be purchased from hardware stores for less than $50.
When the wine heats up, it increases in volume, eventually causing the cork to leak. When the wine cools down, it can pull air into the bottle. That increases the rate of development and shortens the wine’s life. Screwcaps are airtight and less likely to be affected.
We stood every bottle upright, looking for signs of leakage and checking the wine fill level. Many auction catalogues record the level to help potential buyers check the wine health. As the fill level goes down, so does the auction price.
We also checked the depth of colour on white wines. As wine oxidises, the colour deepens. Nearly half the bottles wound up in the “Stuffed” pile, and Steve’s less-discerning family and friends were delighted to be given caseloads of dodgy wine. A visual inspection of half a dozen other bottles led us to believe they were marginal, and a tasting confirmed the contents were unpalatable.
The high number of rejects suggested that storage conditions needed to be improved. Steve subsequently investigated insulating the existing space and installing a chiller, or buying wine-storage cabinets. He chose the cabinets option, which was significantly cheaper.
The remaining wines were inspected and categorised. If they passed the fill-level test, we used logic to determine whether they went in the “Needs more time” or “Drink up” stack. For example, a 10-year-old chardonnay that looks fine would be classified as “Drink up”, while a three-year-old syrah would qualify for “Needs more time” status.
Steve now has a significantly slimmed-down cellar. He records every bottle on a spreadsheet with a “drink by” estimate, and he promises to follow this slavishly.
Bob’s Top Picks
Investment Wine
Felton Road 2019 Block 3 Pinot Noir, Central Otago, $89
Internationally respected, limited production and allocated. Powerful, elegant and potentially very complex pinot noir with floral/rose petal, dark cherry, plum, raspberry, five spice, dried herb and a suggestion of toasty oak flavours. The wine became more accessible as it sat in the glass, and deserves to be aerated. An initial hint of sweet fruit is balanced by stemmy tannins that are more pronounced on an impressively lengthy finish. A great cellaring prospect.
Weekend Wines
Top White
Villa Maria 2019 Keltern Vineyard Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay, $79.99
Yes, it is expensive, but it is also very, very good. Rich and highly concentrated chardonnay with peach, nectarine, apple, fresh baguette and nutty oak flavours. Fruit sweetness is perfectly balanced by ripe acidity. Delicious wine that promises to get even better with bottle age.
Top Red
Auntsfield 2019 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marlborough, $45
Elegant, dense and appealing pinot noir with ripe plum, cherry/berry and spicy oak flavours. Smooth-textured wine with restrained opulence and a core of fruit sweetness that balances fine tannins. Approachable now but will age well.
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