I'm thankful for the Zin we had last night!

Yes, yesterday was the beloved Turkey Day. After much research and debate, i finally decided to open the 2004 Pali Winery Pinot Noir, the 2007 Trinchero Chicken Ranch Merlot, and the 2004 J Winery Zinfandel. I had about 4 other bottles i was anxious to try, but there were only about 6 of us actually drinking the wine, so i decided to keep it simple.

2004 Pali Pinot Noir: this one confused me. I thought my dad had forgotten about it in his wine cellar since it's fairly old for a pinot. but apparently, he just bought it a few weeks ago at a tasting at Spitfire Grill in the Santa Monica Airport. It had nice fruity/floral aromas with subtle undertones of barnyard, but it was definitely on the fruitier side. The palate was light-medium bodied and had a nice mouthfeel but absolutely no finish. so in that sense, it didn't really harm the thanksgiving feast we were pairing it with, but it didn't help cut any of the richness at all either.

2007 Trinchero Merlot: This Merlot was pretty consistent with what i was expecting. Nice medium-ripe fruits (cherry, etc), medium bodied, smooth but slightly chalky tannins, moderate finish. Worked well w/ the foods, etc. What put me off about this wine, was moreso the Trinchero tasting room practices. We visited the tasting room in Calistoga last September, and they charge $20 to taste only 3-4 wines, and they don't give a discount let alone comp the tasting if you purchase wines.

2004 J Zinfandel: I honestly don't know that much about Zin and aging, but I remembered enjoying this wine when we tasted it 2 years ago, so I figured the peppery finish would have smoothed out a little by now. And indeed it did. The nose was pure blueberry pie: rich ripe blueberries, maple syrup, and butter on the nose, which then evolved into rich juicy flavors of plum, ripe berries, and raisins with a smooth and satisfying finish. I thought it complimented the foods really well because it was rich and juicy but still maintained excellent structure and body to cut through the richer parts of the meal (like my sister's sausage stuffing).

I thought all three wines worked well with the meal, and accommodated different people's palates. i also confirmed that you never really know what you're going to get when aging a wine. you can certainly guess when it may be appropriate to drink, but ultimately you'll never know til you open it.

That being said, I'm wondering if you all can help me out. when talking about aging wines, i have trouble finding the right word to describe the mentality that one may go through. i tend to argue that people "covet" wines unnecessarily, hanging on to them for too long, or waiting til a celebratory moment, when in reality the wine could be spoiled, or ready to drink sooner than anticipated. I'm not sure if that's the right word for describing "putting the wine on a pedestal." any thoughts?