Birth-year wines

File under guilty pleasures:

I have been fortunate to have some remarkable wines from the same year I was born. It is an indulgence totally unnecessary to anything about life, just a simple enjoyment usually shared with friends at special times.

Our 2-year old was born in 2003. Fortunately for him, that was a great year in Bordeaux. Unfortunately for him, I couldn’t afford any of the first-growth wines there, even on futures. Sorry about that kid. But I just received my shipment from Ridge Vineyards of their 2003 Monte Bello, the closest thing the U.S. has to a first-growth Bordeaux. If you buy their futures, the price per bottle is about half of what the release price is. Still pricey, but a great bargain now for something that will improve with age over the next 20-30 years.

So we’ll pop the cork on the first bottle on his 21st birthday and let him have the remainders to do with as he pleases. I’m sure when we do, we’ll reminisce about his first years and embarrass him to no end. Oh well, he’s been warned.