Bordeaux Intro

I've been taking online surveys lately, and each time I do I am rewarded with points I can spend on things like magazine subscriptions and airline miles, etc. A few months ago I used some points on a one year subscription to Wine Spectator.

Bobby and I get a little excited when the new issue arrives at the house, and we'll read through it and awe at some of the ridiculous prices of some things, but we are actually learning some things about wine and the industry as well. I only started drinking wine over the last five years or so, and I still have a tough time describing wines - I just know what I like and what I don't.

One of the recent issues focused on 2005 Bordeauxs. Apparently 2005 is one of the best years for the Bordeaux region since 1961, which was apparently one of the best years in recent decades - yes, I said decades. (So in Ratatouille, when Chef Skinner seduces Linguini with a 1961 Chateau Latour - I know he's talking about a very fine - and expensive - wine.)

Of course, I'm not going to go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money on a bottle of '05 Bordeaux they've recently rated. I'd never had a Bordeaux, would I even care for it? Though, I was a little interested to give some a taste.

Enter BevMo. Our usual strategy is to go in, and buy wines we've never heard of, that are either rated well, or won a medal or something, that are in our price range - we usually shoot for $10-$15. This way we get to try different producers and find ones we like. On Friday BevMo was having their $0.05 wine sale - buy a bottle for full price, second bottle is $0.05. And wouldn't you know - they had two kinds of 2005 Bordeaux (nothing we've heard of or that had been rated) that qualified for the sale. We decided to get both wines (two bottles of each) to try out. If we like them, we can buy more or branch out.

Last night we opened the first bottle: Cheval Quancard Reserve; Bordeaux 2005; Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon. I really, really liked it. I'd like to see if BevMo has any more, and if not, I'm wondering if I should save the other, or if I should drink it. We would like to start cellaring wines, and we are learning about how to select wines that will age, but we really need to start practicing - it seems to be a skill that requires experience to develop. I'm really curious about the other producer we purchased - we'll have to try it out soon, so we can get more before they run out.