louis martini cabs are usually great values. there was a time back in teh 80s when they were really rocking. they went through a slump, but i think they're back on track. there is a certain magic in having paid-for vineyards. i'm not so confident about the barbera ... if it's not showing within a couple of years, it might not come around at all. of course, this could be an outlier, i haven't tasted this producer. you can kind of track my wine evolution through my older stuff. Early '80s is bordeaux; mid-80s to mid-90s is burgundy (until it became unaffordable); early 90s is also italian (mostly barolo and barbaresco; little montepulciano and some chianti that age ok), more recent than that is mostly a hodgepodge of beaujolais and a few california producers that i really like and that age well (primarily navarro).
honestly, if i was just starting out, i'm not sure i'd be all that interested in aging wines. i remember an old guy telling me that back in my 30s and i thought he was crazy. but between the hassles of storage (every time my refrigerator motor goes out it's like $600) and my diminished interest in drinking older wines (what do you serve with them? one can only eat so much roast chicken); and having friends with much better cellars than my own ... frankly, i'd rather drink beaujolais.
you have a little undercounter fridge plus an off-site storage site.
