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Just received a great email from Burgundy Wine Company, powered by the phenomenal WineAccess.com shopping engine, about which I’ll write more later. I had to share this insightfully-written note from owner Geri Tashjian…

Go Slow from Hello

“You had me at hello.” A memorable movie line, but really – how many times have you been had at hello?

We expected the 2000 Volnay Premier Cru, d’Angerville we opened recently to have us at hello, but it didn’t. It was good, but it wasn’t exciting. Naturally everyone had an opinion – it was in a dumb stage, maybe it was past its peak, maybe it’s this bottle, maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe we should move on to the next wine. And that’s what we did. It was about an hour later that someone took a sip of the almost forgotten d’Angerville, and said – “wow! this is a different wine!”. Sure enough, it needed time to breathe – and given time and air, it released its captivating complexity.

We want, and too often expect, wines to “have us at hello” – and when they don’t – we tend to dismiss them. We assume they’re flawed, dumb or dead, when they’re not – when they simply need time in the bottle, or more frequently, time in the glass.

In another setting, someone may have been quick to denounce and dump the d’Angervile Volnay, cheating the wine (and themselves) of its beautiful blossom. And – in another setting, someone may have slurped down the showy 99 Beaux Freres, Belles Soeurs Pinot Noir,reminiscent of raspberry/plum confit, (we also tasted), delighting in its richness without giving it time to release its flow of nuance and finesse.

I’m sure you’ve opened bottles that didn’t “have you at hello”. I expect in some instances you promptly said “goodbye”. But why? You have nothing more to lose by waiting. And waiting could cause you to say “wow! this is a completely different wine!”.

The Burgundy Wine Company Site

Definitely head over to their site for a look at their expertly-chosen Cellar Selections, focusing predominantly on the Burgundy region.

And, if you happen to be in Manhattan, they do regular Wednesday night tastings, featuring live jazz duos! Make sure to drop by their store at 143 West 26th Street (between 6th & 7th Avenues).

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Tags:   Burgundy · Drink · French Wine · WineNo Comments