So the parables of tonight’s lessons are 1. Don’t play Bananagrams in a chair hunched over the coffee table. And 2. Don’t return to a wine seller that sells you a bottle which he claims to be “wonderful” when it in fact, isn’t. –Well at least, I won’t.
My poor back is aching because d grabbed the couch seat as we set up to play Banangrams, a game which he brought home from visiting his folks in Louisiana for the holidays. I really like this game a lot, it’s the only one we play where David doesn’t have what seems like an automatic winning advantage over me.
Anyway, tonight was the (long awaited) night when we opened the other bottle of wine (Henri Darnat Meursault) I bought David for Christmas. I even stopped at Dean & Deluca on my way home from work to pick up a little extra camembert cheese to go along with it and some really nice 70% cocoa “Madeline” truffles for dessert.
When I opened the bottle I immediately was a little disappointed because the cork didn’t pull out with the same resonant pop that the bottle of Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes had. And secondly, when I sniffed the cork I could immediately tell the wine was going to be much lighter than I had anticipated.
I poured a tasting portion for David and I and was not able to come to any taste conclusion after my initial sniff–I had to just go ahead and taste it. I was immediately disappointed, then angered. Sadly, this Meursault was nothing like, not even close to, the Meursault Perrieres I had tasted in class. Really, I should never have bought this bottle from this seller, but I had already walked from 94th St to 108th St (in December temperatures) in hopes of finding a bottle of Meursault Perrieres and I didn't feel like turning around and walking all the way back to the other wine store now...
From the beginning, the guy seemed like he had no desire or intention of assisting me in any way, shape or form. Alas, I was on a gift purchasing mission, so I had no choice but to ask him for assistance.
I pulled out my handy little list of the three bottles I was in search of that day and asked him if he had any of them–or anything comparable.
“No, I don’t have these.”
“Well do you have anything comparable??”
He proceeded to bring me over to his section of Meursault wines and showed me a few different bottles. He gestured to three bottles in particular and said, “Don’t look at the prices.”
(Why I bought something from him after that, I do not know.)
He then propped one up, the Henri Darnat Meursault, and said, “This one is wonderful.”
Now I don’t know all of the techniques salesmen employ when selling a product (I was never a good salesman myself), but out of the three bottles he showed me, the one I went for ($52.99) was the mid-range priced bottle–the highest one being in the hundred dollar range and the other being about $20 less. In retrospect, I think I probably fell for his bait, thinking I was making the “prudent decision.”
But, in my opinion, this bottle was not worth its $53 price tag. I think $7 or $7.98 would have been a more suitable price point.
First of all, it was very light--feather light. And if my wine knowledge, as green as it may be, serves me correctly, the grapes in this wine were not very ripe. The water line, when tilted, seemed pretty significant (which implies age), yet the color of the wine was still very green and clear. (Which is what lead me to believe that the grapes were not very ripe to begin with.) And the wine carried no bouquet either, just an aroma of green apple.
Now if you like this kind of wine, fine. I can certainly think of suitable occasions and pairings for it. However, I would never pay $53 for it. I would much rather purchase a Barton & Guestier Vouvray, at its usual selling price of $7.98.
What I was looking for, and what would have been comparable to Louis Jadot's Meursault Perrieres, would have been something heavy, full-bodied, with thick, woodsy bouquets of old and ripened fruit. Something like that, I would have paid $53 for.
So, the moral of this story is to 1. Buy your wine from a seller that has sold you something you like before. And 2. Don't return to a seller that has mislead you into buying a bad bottle of wine.
Being in New York City, there are so many options for us when it comes to purchasing wine and spirits. Instead of hopping from one wine store to another, stick to one that you like and get to know the sellers there and what they carry. Over time, you'll have a good repertoire of wines that you do and don't enjoy.
Time is too short to waste your money on bad wine.
2 comments:
what should I start out with? I'm finding that my taste is changing. I don't like the sugary taste of the wines I've had before.
You want to look for dry wines from areas where the climate doesn't get too warm. And you want a lighter body, with heavier wines, there's more of a chance that they may be sweet. Although alot of light wines tend to be fruity, I don't know if you'd consider that sweet.
My best advice would be to get to know one wine seller in particular (find a knowledgeable one first). After a few tries, I'm sure you'll begin to feel pretty confident in picking out some wines on your own that you'll like. (Taking notes on bottles you like and don't like also helps too. Some people like to soak the bottles so they can peel off the labels to reference later.) But please, steer clear of "table wines" - they're the lowest level wine you can buy.
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