I had a client that had a massive cellar and would give me a nice bottle as a bonus on a fairly regular basis. Bottles worth between $700 and $2,000. Bordeaux reds like Petrus, LaTour, LaFite Rothschild, Margaux, etc. I googled them before hand so knew what I was getting into, but did not have any respect for them as I drank them right away instead of saving them for a "special" occasion. So I do not think I had any subliminal predisposition to overrating them. All of them had extremely high Wine Spectator ratings. In my opinion about 60% of them were extremely good, 20% were OK and 20% crap. One was undrinkable as sometimes happens. I am not exactly stingy when it comes to treating myself but would say that none of them were worth the money. But none of them compare to the $2 bottle of Bordeaux I pulled out of my backpack with a baguette and some cheese and pate on a hill in a park with a fling I had in France. For me, that one gets the best review. It is all about the experience one is looking for.
Nailed it. I have friends who are vintners in places as diverse as Bordeaux, Napa, Hungary, and WA State. I have had exquisite wines, and have I had crap. And rarely has the quality of the wine been accurately indicated by the price tag. The Valley Of The Beautiful Women (Szépasszonyvólgy) in Hungary's Egér wine region is a road that ends in a cylindrical valley about 200 feet across. Built into the hillsides are individually-owned wine cellars: The vintners are just people who do this as a hobby. They sell a 2-liter coca-cola bottle filled with their wine for $3-5. Some of it is terrible, and some is wonderful. But sitting out in the shaded park, surrounded by these wineries, grilling some meat, drinking the wine you just purchased 30 feet away... the experience is unequalled. It is amazing. And that's really the point of any alcohol, isn't it? Sitting and enjoying it with friends. But none of them compare to the $2 bottle of Bordeaux I pulled out of my backpack with a baguette and some cheese and pate on a hill in a park ... it's all about the experience one is looking for.
