Wine Aging

[Soldierdan]

I've recently purchased a wine cooler, and come across several bottles of wine that I consider to be worth saving for a special occasion (but I'm new to wines, so what do I know). My question is, how long is too long? I realize that this is a fairly in depth question. From what I've heard around the office, a good Napa Cab doesn't really hit its potential for 10+ years. Then again, I've read articles stating that aging them is pointless, and possibly even detrimental. B&B has always been a haven for a great number of knowledgeable individuals. What say you?

Ps. I have plenty of others that I can drink now, so waiting doesn't hurt my feelings in the slightest.

 

[ouch]

Those are young'uns.

99% of all wine is aged on the back seat of your car on the way home from the wine shop. Very few benefit from long term aging, but those that do can be miraculous. Of course, anything aged for a long time can go bad, so it's always going to be a crapshoot. Many fine wines will display "the fruit of youth" when young and be enjoyable, then may go into an extended dumb period where they do not show well, only to blossom into something magnificent years later. Others may be hard and tannic when young and need years to soften.

Hardly any whites are suited for long term aging, save for a few white Burgundies, German and Alsatian whites, and dessert wines such as Sauternes. Basically, don't bother aging them.

For reds, stick with big, bold ones. Bordeaux, Rhone, and Burgundy do well. Nothing ages better than vintage port.

 

[ouch]

 

[ouch]

 

[Soldierdan]

Beautiful bottles Sir! Maybe one of these days I'll get a couple good ones in the collection. Sadly, I don't come across many like that in my business.

 

[jovan]

The question with aging depends on your palate. Aging is an art and deciding when to drink a bottle depends on your personal prefernces. I will buy a case and each year or so I will drink a bottle or two to see how they are aging. Sometimes they are too young while other times too old. It is enjoyable to see how they mature. That is the fun of drinking wine.
From a professional view, I am a former Sommelier while my brother is a current one at two very exclusive Clubs. He and I argue over nuances like the barrel maker, the amount of toasting, to the cork manufacturer. Terrior is for beginners ☺ as we joke. Aging is perfection to us but then my brother may taste perhaps 7-10 wines each day with a restaurant price per bottle of $300 and up so he needs to have a palate trained to tell the nuances and describe them to the customers.
In your instance you simply want to enjoy the wine. So don't worry about aging until you get far more experience. That is my opinion.

 

[Soldierdan]

The question with aging depends on your palate. Aging is an art and deciding when to drink a bottle depends on your personal prefernces. I will buy a case and each year or so I will drink a bottle or two to see how they are aging. Sometimes they are too young while other times too old. It is enjoyable to see how they mature. That is the fun of drinking wine.
From a professional view, I am a former Sommelier while my brother is a current one at two very exclusive Clubs. He and I argue over nuances like the barrel maker, the amount of toasting, to the cork manufacturer. Terrior is for beginners ☺ as we joke. Aging is perfection to us but then my brother may taste perhaps 7-10 wines each day with a restaurant price per bottle of $300 and up so he needs to have a palate trained to tell the nuances and describe them to the customers.
In your instance you simply want to enjoy the wine. So don't worry about aging until you get far more experience. That is my opinion.

Thanks for the insight! I'm merely a wine and spirits sales consultant, and have only been such for the last 8 months. While my main focus is the quest for knowledge, I also want to know how to get the best out of my bottles. Not only for personal enjoyment, but that I might pass it on to my clients and give them a better experience. In all honesty, prior to this position, my wine experience had consisted of communion wine and the extremely sweet moscato that my wife loves (and still claims as wine). I've found a love for reds. Preferably a good garnacha, Zinfandel, or Cab. But, as I'm so new, I'm always open to suggestions. Sadly, Arkansas isn't exactly a bustling hub of viticulture, so many options are limited. If you have any suggestions, or tips, I'd greatly appreciate them!

 

[jovan]

The secret is simple. Taste as many different wines as possible. Any and all price ranges. Try to taste the similarities along with the differences. Remember to start with a clean palate. Rinse your mouth with water before tasting.
Tricks of the trade include giving some cheese, chocolate, etc. This coats the palate and changes a wines taste.
Once you learn to 'taste' the wine you can then enjoy move on to the differences and learn the 'Terrior' and nuances. Also read different opinions of a wine. You will learn who has a palate similar to you and those that are the opposite end of the spectrum. But remember no reviewer is right or wrong, it is their taste, their opinion so learn the wines and trust yourself.
Here is a final hint. It is very cheap but will begin to develop your palate. It is great practice. Purchase bottle water and see if or when you can taste the differences. All the bottle water. For example, Voss is soft, smooth, and nearly free of mineral taste. Fiji is neutral but has a slight mineral taste. Evian is a little harder but is bright as opposed to mineral. Volvic is slightly soft with a touch of mineral but a soft brightness. I could continue but I think you get the point. Each water, like wine, has a unique and distinctive taste.
Enjoy and keep us posted. Hopefully you will not have this problem, I enjoy Volvic, my brother is Voss only and my Mom is a Fiji fan. So becareful.

 

[Doc4]

Memo to self ... visit Ouch's house.

This book was of great help to me years ago when I was getting started. https://www.amazon.ca/Hugh-Johnsons...r=8-1&keywords=hugh+johnson+how+to+enjoy+wine

 

[danek]

Thinking back along my (self directed) wine education, I'm a little envious of you: You are just beginning and will learn so much, not just about wine, but about yourself, what you like, dislike, and the gazillion degrees of "good" in between. My advice at this stage is to not worry about ageing - that's an 'advanced' course when your palate could probably benefit from more education of flavor/texture/acidity/depth before you will be able to differentiate the effect of ageing between, say, a 3 year old bottle and a 12 year old.

I would think an acceptable rule of thumb, is try to rest a $40 and up bottle of big red (Cab/Zin/Syrah/Rhone/etc) 3 years. After 12 or 15, most won't improve and will actually degrade. As you taste young wines, you will start to recognize the flavors that could use age: Very pronounced, dark fruit flavors and harsh tannins are two obvious profiles, as example. Enjoy your journey!

 

[Doc4]

Keys for where you store your wine. It must be:

• dark
• free from vibration (so not beside the washing machine)
• moist (to keep corks from drying out)
• cool (50 degrees is ideal)
• consistent in temperature, not fluctuating

 

[thematthatter]

I like to use up the box before the expiration date.

 

[Soldierdan]

Keys for where you store your wine. It must be:

• dark
• free from vibration (so not beside the washing machine)
• moist (to keep corks from drying out)
• cool (50 degrees is ideal)
• consistent in temperature, not fluctuating

I just picked this up a week or so ago. It varies a couple degrees but is pretty consistent, and has UV protected glass. I think it should do the trick, but it was honestly a great deal that I couldn't pass up.

 

[ouch]

Keys for where you store your wine. It must be:

• dark
• free from vibration (so not beside the washing machine)
• moist (to keep corks from drying out)
• cool (50 degrees is ideal)
• consistent in temperature, not fluctuating

Bingo. In my opinion, I would rank them in this decreasing order of importance-

• still (free from vibration)
• consistent in temperature
• cool (50F will age wine very slowly; anything under 60 is fine)
• dark/dank

Also- the word is terroir.

 

[ouch]

Size of format is also very important. Biguns isn't just Al Bundy's favorite magazine.

 

[Doc4]

One of the best pieces of advice I received about wine is that just about any bottle of wine will benefit from a month or two in the cellar in between you bringing it home from the wine store and you drinking it.

The wines that benefit from prolonged ageing are few and far between, although they do tend to cluster around certain areas and types. High price is not a guarantee of good ageing potential, although most good age-worthy wines tend to be more expensive. There's a difference between a wine that can survive a decade in the cellar, and one that will actually thrive and improve ... really, only the latte deserve a spot in your cellar (especially if space is limited.)

Wines can vary a lot in between vintages. A high-end Bordeaux from 1961 will be wonderful today, but a bottle from the same chateau from 1962 was well past drinkability decades ago. You not only have to pick the right winemaker/chateau ... you also have to pick the right year. (The one exception tends to be vintage port ... they typically only declare a vintage in the better years. So you can be certain that if you are buying a bottle of vintage port, it's at least pretty good and worthy of a couple decades in the cellar.)

If you are curious about vintage port, start with "late bottled vintage" port. LBV is really good, and has spend a little more time in the cask compared to the actual vintage stuff, so think of it as having a head-start on the ageing process ... it will age much faster than true vintage port, and you get peak wines after a few years rather than waiting decades.

Bingo. In my opinion, I would rank them in this decreasing order of importance-

• still (free from vibration)
• consistent in temperature
• cool (50F will age wine very slowly; anything under 60 is fine)
• dark/dank

I tend to agree with your ranking as well. I just blurted them out in whatever order.

Size of format is also very important. Biguns isn't just Al Bundy's favorite magazine.

Size matters. A larger bottle will age slower.

 

[martym]

No matter the year or how long it ages every single bottle of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill has tasted the same and each has left me with a massive headache the next morning!!

 

[jovan]

Talk about some great advice. Great work everyone.
Hint for those with a 'cellar'. Keep a log so something does not go unnoticed. When I was selling my cellar the other year I discovered some Martinelli Jackass I forgot about. Had like 15 years of aging. Talk about an Oops.

 

[ouch]

Hic!

A high-end Bordeaux from 1961 will be wonderful today.

 

[ouch]

Wines can vary a lot in between vintages. A high-end Bordeaux from 1961 will be wonderful today, but a bottle from the same chateau from 1962 was well past drinkability decades ago. You not only have to pick the right winemaker/chateau ... you also have to pick the right year. (The one exception tends to be vintage port ... they typically only declare a vintage in the better years. So you can be certain that if you are buying a bottle of vintage port, it's at least pretty good and worthy of a couple decades in the cellar.)

If you are curious about vintage port, start with "late bottled vintage" port. LBV is really good, and has spend a little more time in the cask compared to the actual vintage stuff, so think of it as having a head-start on the ageing process ... it will age much faster than true vintage port, and you get peak wines after a few years rather than waiting decades.

Fabulous advice all around. LVBs are wonderful, and some of the best bargains in high end wine. With that in mind, everyone should learn to enjoy dessert wines. In the early 90s, I went through a 2-3 year period where I had a dessert wine every night (sweet bachelorhood!), culminating in the infamous story of coming home to find the lovely Mrs. Ouch substituting Château d'Yquem for simple syrup in a smoothie. ("It's sweet, isn't it? What's the problem?" How could I argue with such logic, let alone tell her the true cost of her drink.) It did, however, result in my getting assigned the best custom title in the site's history, compliments of Nick.

Vintage is very important. It can be the difference between a sublime experience and swill.

The diamond world came up with the concept of the Four C's (cut, color, clarity, and carats) to simplify the intimidating world of diamond purchases. There is a similar concept involving wine, credited to a mild mannered writer for Ouch International some twenty years ago who is still owed a check, called the Four V's. It is the who, what, when, and where of the wine.

• Vintner (or Vigneron)- This is who made the wine
• Varietal- The grape or grapes of which the wine is comprised.
• Vintage- The year of production
• Vinyard- Where the grapes were grown