WTN: Another tale from the crypt

[David M. Bueker]

From my late father’s cellar - the first of six bottles!

The 2003 Corte Lenguin Amarone della Valpolicella ‘La Coeta’ had so many opportunities to go wrong, and predictably chose all of them. First the dreaded 2003 vintage, which made even bright wines ponderous. Then the specter of shipping issues, as the cork was rather saturated despite dad’s excellent storage. The excesses of Amarone added to the possibilities, and the age (last CellarTracker note was from 2012) gave pause. Well, it was bad. Brown on the edges, aromas of decay, thick texture, and a distinct note of rotting leaves. Dead in many ways. Pick your poison. Have a friend pick theirs. Mix them together. It will still be better than this decrepit mess.

This is another of the weird mysteries of why my dad bought a wine in quantity and never opened a single bottle.

From my late father’s cellar - the first of six bottles!

The 2003 Corte Lenguin Amarone della Valpolicella ‘La Coeta’ had so many opportunities to go wrong, and predictably chose all of them. First the dreaded 2003 vintage, which made even bright wines ponderous. Then the specter of shipping issues, as the cork was rather saturated despite dad’s excellent storage. The excesses of Amarone added to the possibilities, and the age (last CellarTracker note was from 2012) gave pause. Well, it was bad. Brown on the edges, aromas of decay, thick texture, and a distinct note of rotting leaves. Dead in many ways. Pick your poison. Have a friend pick theirs. Mix them together. It will still be better than this decrepit mess.

This is another of the weird mysteries of why my dad bought a wine in quantity and never opened a single bottle.

Man, between these and Thor's bottles, you've got a minefield of bottles to navigate. Best of luck with that.

I've found Amarone ro ether last really well or crash unaccountably. I still have 17 bottles from 2000 all the way back to 1971. I am going to have to just grit my teeth and open them, maybe at my wine lunches, in the hope that some will be palatable Jenise may recall a 1971 I opened last year - in serious decline yet people are still paying $400 for it at auction!

Serious question: what’s your strategy going forward in a case like this? Do you to hang on to the remaining five bottles and hope the first one was a dud? I can’t imagine opening and dumping the rest, but…

[David M. Bueker]

I will at least try a second one. After that they go into the “I don’t care what happens to them rack.”

I tend to sample all of them because sometimes you get an outside winner, but I have low expectations and if it isn't good, it goes down the drain, or if it is marginally decent, it goes in the stew pot.