Back Vintage Choice

舊年份唔等於貴。呢度 249 支，最舊嗰支係 1974 年嘅 Chateau Clerc Milon，一路數落嚟到 2000 年代，大部分喺 HK$500 至 1,500 之間。同一個年份喺拍賣行嘅價通常唔止咁——原因好簡單：呢批貨係 supplier 直接留俾我哋，冇經二手市場轉幾轉，所以冇咗中間嗰幾層。

以波爾多為主，而且好多係成條直度嘅年份：Batailley 由 1983 排到 2008 共七個年份，Clerc Milon 由 1974 起九個，Phelan Segur、Branaire Ducru、Chasse-Spleen、Prieure Lichine 各自都有五六個。買兩三支同一酒莊唔同年一次過開，睇吓個莊點變，係最抵玩嘅方法。波爾多以外有意大利——Tignanello 由 1982 到 2013、Ornellaia 九十年代、Solaia 1988、Sassicaia；德國 Markus Molitor 嘅 Riesling Auslese；仲有 Opus One 1983、Cristal 1995 呢類。

最緊要嗰點：全部一直擺喺我哋自己嘅恆溫倉，唔係啱啱由外面收返嚟。買舊酒最怕係「唔知支酒之前點樣過咗呢廿年」——呢批我哋答得到。

An older vintage does not have to mean an expensive one. There are 249 bottles here, the oldest a 1974 Chateau Clerc Milon, running through to the 2000s, and most sit between HK$500 and HK$1,500 — less than the same vintage usually costs at auction. The reason is unglamorous: our supplier holds these back for us directly, so they have not passed through the secondary market and picked up a margin at every step.

Bordeaux is the backbone, and much of it runs in verticals: seven vintages of Batailley from 1983 to 2008, nine of Clerc Milon starting in 1974, five or six each of Phelan Segur, Branaire Ducru, Chasse-Spleen and Prieure Lichine. Buying two or three vintages of one estate and opening them side by side is the most rewarding thing you can do with this list. Beyond Bordeaux there is Italy — Tignanello from 1982 to 2013, Ornellaia through the nineties, Solaia 1988, Sassicaia — Markus Molitor's Riesling Auslese from the Mosel, and the odd Opus One 1983 or Cristal 1995.

The part that matters most: all of it has been in our own temperature-controlled warehouse, not bought in last month. The real risk with old wine is not knowing how it spent the last twenty years. With these, we can tell you.