Wine Asylum

Posted by mchad (M) on July 02, 2011 at 20:56:40

In Reply to: RE: Proper way to serve a first growth Bordeaux posted by rlindsa on July 02, 2011 at 12:40:28

Be gentle when removing to cork...not too gentle as in risk breaking it off, just don't pop that sucker out of the bottle. Ease it out. It's not very old so you won't likely have to worry about a weak cork, but you never know. I would decant it in a proper vessel by pouring it thru a filter-funnel/aerator. Not sure about putting it back in the bottle afterwards...I've never heard of that.

Once the wine is filtered/aerated and is sitting in the decantor, pour a sip. Swirl, sniff and taste. This should tell you if it's ready now or if it needs to open more. Continue to taste small samples every 30 minutes or so over conversation and hors d'oeuvres (and a different open bottle of white...sauv blanc or chard) until you feel it's ready.

If you're trying to pair the wine with a meal and are trying to time it, figure to open the bottle an hour or two prior to when the meal would be ready. Most nicer Bordeaux (and many lesser too) need to open for an hour or two at least. Some Bordeaux needs even more time, like until the following day after opening for it to shine.

Lamb chops over real charcoal with a nice veggie relish of finely chopped corn/roasted tomato or peppers/red onion/etc. would be a great complement in my opinion.

However you do it, I bet it will be just fine. Enjoy!

Best,
Mike

Edits: 07/02/11