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+--- Thread: A good wine as a baptism gift? (/thread-19521.html)
- anita&john - 04-28-2005
Hi, all. We are interested in buying a bottle of decent wine as a baptism gift for our newborn nephew, for him to open when he comes of age. Could anybody out there reccommend a wine which will reach it's best in 18 years time? Thanks, Anita & John.
PS We're in the UK, if that makes any difference.
- hotwine - 04-28-2005
Howdy A&J and welcome to the board.
Buying a wine as a gift to be held for X number of years can be a problem. Much depends on the recipient's ability to store the wine under optimum conditions for a long period. Whichever label you choose will represent a roll of the dice, since there can be no guarantees regarding a wine's longevity. All you can do is bank on a particular label that has a good track record. A first growth Bordeuax like a Ch. d'Yquem, Ch. Margaux, Ch. Latour, Ch. Lafite, Haut-Brion, would all be candidates, but so would Barolos and Brunellos. Not an easy choice. And to repeat, there would be no guarantee of its drinkability 18 years hence. (Note that all of the Bordeaux mentioned on the primary market now are 2001 and 2002 vintages.)
- Thraz - 04-28-2005
Are you trying to buy a wine from the birth year? If so, you will probably have to wait a couple of years - high end, long life wines tend to be available for purchase a couple of years after their harvest year. This brings up another point: the harvest being in September-October (well, in the northern hemisphere), nobody knows yet if 2005 wines will age well. If your nephew was born in 2004, you will still have to wait a while before you can find high-end wines from that year.
A safer option might be a vintage port. This should easily last 20 years. Not every year is vintage-worthy, I think the last one was 2000, but if you are willing to go for a year that is different from the birth year you could do that. Otherwise wait to find out if 2004 or 2005 will be vintage years for port.
- anita&john - 04-28-2005
Thanks for your thoughts. Regarding vintage, his parents were married in 1999, so that could be appropiate. Was '99 a good year for any particular wine to age?
- winoweenie - 04-28-2005
Hi Anita and welcome to the board. Your best bet is a Vintage Port. With optimum storage they have no problem with 20+ years. Ask your local wine merchants which houses have declared in either 99 ot the year your lucky young nephew was born. WW
[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 04-28-2005).]
- Innkeeper - 04-28-2005
Don't know why I always have to be the bad guy when this guestion comes up. The problems of selection and storage are huge, but not the biggest problem in my humble opinion. You have absolutely no idea what so ever if that young tyke is going to like wine of any sort, much less the one you selected for him at age 18; or for that matter at age twenty one or thirty. Even if you are a robust wine drinking family, the chances are not good. I would suggest putting some amount of money into a trust or govenment security, and taking a look at how his life is going at the appropriate age. If at 18, he is a consumate wine drinker, cash in the security and buy him a nice case or two of the wine he likes.
- anita&john - 04-29-2005
Thank you all for your time and expertise - we'll give it some thought. Oh and Innkeeper, you're not the bad guy, what you say is absolutely true, and we appreciate your idea. Thanks again, A & J
- Thraz - 04-29-2005
I was just on parenting-skills-forum.com, and it's incredible how desperately in need of wine advice those people are! (insert smiley suggesting gentle teasing with otherwise immense respect here --> )
[This message has been edited by Thraz (edited 04-29-2005).]
- wondersofwine - 04-29-2005
Thraz, when the web name runs words together as this did, it can cause confusion. At first I read it as the "parenting kills" forum. Hope not too many people are perishing from fatherhood or motherhood.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 04-29-2005).]
- TheEngineer - 04-29-2005
This is being provided as an answer only to the question of did any Port houe declare 99. The only house that I know of was Sandman. They have a 99 Vau Vintage.
- Thraz - 04-29-2005
Well WOW, sometimes I think it's killing me. But that's not what I meant in my post!
- steviesedmak - 04-29-2005
Ha Ha, sometimes I think its killing me too! I have a ten year old who is driving me batty! Thankgod I have vino to hold me together....!!!
S