October 30, 2009

Marques de Caceres - Rioja - 1987


Tempranillo / 1987
Rioja / Spain

Every once in a while a bottle of wine falls through the cracks. The more wine you have, the easier it is to lose one in the mix of racking and case boxes. Annually I go through my wines to try to find these sneaky bottles and get them back to where they belong.

Sometimes I am highly disappointed when I find a nice bottle of wine and realize it has been lost too long, and is probably too old to enjoy. This is a bigger problem with white wines that generally have a much shorter shelf life.

Two years ago I came upon a bottle of Spanish Rioja from Marques de Caceres while organizing my racks. It was a "Riserva" bottling from 1987. I remember purchasing this while in Spain with my wife in 1992. These wines are generally released late, after cellaring at the estate from 3-5 years.

I probably spent $20 on this bottle in 1994. At that time, this was the upper range of what I was willing to spend on a wine, and an indulgence. I thought it would be a nice bottle to open a few years later to remember the great time we had in Spain.

Well, the wine was put on racks when we got back to Annapolis waiting for the appropriate occasion. In 2000, my family an I moved to Potomac, Maryland - and all of the wines got packed in mixed boxes for the move. Once we got into the new home, the boxes (About 50 boxes) sat against the basement wall.

As they say - Best laid plans......the boxes stayed against the basement wall until I build my wine cellar 3 years ago. At that time all of the wines were racked, catalogued, and organized to a degree so I could find the wines I was looking for. This poor Rioja popped out of a box - already 17 years old.

I put this wine and about 20 other bottles on a rack outside of the wine cellar to make vinegar. (Like I have time to make vinegar). There they have sat for 3 years - lonely, dusty and neglected.

Last week I invited some good friends over for wine, food and fun. While trekking down to the cellar for some more wine, my friend Fernando saw the neglected bottle of Rioja on the Vinegar shelf. When I told him the story, he wisely said "Why don't we open it?". Worst case would be it was bad, and we could dump it out. What a fabulous idea!

With much fanfare we opened the bottle. After carefully removing the cork (Which was in remarkable condition), a quick sniff led me to believe we may have gotten lucky. I poured the wine - a little darker then a normal Rioja - but this was older then a normal Rioja. I smelled dark fruit and a touch of prune on the nose. The wine tasted great. The fruit was still there - blackberry, currant and red bramble fruit mixed with leather and a bit of sherry. The wine was certainly beyond its prime. It was very thin and not near as supple as a peak Rioja should be. For 20 years old, it was a winner.

So what is the lesson in all of this? First of all, never assume a wine is bad. It is always worth giving it a try. My friend Fernanado and I now have a good story to share regarding a great night with friends, and a fabulous Rioja that was long left for dead. Depending upon how a wine is stored, you can sometimes get longer life then expected from a wine. If you have a strong vintage, the tannins in a wine may preserve it for much longer then you expect. Once in a while, there is no explanation. Even after sitting for 3 years on the Vinegar shelf, this humble Rioja had its 15 minutes of fame.

2 comments:

  1. Hey,

    Not only is this truly a lovely Rioja story, but I have some minor details to add. Had it NOT been a MARQUES DE CÁCERES, a name and label I am all too familiar with, I would have probably just walked right on by. I have had my fair share of Marques de Cáceres and it has always proven to be a very bold and reliable wine (in it's prime of course).

    What had caught my attention was not only the label but the coincidence that it was Cáceres. As I mentioned, Cáceres is a small village / town with an amazing medieval city in Extremadura (Southwestern Spain) Province. I go there every chance I get as it is an awesome little place. Packed with a punch. Furthermore, it is about a 40 minute drive from Mérida, my mom's hometown and an area of Spain I am very familiar with.

    Another little twist is credited to my father, who was essential in teaching me a lot about wines and the art of drinking spirits. He HATED to throw wine away and certainly would let it turn to vinegar to used in the kitchen before throwing any away. We had a similar experience with a couple of bottles that had sat in a cellar for too long and lo and behold he says, "Worst case scenario we will not be able to drink it.".......Well after ten years past its prime those little bottle still kept a decent bouquet.He added, "Always give RESERVAS a last chance and NEVER, EVER give up on GRAN RESERVAS."
    Way to go Dad (R.I.P.)!!

    I had intended to send you a card telling you what a great time I had. I figured the above anecdotes make up for my loose ending it. The "Turly" was truly nice and a great way to end the evening and the music was certainly a trip WAY BACK INTO MY PAST. My lord you went back 30 years in many cases. Truly inspirational........!!

    So we will need to get together again soon! Formally, informally, whatever!! Have you ever been to Joe's Noodle Shop off of Rockville Pike? I think you would like it as it is perhaps one of the few Chinese establishments that I would consider pretty close to authentic to the mainland thing. If you get a chance, take the kids or we can keep in mind for an outing.

    Take care and great to read that wonderfull story; it put a smile on my face.
    Fernando

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  2. Hey Fernando,

    That's a nice story about your dad. I'll raise my glass to him later tonight.

    Thanks.

    Tom Sakell :: harborsights.com

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