So . . . the story goes like this. You pick up a six bottle case of killer vintage Brut Rosé Champagne from a highly respected house with the hopes of holding on to it until the wine is very mature and, hopefully, valuable due to it's rarity. You get scolded by your significant other for making such a lofty and expensive purchase and by the time the wine is settled in on your wine racks in the dark and chilly cellar and the cardboard box has been recycled, you hopefully have forgotten about the wine so you can allow it to languish for some years to come. I mean, seriously - who doesn't buy a nice bottle, six-pack or case of wine fully knowing that they will be in serious trouble with the wife? But it's all worth it, right? You'll open up that bottle of wine you've been holding in the cellar for 10-12 years and when she says "Wow" and asks "Where did you get this gorgeous wine?" you will have to remind her of the tongue lashing she dealt you when you tried to sneak the case down to the cellar. This is my reality.
Now here is the other reality: The wine in question is a Champagne - synonymous with celebrations and good times - so what if there is a suitable reason to celebrate and the only bubbly on hand is this remarkable, incredibly spendy and delicious wine you had been hoping to save for 20 years?
Thanks for playing along thus far. We'll get somewhere . . . I promise.
Here is my issue. I bought a six-pack of the Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé 1995 back in 2003. I have been holding onto some of it for six years now. Somehow we managed to consume five bottles over the past six years at celebratory dinners and so forth. On each occasion when I tasted the wine I enjoyed it immensely, yet felt the wine needed more cellar-time in order to develop the complexities that I personally enjoy in a Champagne like Bollinger. Now there is one bottle left and the special occasion du jour is my 10th Wedding Anniversary. The 1995 Bollinger is the only bottle of bubbly we own suitable enough to take to the Farmhouse Restaurant tonight, yet I'd rather save it for our 25th Anniversary. This is a full bodied, rich, opulent wine with strawberry and toasted brioche complexities. A barrel-aged cuvee of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the 1995 vintage, seasoned with a post-fermentation dosage of honey and Grand Champagne Cognac. In 1995 there was no malolactic fermentation, a considerably light crop was harvested and there was the presence of botrytis in the vineyards which called for thinning and berry selection - all contributing to the conditions where the wine will develop deep complexities and enjoy the structure of bracing acidity - all factors capable of allowing this wine to age for a much longer time than other vintages.
In November of 2002 the Wine Spectator said ". . . firm, powerful structure that needs time to integrate all the elements." Needs time.
What should I do? Should I go out and buy a bottle of something different, just so I can save the Bollinger? Should I just drink it and hope it shows the complexities that I desire in a classic Champagne? Should I bring a red to the restaurant and buy a Champagne from their list?
These wine-based complications are the Devil's toe jam.
The other side of the coin is this: Wine was made to be consumed, not saved for posterity. It was lovingly stored in temperature controlled conditions for it's entire journey from the House of Bollinger in Aÿ, Champagne, France to my Eurocave. This is not some dusty bottle of (shudder to think) White Star received as a gift and stored in the convective hot zone above the 'fridge. We are talking about something rare and special. Though I may want to wait for the wine, the wine does not wait for me, so why should I delay any further? To paraphrase the Doritos folks, "Drink it! We'll make more!!". Sure it will taste better if aged for a few years, but it is a 1995 - that's a 14 year-old vintage. Maybe this is the year.
Look at this!! I am quantifying the consumption of a bottle of wine that I was moments ago dreading the thought of even the possibility of allowing to see the light of day. Geez! This is a therapeutic rant, if I say so myself!
The resolve: Drinking this beautiful Champagne on a special night like my 10th Anniversary will forever be etched in my memory. Delightful food at one of Sonoma's best restaurants, the company of my lovely wife and our enjoyment and celebration together as we sip crisp, lovely, ethereal Bollinger Champagne.
And now there will be room in the cellar to buy something else.
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