A little while back while recommending wines to enjoy over the winter months, I realized that the recommendations were in the $15-$25 range.  Although 95-97% of wine consumed is usually in this price point, there is that 3-5% of wines that fall into a higher price category, sometimes surpassing the $100 range.  And while these may not the choice for mid-week or weekend consumption for most of us, they do represent the opportunity to possible spend that little extra for a wine that, figuratively speaking, “kicks butt”.

An interesting train of thought is that wines like these are a lot of hyperbole and that there is very little difference between a $100 bottle of wine and a $20 bottle.  I have even heard people say that their homemade wine is just as good!  On the other hand, there are a number people who are name-droppers, individuals who buy cases of top-end wines not because the wine is good but because the name will impress their friends.  However, some of these wines are damn good, and are a huge step up from wines that sell for half the price, let alone a quarter or a sixteenth, etc…

I cannot afford the prices some of these wines command anymore as I have been priced out of the market for more than 20 years now (raising a family of four can curtail a lot of hobbies).  Still, back then I did drop around $80 for a bottle of a 1986 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (it is now worth around $1400) and somewhat less on others along the way.  Without a doubt, there are some expensive wines I would not purchase even if I had the cash.  I have tried Chateau d’Yquem (2008 vintage currently selling for $388 for a .375ml) on occasion and while it is a pleasure to behold, I do not think it is more than five times better than the 1997 La Tour Blanche, another terrific Sauterne which sells for $134 for a 750ml.  And there are certain Champagnes I have had from the ‘70s and ‘80s and ‘90s yet personally I still find pleasure in a bottle of Blue Mountain Brut.

So, why would you spend your hard earned money on a bottle wine if is beyond your normal budget?  A simple answer is that if you are interested in wine and if you have done a little due diligence, this is a chance to hone your appreciation of wine.  To do this, you need to taste top-drawer stuff (a good chance to do this for one price is the up-coming Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.  There will always be wine drinkers who do not know the difference between a Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Franciscan Burgundy, but there are not very many people with palates that are dead.  Even the completely inexperienced can usually recognize a high-quality wine when they taste one.

There will be maybe only a dozen wines that you will try in your lifetime that you could categorize as being “mind-blowing.”  For me, one of them was a 1987 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild.  Every aroma and flavour was in perfect balance, one did not over-power the other.  As one wine writer said, “Great tasting wines have the ability to carve their initials on your brain.”

There is also what you might call poetic reasons to enjoy expensive wines.  If you bought a certain wine twenty years ago and decide to open it this weekend, the natural inclination, while enjoying a glass, would be to think back to when you bought it and to reflect on what has occurred over the intervening years.

Wine Picks:

Quite possible the best BC Meritage, the 2007 Mission Hill Oculus ($75) is Mission Hill’s signature wine, sourced from their Osoyoos and Oliver vineyards.  A blend of 50% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and aged in French oak for 16.5 months, this wine is a stunning accomplishment from head winemaker, John Simes.  Look for copious amounts of raspberry/blackberry/cassis-like liqueur aromas with licorice, menthol, cedar, forest floor, creamy vanilla and chocolate.  The texture is pure pleasure with its black fruit dominated flavours with toast, cocoa and clove spice.  The finish has super soft acidity and firm yet supple tannins and a long, long aftertaste.  A killer red, this wine should be cellared for another 5 years and enjoyed until 2025.

The 2006 Domaine Du Pégau Cuvée Reservée Châteauneuf-du-Pape ($57) is traditionally-styled with its sweet, lush, black raspberry fruit, new saddle leather, raspberries, licorice, fruitcake, smoked game, tobacco leaf, cigar box and Provencal herbs.  Full-bodied and powerful with soft acidity and firm yet supple tannins, this wine will last another 10-15 years.

A relative great value in a Châteauneuf du Pape, the 2009 Domaine Barville Chateauneuf du Pape ($57) is composed of 80% Grenache, 15% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre.  The wine exhibits buckets of smoke, tar, cassis, blackberry, black cherry jam, licorice, garrigue, dried herbs and peppery five spice aromas and flavours.  The texture on the palate is full and lush with rich black fruit, smoke, spice, soft acidity and firm tannins.  This is one wine that will cellar for another 10-15 years.  Stunning.

The 2006 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva ($53) is a blend of 90% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine has an impressive, concentrated ruby red colour, aromas of cassis, black raspberry, Damson plum, black cherry with hints of mushroom, tobacco, tar, smoke, cedar, vanilla and pepper.  Multi-dimensional in every sense of the word, the flavours mirror the aromas with the same intensity.  The finish is long and complex with crisp acidity and firm tannins.  This could do with a few more years of aging to settle down and would cellar until 2025.