The first international congress of wine experts had taken place in Madrid. The theme is 'Protocol
and psychology in the service'. 12 experts from Spain took part,
sharing the round table with Andrea Lasson, from Sweden, the world's
best sommelier of 2007. He reckons that if somebody spends 300 € for a
bottle of wine, he wants something more than just the wine, but a moment
of magic, a show. Put that way, I begin to understand better why the
congress centres the theme on protocol and psychology and not so much,
or at least as much, on wine making, quality control and marketing.
I love a good wine. Preferring as I usually do with most things in life, quality over quantity. Even so, 300 € for a bottle is way beyond my budget. As Lasson says, there are very good wines at 30€ a bottle, those costing 300 is not necessarily 10 times better, and it's physically impossible to enjoy a wine 100 times more with a bottle that costs 3000€. But there's always someone who would happily buy the latter. The collector, like buying a famous painting or a Ming Dynasty vase. He would properly never drink it, just owning it is the pleasure he seeks. Something beyond my understanding. What is the use of possessing the most beautiful this, or the best that, and never use, consume or experience it?
Once a Spanish friend opened a bottle of 25 year old vintage wine in my honour. He inherited it from his father, and had put it at the bottom and way at the back of his usual wine rack that holds about 30 bottles, then never gave it a thought, but mindful enough not to touch it, as his father had done. We had already finished a bottle of an excellent wine, and because it was so enjoyable, we were both in the mood for just a bit more. Out of a blue he said he would surprise me with something I would remember for a long time. My mind was turning fast making a variety of guesses. When it turned out to be a bottle of disgustingly old and scruffy bottle of wine in his one hand, and a rag in the other as he tried to cleaned the bottle up a little while giving me a bit of the history of this wine and how he came to be the owner of it.
It had to be the best wine I have ever had, never before or since. To my inexpert mind I couldn't fathom how that was possible, that a wine kept for 25 years would have improved or even just preserved it's quality. Obviously the wine had to be very special to start with. I mean if you keep a bottle of bad wine for 25 years it would not have turned it into a good wine, not just by claiming it's vintage.
Anyway, my friend was right. As right as a Mr. Wrong could be! I will never forget that bottle of very special wine, even though that friend seldom crosses my mind any more.
Tags:vintagewine,reminiscence
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