Observations from two wine cellars

People will argue over this ad nauseam, but I agree with you completely. With very few exceptions even the very best wine isn't really perceptibly improved beyond a 30-40 year window, and this assumes perfect storage conditions and regular inspections with re-corking etc... There is a lot that can go wrong too, so the % failure rate over time increases - there are a lot of dud pre 1980 bottles that change hands at auction for ridiculous prices.

Many people never actually intend to drink the damn stuff - it is a status symbol for you to show off your first growth 1961 to your friends while you drink a $20 bottle of Chilean cab sav...

 

Marquis -
It all depends on vintage, grape variety, cellaring conditions, etc. Certain wines are meant to age and are closed down and need bottle time. I agree that many collectors have wines that are overdue - I know I do. The problem with collecting, is that once you amass a large cellar, keeping track of it and knowing when to drink your wines becomes a full time job. I have friends who have, 3k, 10k, 15k bottle cellars. It's crazy to keep up with that many wines, even if you entertain all the time, you still couldn't go through the amount that you would have to drink every year, provided you have a broad based cellar.
I have about 1200 bottles, and I feel that that is too many ( and that doesn't include my beers )
When most people start off, they buy whatever they like. As they keep buying, they start to lose track of what they have. Or they buy a lot of a wine that isn't meant to age and it gets lost in the cellar as they move on to different grape varieties and regions.

Pagriley -
I disagree about being able to perceive changes as a wine ages. If you drink enough wines from the same producer, and enough different vintages, you know their style and you know how the wine will evolve. I have had the 1960 Vega Sicilia Unico as recently as 2 months ago and it was still tasting on the "younger" side. At the same tasting, I had a 1928 Paternina Rioja Gran Reserva and it was still in it's prime and most everyone at the tasting thought it was the wine of the night.
I do agree with you re: storage conditions, bottle variations, and the riskiness of buying older bottles. You have to do your research when purchasing, and of course, caveat emptor (buyer beware)

The thing to keep in mind is that 99% of the wine sold in stores is usually consumed within 48 hours after being sold. Only about 1% of the buyers out there buy wine for long term cellaring. And, that 1%, while collecting higher end bottles for consumption/investment/cellaring are always on the look out for the bang for the buck inexpensive bottles for everyday consumption.

I am cellaring various BA beers currently to see how they fare over time. They won't obviously last as long as wines, but am curious on how different barrels, different ingredients, and different producers beers stand the test of time. That said, if I find something I like, I purchase a bunch of it to continue to taste it and share.

 

Don't get me wrong - there are exceptions to the rule, and I agree very little wine is made with the intention of cellaring, but to my point - if 1% of wine is made for cellaring, a fraction of that fraction will ever be better at 50 or 60 years old compared to 40 years old.

I guess to bring it back to beer - very few beers are better at 10 years than they were at 5 (flame on peeps) and even with some of the best barleywines, stouts, Lambics etc... the debate will rage about which ones age well and which ones are better at certain ages. Personal taste drives a lot of it, but I would imagine many people have beer cellars with a decent amount of beer past its prime, just like wine cellars