Yunding Ranch

Chapter 259 Appreciation Period
"So, are these the legendary Romanee-Conti wines?" Tony found that his voice was trembling slightly, as if he saw the whole room's /***.

Don't blame Tony, for any red wine lover, this house in front of him means a fairyland on earth, even happier and more beautiful than heaven.There is a strong smell of wine in the air, but it does not have the turbidity and occlusion of the basement at all. On the contrary, there is a hint of mellow fragrance, which makes people want to close their eyes and take a good breath.

I really don't know how the ventilation system of the wine cellar works.

Even Brandon couldn't help getting a little excited.Although he knew nothing about wine, the rich aroma of alcohol could not deceive anyone, and he easily intoxicated him, as if he could taste the wonderful taste with the tip of his tongue as long as he opened his mouth.As a beer lover, Brandon became interested in wine and wanted to taste it.

"Of course not." Nick's categorical and natural answer brought the excitement to an abrupt end. Tony and Brandon were stunned for a moment, as if they had jumped out of the bungee jumping and were pulled back abruptly. Face dumbfounded.

Lu Li was also a little surprised, but when he saw Tony and Brandon's expressions, he immediately laughed out loud.

After the prank succeeded, Nick also showed a smile, "The number of Romanée-Conti is limited. Now the reservation queue has been several years later, and the new wine brewed every year will be distributed to customers according to the list. Our wine There is only a very small part of what Zhuang has kept, and such a large wine cellar is simply not needed."

That makes sense, if the whole room was Romanée-Conti, it wouldn't be so precious.I am afraid that if all the Romanée-Conti wines on the market are collected now, such a large wine cellar will not be needed.

"The wines stored here are all wines from other wineries, which are used for bundled and matched sales. As for the Romanée-Conti stored by the winery itself, it is in another wine cellar." Nick explained humorously, "I hope here It's all Romanée-Conti, so I can taste it."

"Why, haven't you had the chance to taste Romanée-Conti?" Tony's voice was full of pain, but there was also a glimmer of hope, and the uneasiness was really indescribable.

"I have tasted some samples in the production stage, but I have never tasted the complete package. Even myself, I have to wait in line for three years. This is the treatment of senior internal employees." Nick's complaints made Lu Li and Brandon both He laughed, but Tony drooped his shoulders in disappointment, "We still don't have the chance to taste Romanée-Conti today, unless the column of Fourteen is approved by the Brochet family, then maybe we can have Chance to taste it."

The Brochet family, one of the owners of Chateau Romanee-Conti, since 1942, this top winery has been jointly owned by the Brochet family and the Leroy family.

"I don't think the Brocher family will become more 'New York Observer'." Lu Li's teasing made Nick laugh out loud.

If Chateau Romanée-Conti wants to seek media partners, top media such as "New York Times", "Los Angeles Times" and "Times" can be said to be your choice, and "New York Observer" is not at all ranked .For Lu Li to win today's interview opportunity, the "artisan spirit" is still the core.

Tony was sad for a while, but he soon came to his senses, "Nick, can we taste Lataxi and Li Qibao today?"

Under the Romanée-Conti winery, in addition to Romanée-Conti, La Tahi, Richburg, Essex, etc. also enjoy top reputation, and a bottle of La Tahi also costs about [-] euros.

The well-known wine tasting expert Robert Parker once commented on La Tahi, "I always think that the most charming wine of Romanee-Conti is La Tahi rather than Romanee-Conti. Upper La Tache, but with the lightness that is typical of top wines. La Tache bears a strong trace of terroir, and its distinctive aromas and flavors are immediately recognizable whenever it is tasted."

"Of course." Nick gave the answer of course this time, which made Tony smile again, "This is an important reason why you come to the wine cellar, isn't it? We French are very hospitable."

"Are you sure you mean the French?" Lu Li's complaint made Nick smile.

Passing through the long passage of the wine cellar, the wine barrels on both sides bring a strong sense of oppression, and the rich aroma of wine dances on the surface of the skin, as if the whole person is soaked in wine, making people slowly intoxicated.

Make a turn on the left, walk through a small arched passage, and then you can see a huge storage room with various wine bottles on tall shelves, and a whole piece of wine bottle bottom wall on the right , Large tracts of dust covered it, full of vicissitudes of history and traces of time.

Every corner in sight was full of wine bottles, as if art lovers had entered the British Museum and the Louvre. The shock made Tony slow down and walked over lightly, lest he would be alarmed It's like a holy place; even Brandon couldn't help opening his mouth.

"Follow up." Nick waved in front and walked quickly.

There is a small space in front of you, as if a stone box is embedded in the wall, with a dome roof, stone walls, a whole row of wine bottles neatly placed on the cabinet against the wall, and a variety of wine bottles underneath. Cups and corkscrews; a thick log long table is placed in the center, simple and simple.

When Lu Li walked over, Nick had already arranged the wine glasses on the table, and there were six bottles of different wines in the ice bucket next to him, three bottles of red and three bottles of white wine.

Lu Li's footsteps stopped at the door of the stone house. There were three wine bottles on the barrel on the left, but Lu Li couldn't help but bend down and look carefully. Then Nick's voice came over, " Yes, this is the Romanee-Conti that will be auctioned in New York next month. However, this is an empty bottle, as a souvenir."

"1990 Romanée-Conti?" Lu Li had seen a photo of the bottle of red wine at Sotheby's auction house, and had a little impression, but he hadn't read the label carefully.

"Yes, the sun and the rain were particularly good that year, everything was just right. Before that, there had been no wine worthy of being recorded in history for 22 consecutive years; in 1990, all conditions were excellent, the grapes The harvest time was September 28, and the output of that year was..." Nick stopped his hands for a while, and recalled seriously, "440 bottles, after that, the output has never been so high .”

“I remember seeing a bottle in person, when I was just starting out, ten years ago, or 11 years ago. Garnet red with a hint of brown; aromas of ripe bell pepper, spice and leather, gorgeous body, Very long aftertaste. It was really a super good vintage, top strength. However, the bottle was too young and it was far from its peak at that time."

Lu Li walked into the stone room with surprise written on his face, "Although I have heard that some top quality wine needs to be sobered up slowly, preferably naturally; but I have never heard that a bottle of wine can be sobered up Uh, 11 years ago in 2004, that means 14 years of waking up, still too young?"

At this time, Tony followed in and explained, "The top Romanée-Conti has a peak period of at least 15 years, or even more than 20 years. If you can't wait to try it at the beginning, you will miss the best part of the wine. .”

"The sobering time of each batch of wine is different, some are five years, some are ten years, just like what you said just now, the real good things must be able to stand the wait." Nick turned to Tony Nodding his head in affirmation.

"But, then how do we know when a bottle of wine is at its peak?" Lu Li asked curiously.

When he was in the Olive Garden, all he studied was elementary wine tasting knowledge, and he had no exposure to the real top wines. Those cheap wines are often sobered up for less than three years. Just recite it.

"True red wine lovers have patience and perseverance on the one hand. We can open red wine and taste a little bit every year, looking for the perfect peak period." Nick's explanation made Lu Li more and more question marks .

"Then what if the whole bottle of red wine is consumed before the peak period arrives?" Lu Li thought this was a very interesting thing, "Or he was reluctant to drink it all the time, but missed the peak period and lost the wine again. If you have the perfect taste, what should you do?"

Nick laughed softly, "So this is a science, a profound knowledge, just like what we said before, the spirit of craftsman, truly excellent wine, is worth waiting for. The point is to use your own taste buds to infer the distance from the peak How long does it last? For example, the bottle of wine at this auction is generally recognized to be at its peak in the past two years. Especially this year. Therefore, it is estimated that the price will be high again in this auction."

The confidence revealed in the understatement is impressive.

"Come on, come and taste this glass." Nick poured half a glass into the glass in front of everyone, "You all know how to taste wine, do you want me to demonstrate it?"

"Let's demonstrate." It was Brandon who spoke, and Tony and Lu Li couldn't help but looked over, a little surprised, but Brandon looked calm, "What we know is still amateur after all. This is France. One of the most developed and outstanding wine producing areas, we can learn a lot."

"Many people put too much emphasis on wine tasting. Really good wine should make people feel relaxed and happy. This is the key point, isn't it?" Nick said with a smile, "We are not royals, so Learning to taste wine is more about enjoying the happiness brought by alcohol.”

Having said that, Nick still picked up the wine glass, pinched the handle of the wine glass with three fingers, and the mellow red color began to become thinner against the glass, as if the setting sun wiped it away.

(End of this chapter)