Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Buying Older California Cabernets

There’s an interesting article in today’s LA Times on buying older, pre-cult California Cabernet Sauvignons:

In this overheated atmosphere with collectors from all over the world vying for the big names in old wine, one corner of the wine market—California Cabernet Sauvignon vintage 1985 and older—remains stocked with affordable treasures, according to experts on rare wine.

A handful of savvy connoisseurs collects these wines—not to fill their cellars with bragging rights, but to drink. Bidding on these older California wines in online auctions offers novice enthusiasts an avenue for exploring the pleasures of mature fine wine.

“It’s the last undiscovered top-quality wine in the market,” says David Parker, president of online wine auction house Brentwood Wine Co. ...

“Among the established old-wine buyers, the folks setting the high prices for wines at auction, the prevailing attitude is that California wines last 10 years and then fade,” says Scott Torrance, wine specialist at Christie’s in Los Angeles. “They are misinformed. Most of these buyers have never experienced the older vintage California wines. These wines are wonderful when they have been stored well.” ...

Acker’s Kapon has developed a list of “best bets” when it comes to buying “classic” California wines. Beaulieu Vineyard, Heitz, Dunn, Ridge, Chateau Montelena, Robert Mondavi, Foreman and Spottswood are the names to watch, he says.

I’ve picked up a number of older California cabs from Winebid.com with mixed success. Pretty much anything I’ve bought from the 1990 vintage onwards has been fine to superb. Pre-1990 bottles have been mixed. Some clearly were stored improperly at some point and others were just past their prime. But every once in a while, you get a real gem.

I stick to BV Private Reserve, Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, Ridge Montebello, and Mondavi reserve when buying pre-1990 wines, although I’d probably spring for pre-1980 Louis Martini reserves if I came across them. I only buy wines whose fill level are still in the neck and show no signs of seepage. And then I keep my fingers crossed.