That's probably how it is for people who know little about a winemaker, a winery or an appellation. At least that's what happened to me: I was alone at home and took a bottle out of the cellar, a bottle that is not registered in my otherwise meticulously accurate cellar book. I must have received it from a friend, at some point, on some occasion. And so it has been resting - for years now - unnoticed in the cellar. Vintage 1995, Burgundy - I know relatively little about Burgundy (although I've been there several times): not at all wine lover-like. Rémy, my friend who knows Burgundy, is in charge. He guides me through Burgundy wine-wise. But Rémy is not there, on holiday, in France.
So I dare to do it. Although I always decant all wines (even old ones), this time I did without. Out of sheer convenience, let's put it bluntly: laziness. The first sip - bottle just opened - elicited an Ah. Still slightly pressed notes, stable or cellar tones, no oxidation, no brown tones, sparkling liveliness, yet slightly plummy. An "old wine", but obviously a remarkable one: Ahhh! Then it developed, in the glass, it got better by the minute, more harmonious, more complex, deeper. Ohhh! Because I was alone, I didn't cook much: I regretted it, because this wine deserved better accompaniment. Wow!