Getting older is one of the best things I do. I try and do it with style, gracefully, without complaining or skullduggery and tricks. I don’t lie about my age, try to look older or younger than I am or make a big deal about it. Getting older and celebrating that day every year is by far the best of the two alternatives!
I think of my birthday each year like a new vintage. I take stock of the year, the weather, did I mature during the year or in certain areas am I going through a tunnel or perhaps reaching my optimum drinking period? How is the bottle, label and cork holding up, am I still a bit harsh around the edges, too tannic and not yet showing the true warm fruit?
Will Mark Vintage 2010 be better than 2009 (of course it will) but what do I need to do to make MPM Vintage ´10 a stellar one?
It is not just about navel gazing either. Every year when I do the performance reviews of the people in our company I ask them to write a wine review of Mark Vintage the current year. Not everyone does it (they submit it anonymously) but it gives a chance for our hard working crew to throw around some phrases like “Mark Vintage 09 still had lots of acidity but the finesse sometimes shows through!”
Mark 09 was a good vintage. We celebrated vintage Mark 10 with a small dinner at home with new and old friends, opened a wonderful Gralyn Estate 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River http://www.gralyn.com.au/pages.asp?code=5 that was rich, peppery (more like a Shiraz thought Ulf) and full of compact rich fruit. This cult Robert Parker wine is now finished in my cellar so either I have to be more like Gralyn to get a better review from the Antipodes people or buy some more wine for our members!
Also at the dinner which my wife and I cooked together was served the Autard 07 Ch. Neuf du Pape (huge even having decanted it at 10:00 in the morning) and the Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc was a perfect match with the Jerusalem Artichoke soup.
Vintage 2010 has started well, my roots are deeper and stronger in the Swedish soil, my off shoots are growing nicely and the chief viticulturalist of the family made sure the vintage celebrations were a great success.
Thanks for all the vintage wishes,
cheers
Mark
