NEW RELEASES

   Though we had been close friends, as only a near relative of Jovan’s, I was not expecting to be included in the proceeds from his estate and did not attend the reading of his will at the lawyer’s office with his immediate family members.

   Several days later, however, devoid of any cover letter or explanation I received a parcel from the executor that contained an old leather-bound album.

   Upon inspection, it was a scrapbook containing hundreds of wine labels that had been removed from bottles after the contents had been imbibed; glued to the pages, and carefully arranged chronologically by category and date they had been consumed to commemorate the progress of Jovan’s vinous education.

   As a wine aficionado myself, I had many fond memories of special wines that he had graciously opened and shared over the years during our get-togethers.

   I was intrigued by this visual record of his oenological studies and fascinated to gain insights about how his tastes and preferences had developed over time.

   As I paged through, I noted that his earliest tasting experiences evidently focused predominantly on classic Californian producers, and I remembered him mentioning vacations where he explored Napa Valley and Sonoma.

   Subsequently, he extensively researched the wines of Bordeaux, both red and white, dry, and sweet, with many pages devoted to the great growths, as well as select petit chateaux.

   Towards the end of that section, finely wrinkled labels with faded patinas like sun-weathered skin showcased legendary vintages going back to the early 1900s.

   Further visual records featured notable small producers from Burgundy and Italy, culminating with historic pre-war wines from the 1920s.

   Alsace, and the Rhone and Loire Valleys were also well represented, as were Spain and Portugal, with well-aged Riojas, Port, Madeira, and Sherry.   

   However, the category that perhaps most impressed me was the extensive range of artisanal German dry and late harvest wines, produced in tiny quantities, including several rare dessert wines that had miraculously been harvested at the end of World War II in 1945.

   When I turned the last page, I was surprised to find a small key taped to the inside of the back cover with A58 and the initials PC engraved in it.

   Puzzled, as I pried it loose from its hiding place, I conjectured about why the key had been secreted there, what it was for, and who, or what was PC?