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94 barrelli creel - a lesson in provenance - Printable Version

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- newsguy - 05-18-2001

well, in an earlier thread on this wonderful cab from gallo, drew and I seemed to think this bottling was peaking, and WW said he was figuring these babies would stay on their peak plateau for 5-7 years with good storage. the key is all about provenance, WW said.

well, i found out what a difference provenance can make just the other night. the first bottle i had of this fine wine a month ago was definitely at the top of its game and the tannins were gone. so i'd figure i'd pop a bottle every month or so until my supply was out (since i don't have good storage yet). second bottle was in the exact same state as the first: perfect, and perfectly ready. well, i popped bottle number 3 with a friend on bachelor's night (our wives both out of town) to go with a 2-inch thick porterhouse and baked potatoes. imagine my surprise when, after letting the wine breathe for an hour or so, i took the first sip. ah, that great barrelli creek taste, but then it was shut down within 10 seconds by a curtain of tannins.

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? i asked out loud. i was stunned. this bottle seemed to clearly be at least 2-3 years shy of peaking. how could it be so different from the first two bottles? the only thing i can come up with: provenance. i found these four bottles on the shelves of a local retailer back in february. at this point, we were in the middle of the 96s on this wine, so it seemed obvious that the retailer and/or wholesaler found some 94s somewhere and put them out on the shelves. the first two bottles i had must have spent some time in warmer temperatures, while the third one was prolly at 55 or cooler the entire time. i was shaking my head with regret while drinking it. "Baby killer," i muttered to myself.

so, that's my hands-on lesson in provenance.

and now that my wife has started vet school, my reward to myself is getting some long-term storage. i'm going out next week to rent a 6-case wine locker. as bruce springsteen once wrote, "From small things, mamma, big things one day come." (That's right folks, bruce wrote that song and he let dave edmunds record it).

have a good weekend all.

p.s. just to play it safe, i'll be letting my final bottle of 94 barrelli creek sit in storage for a few years. in fact, my wife will be a D.V.M. in four years. maybe it would be a perfect bottle to go with her graduation dinner [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]


[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 05-18-2001).]

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 05-18-2001).]


- chittychattykathy - 05-18-2001

Newsguy,
Sounds like that will be the perfect time to open a great bottle of wine! By the way, your wife has picked a career that I really thought about when I was young (er), that's so coo'.


- newsguy - 05-18-2001

kathy,

my wife thought about it when she was younger, too. she just didn't have the confidence to give it a go when she was in college the first time earning her bacherlor's degree, and no one was telling her she could do it.

but 3 years ago i finally talked her into quitting her job and going back to school to do this. now, she's in the incoming class at the university of florida's vet school and she earned a 4.0 GPA in all her prereqs (scary stuff, to me, like chemistry, microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, calculus, anatomy & physiology and the like).

she'll be 40 when she finally gets her D.V.M. plus, there's a 53-year-old with her in the Class of 2005.

it's never too late to do what you what. well, almost never.


- winoweenie - 05-18-2001

That's sensational! Tell her I'll send a graduation bottle. (If you Remind me, as the memory is the second thing to go). WW


- Drew - 05-18-2001

newsguy, I can tell you from experience that the Barrelli Creek single vineyard needs the longest time to age soooo don't sweat it, the provenance probably was too good. Whadya think WW?

Drew


- winoweenie - 05-19-2001

IMHO the 94 Barilli still has at least 3 years before it tops out. I monitor the SV Gallos once a year and looking back on the 94 BC I definately think it still has a way to go. Then the sucker should hold for at least 'nother 5. WW


- newsguy - 05-21-2001

thanks all. i'm playing it safe with that last bottle of 94. into storage it goes -- and stays for a long time.

and thanks so much, WW, for the kind gesture. coming from your cellar, i can't tell you how much i'll be looking forward to that bottle. now i'll just have to make sure she doesn't want to specialize and hold the reward up another year or two [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img] waiting to 2005 is plenty long enough.

hmm. 2005...i bet the 97 barrelli creek might just start getting drinkable then. i keep checking the shelves down here, but so far only the 97 zin.

patience is a tough virtue to master.

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 05-21-2001).]


- Drew - 06-23-2002

We settled on our "new, 1974" house at the "new" house on Friday at 8:30 pm. The settlement was done with Eileen and I and the settlement agent, Bob, as our sellers had moved to Cape Cod and had assigned a power of attorney to their attorney for settlement on this Monday morning. Anyway, the three of us settled in our dining room at the new house and I popped a bottle of the '94 Barrelli Creek, having been pre- warned from my son, who is a mortgage broker,that Bob loves a glass of wine...the Barrelli just keeps getting better. Bob, the settlement agent, said it was the best settlement he'd ever hosted. Took us 30 minutes to settle and 1 1/2 hours to toast our signatures.

Drew

[This message has been edited by Drew (edited 06-24-2002).]


- winoweenie - 06-24-2002

Yea verily, Drew-busted-sucker ole pal. I too had a 94 Big-B with all my red-mnecked buddies in Dalton. When I get enough energy back I'll post my recollections notes on the bottles scarfed as you don't have time enough to make notes with the group of mine. Sounds like a fun way to end a stressful event. Happy Days. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]