Defies all odds and OTBN
From site reader Shari: file under “defies all odds.”
“I had one of those crazy wine experiences last week. Ancient bottle (1991) of Los Vascos can from Chile. Probably bought it in 93 when it was about $5. It got dragged from apt to apt through working cellars and non. Then dragged it up to Vermont where it happily sat in a downstairs closets probably fairly constantly at 55-65. Then hauled it out at Christmas, stuck it in a little snow to chill ever so slightly from the hot kitchen. Brought it in, never opened it, let it sit in the hot kitchen til last week. Opened it knowing that I had no right to expect anything but vinegar. it was delicious. What I didn’t drink, I baked into wine biscuits. Good story for the recession and in advance of Open That Bottle Night!”
Well, clearly I didn’t get this comment up before OTBN, which was this past Saturday. John Brecher and Dottie Gaiter of the WSJ created this tremendous, blog-style-before-there-were blogs interactive event, now in its tenth edition, to encourage people to open a special bottle that they had kept putting off opening. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for me to participate this past Saturday (had a cold); what did you uncork?
On March 2nd, 2009 at 11:13 am ,Anna wrote:
I would love the recipe for the wine biscuits. Sounds interesting!
On March 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Hi Anna,
I don’t know Shari’s exact recipe but a wine biscuit recipe appeared here before from a guest contributor:
http://www.drvino.com/2006/08/15/wine-after-its-time/
Cheers,
On March 2nd, 2009 at 12:31 pm ,Bob wrote:
I guess I participated in OTBN without realizing it. Just by chance, because of particular guests visiting for the weekend, I opened a 1989 Caymus Napa Cabernet that has been in 3 different cellars (as I moved) since I bought it in the early 1990’s. As I recall, that wasn’t a particularly good year, and while the wine wasn’t great, it was very good.
On March 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm ,Bob W. wrote:
We participated in OTBN by opening our last bottle of 1997 Dievole Plenum Secundus. This is a blend of Sangiovese and Nebbilio that we purchased at the Dievole vineyard during our stay their a few years ago. I was beginning to worry that his bottle would not last much longer. How wrong I was! The bottle had at least 2-3 more years of staying power. It’s an interesting bottle in that the Sangiovese is the more powerful flavor profile but the Nebbiolo in very present in the background.
Anyway, it was a great reason to open a bottle that we were holding for a special day but never could decide what the special day should be. It paired well with the Filet Mignon, Baked Potato, Green Beans and Tomato & Mozzerela salad dressed with EVOO and 25 year aged Salsa Balsamica.
On March 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm ,Ken wrote:
L’ecole, Apogee, 1998! Wasn’t sure how these Washington state darlings would age, the Apogee seems to be holing its own quite nicely (some of the Walla Walla favorites seem to fall apart after a few years)! Love the notes of dusty chocolate! I had been saving this wine for something, can’t remember what, found it in the back of the rack and decided it was the one… I am sure in a day or two I will remember what important event it was for!
On March 2nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm ,Brian Shaw wrote:
I shared a bottle of Puech Haut Clos Du Pic 2004 with my girlfriend. It was a massive wine! And, after some breathing it opened up like a blossom. Beautiful.
On March 5th, 2009 at 9:04 pm ,Dylan wrote:
Wow, I’m blown away by Shari’s story. I don’t know if it’s odds-defying as much as death-defying.
On March 11th, 2009 at 12:41 pm ,smorris wrote:
Opened a 1988 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou with my dad. Didn’t know what to expect, since he’s moved about 5 times since he bought the bottle, and storage probably wasn’t good…but the wine was delicious and probably even had several years of life remaining…