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20 over 80?!
Posted on: October 11, 2007 - 7:03pm
20 over 80?!
I recently attended a wine tasting and had the chance to sample an $80 bottle of a very "high-profile" Napa Valley Cab (I won't list the brand to protect those that bought and love it) side-by-side against an under $20 bottle of the 2001 "Semler Malibu Estate Cab" and the Semler was significantly better drinking than the $80 bottle. I've experienced this before, where a less expenisve bottle was judged better than a more expensive bottle, but never one that is over 4 times more expensive!?
Anyone else ever experienced anything to this extreme? (I'd want my $60 back!!!)
I have a group of friends I blind taste together and this often happens. I did a Chile/Argentina tasting recently where we had everything from 10-15$ grocery store wines to an $80 wine that had received 95 points from the Wine Spectator. The expensive high scoring wines did not show well at all. My favorite wine was a $15 Cab/Carnenere. And I was not alone. Only one person out of six chose the $80 wine.
My first question is: Are wines made in the same style? Or put another way -- Frequently wines in that $80+ price range are made to age, not drink right away; while the $20 wine is made to drink now. That could certainly explain the difference in taste currently. One would be fresh and fruity while the other thick with tannin and biting acid.
Or, this could just be another case of a winery charging based on location rather than whats in the bottle.