How to Drink Red Wine with Chicken and Fish

I confess, in addition to speculating in red wines, I like to drink them. So much so, that sometimes the menu gets changed to match wine, rather than the other way around. For instance, when I get interested in consuming an '82 Beychevelle (more of a consumer wine than an investor wine, at $135, having risen from $100 over the last 7 years.), then I tend to schedule a steak to match. But in my household, steak requires an advance appointment with my wife, who could happily eat chicken, fish, and turkey in and endless rotation. What does a red wine lover do in these circumstances? One answer is smoke. Smoke can transform white wine foods into red wine foods.

My first experience with the transformation of white wine food into a red wine food was with salmon. The basic recipe is to 1) rub the salmon with sugar, salt, and pepper. 2) "line a deep frying pan with aluminum foil" - but really you are making a cocoon out of foil to sit in the deep frying pan. The smoke will stain anything it touches, so the foil is not for the cooking as much as it is to aid the cleanup. My advice is to use two layers. 3) put some mesquite chips in the bottom of the pan, add a rack, salmon, and cover tightly with a foil lined cover. 4) put it on the stovetop and fire it up -high flame, 15-20 min. 5) Serve with '89 Sociando Mallet or reasonable facsimile. Chardonnay and dill cream sauce stand down; this is red wine food.

Tonight, I tried a more ambitious version of the aluminum foil cocoon smoker. This time, I used a whole chicken. The main smoking agent was lapsang souchong tea (a tea pre-smoked with pine needles), although to be fair, I included orange rind, star anise, whole cloves, and brown sugar in the smoking mixture. My wife and I had it with an '82 Beychevelle. The match was outstanding, but the credit goes to the smoke -not the cloves or anise. The lapsang souchong is a bit intense for a whole meal (better for an appetizer), and if we had to do it over we might use either oolong tea, or mesquite chips.

The take home message is that you can make red-wine friendly meals, without the red meat. Enjoy.

Party Over in Wine Market (for now...)

The big news in wine this week is not wine. It's the Sotheby's fine art auction of Wednesday, November 7th. The total pre-auction estimates were $350-$500MM, but the actual total was $269MM. Sotheby's stock dropped 28% on the news. What does fine art have to do with wine? Everything. If you can afford $150,000 for a Miro to hang on your wall, then you can afford $1800 for a 1982 Latour to have as you cellar trophy. And you probably buy them for the same reasons: to feel sophisticated for your fine taste, and to feel the status that comes with playing in a game with very few "winners".

But when the winners start to feel like suckers, it's game over. Art and wine are highly speculative investments. They produce nothing. They do not pay a dividend. They require climate control, insurance, and security (translation: expensive to own). And of course, they are not necessary for anything.

Those wines which have been the targets of trophy-hunters (1945, 1982, 2000, and 2003 first growths for instance) will show the most dramatic price declines (perhaps 20% by the end of Q1 2008? - just a guess). Some particularly striking examples, such as $12,000 for a 1990 DRC Romanee-Conti, (up from $4000 in 2003) could probably stand to fall a little farther.

The last four years have been a great time to be selling fine wine. Perhaps the next 4 will be a good time to buy.

Why Futo is a Buy

This month, about 800 lucky individuals were given the opportunity to buy 3-bottle cases of Futo, the new cult-wannabe from CA, for merely $600. Yes it costs too much. A good friend of mine, who has been on the Sreaming Eagle allocation list (and others) since inception, confided in me that "almost none of these wines are worth what you pay for them."

I bought it, because the speculator in me thinks that this wine is a good bet - to rise in value. The wine has not been reviewed yet, so the true market price is anyone's guess. But how bad does it have to be to stay at $200? The makers of Futo, Abreu and Aubert, both have impressive track records - and they have experience making wine together. Consider their last joint venture, Sloan, had a 92+ (RP) for their premier vintage (2000) today's price: $255. Now, I need to assess what are the odds that Futo (2005) can beat 92+? The winemakers have 5 years more experience than when they made Slaon, and the vineyard is next to Harlan. It could be a bust, but I'm in.

1982 Grand Puy Lacoste

Given the high prices of the 1982 first growths, it may make sense to pursue some of the other 1982 Bordeaux. Last night, I opened the Grand Puy Lacoste, which has risen from $130 to $160 over the last several years. A more rigorous analysis might show that when valued in constant dollars, the price has changed very little, if at all. This wine had a fabulous nose during the decanting process. After decanting, the wine went back in the (rinsed out) bottle. The '82 Grand Puy Lacoste is at peak maturity now, and does not benefit from extended exposure to air. It does benefit, however, from a slight warming. Cellar temperature (55F) is too cold for this wine. Although many big, high alcohol reds benefit from a bit of cooling, the Grand Puy is not in their league. I warmed the wine by placing my hands around the glass, and felt that it showed better when over 70F (temperatures measured with an infrared laser thermometer from Sears). If you are looking for a full-bodied cabernet from a classic year, then the Grand Puy Lacoste is probably not your wine. It is a classic Pauillac, medium bodied, easy to drink, and yes, graphite on the nose. The secondary flavors of leather and tobacco are present, but not overbearing. This wine is little changed from when I last tasted it 3 years ago.

1982 Bordeaux at Historic Levels

Is it irrational exuberance, or are we at the beginning of a new wine economy?

I started collecting wines in 1998, and I have never seen anything like this. The chart on the right shows the evolution of fair market prices of Chateau Cheval-Blanc and Chateau Mouton Rothschild over the past 10 years. In the late 1990s, I used to buy Mouton at auction on dips, usually at $350. Earlier this year, I (foolishly) passed on several opportunities to buy it at $850.

The chart is beginning to look like a bubble, and I have to wonder what is driving this market? Bubbles can be very difficult to recognize while they are on the upswing, so it comes as no surprise that my gut tells me that the days of sub $1000 Mouton are over. (Buy it! Before it hits $2000!) It may be true. The '82 Bordeaux just passed the 25th anniversary of their harvest, and they are (substantially) at peak maturity now. But before making any impulsive wine investments, consider that the 1961 first growths have not appreciated at nearly the same rate. My impression of today's price for the 1961 Mouton is $2500 (for problem free bottles, mid-shoulder can be had for much less). That represents a 60% increase over its price of $1500 a little less than 10 years ago. Contrast 60% with the 300+% increase of the 1982, and it begins to look as though the younger vintage has some room to the downside. Time will tell, but the rational side of me recognizes that the current rate of appreciation in the 1982 first growth market is unsustainable.