Wine Blogging Wednesday #32 Announced — Regular vs. Reserve
Wine Blogging Wednesday is heading into it’s 32nd edition on April 11 and the theme is one that I’m really looking forward to-Regular vs. Reserve.
The premise is simple, buy two bottles of the same varietal from the same producer, one the ‘regular’ bottling and the other the ‘reserve’ and see how the juice inside those bottles differ. Which do you prefer? Is the ‘reserve’ bottling worth the higher price?
I expect that we’ll see a wide array of wines involved and I hope that a lot of people participate. Reserve wines can be expensive, but you can also find affordable pairs as well. I’d never suggest anyone drink them, but you could get a regular Yellow Tail Shiraz for $6 and the reserve for $11.
Keep in mind that things like "estate selection", "proprietor’s reserve" and "winemaker series" can also indicate a reserve bottling.
I’m going to try to do at least a couple different producers for this one…and I might even be able to do three or four "levels" of one local winery, which produces four different merlots that range from $12 all the way up to $125.
Burgundy and Loire, for example, don’t use that terminology. Can a Bourgogne and a 1er Cru from the same producer be entered? Different cuvees from the same Loire producer?
I would think the Burgundian example is more a case of Second Label, versus the same wines generally held longer in the barrel, i.e. reserve.
The name’s the thing here. The wineries themselves have caused this confusion, becuase the naming is not always consistent from house to house. Sometimes a resrve at one house is a select at another. One being held in oak longer and given more time to age and mature (a traditional reserve), another being a selection of the best or select grapes for the same style wine, producing a different flavor (usually a select). But with so much confusion at the winery level, how’s the public supposed to know when they’re shopping, unless they’ve read up on the wine they’re looking at?
This is a great topic. I have often found I prefer regular or house offerings over those of Reserve. Excellent idea. I’m defintely interested in this one.