Salut/Hi Christian Lehmann,

le/on Thu, 10 Feb 2005 22:42:07 +0100, tu disais/you said:-

>Hello,
>
>which 2002 red french wine would you recommend to store until at least 2018?
>I would buy this one for my daughter, born in 2002, for her to taste when
>she reaches drinking age (16 here in Germany). I have a special favor for
>Southern Rhone (because of many wonderful vacations we spent there), but
>this vintage was supposedly quite bad in this area. Would a Bordeaux or
>Burgundy be a better choice? I appreciate any opinion, thanks in advance!

2002 was a magnificent year in Burgundy - it wasn't bad in Bordeaux either,
for that matter.

It is often said that Burgundy is a more feminine wine, and that it often
appeals more to women than red Bordeaux does.

So you might like to look to a classic long lived red Burgundy from the Cote
d'Or. A grower like Henri Gouges in Nuits St Georges is a possibility,
although others will doubtless come up with other suggestions. THE classic
domaine is of course Domaine de Romanee Conti, and any of their wines will
be just coming into perfection then.

BUT, may I make a suggestion? Sweet whites keep well, and often appeal to
relatively uneducated palates and 2002 was a great year for them.

Something like a 1st Growth Sauternes/Barsac, or a top Monbazillac might
well give a lot of pleasure to your daughter.

By the way, I do hope you as a parent are allowed to let your children taste
wine to accompany a meal before their 16th birthday. In my opinion, one
reason why so many countries have a wine problem among their young is the
stupid legislation which creates a demand for a forbidden pleasure amongst a
sector of the community most in need of rebellion.

So treat her as the mediterranean peoples treat their children, introducing
wine to them as a regular and agreeable part of the meal - even diluting it
with water at first.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
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