Most wine enthusiasts think the lifespan of a wine as an arc, with a peak of perfection at some point in the centre. Pinpointing where the perfect peak lies challenges experts and amateurs everywhere.
On the other hand, infrequent wine consumers thin that red wine gets better with age.
A few days ago, I offered a friend of mine a well-made Australian red from Western Australia (cabernet/merlot blend 2006 vintage). He asked me why I was not drinking it myself. I explained that I have too many aged wines; and could not consume them all by myself. My answer startled him. He obviously believed that red wine could age and get better indefinitely.
In reality, all wines have a finite shelf life; some are much longer than ordinary wines at low cost. In fact thee days 96 per cent of all wines are made to be consumed within one to three years after harvest.
Even vins de garde, (wine to cellar), have a limit. While previously many red wines were made to become drinkable after 10 – 20 years of cellaring, this period is now much shorter, being close to six to twelve may be 14 years tops.
Great red wines of classified Bordeaux chateaux of outstanding vintages can last 30 – 40 years (longer if in large format bottles, i.e magnums, jeroboams, or imperials) if cellared properly at a constant temperature of 10 – 11 C (50 – 53 F) and appropriate levels of humidity.
Only in the 1950’s the winemakers made wines to last longer than four decades.
Tannins are the preservatives of red wines, acidity and/or sugar in whites. Sparkling wines, with sufficiently high acidity levels age well for 10 or more years.
There is a distinct difference between aging and getting “old”. A properly cellared and aged wine changes for the better, and tastes more compelling, more appealing, more complex, and evocative, whereas “old” wine looks dull in colour, (reds turn blackish brick red, whites turn orange to yellow brown), smells of nothing, in particular and offers very little, if any enjoyment.
Well-aged white wines smell complex, have an appealing texture, offer layers of taste sensations and finish with a pleasant and long aftertaste.
Botrysized grapes yield wines that age well. They possess scintillating aromas and flavours with vibrant acidity, and become viscous, mouth filling and sensual. Some Sauternes and Trockenbeerenauslese rieslings can last more than a century.
Properly cellared red wines created with aging in mind, all components integrate, fruit aromas become subtle, and bouquet more enticing with a long evocative finish.
During aging, various acids attached to glucose detach themselves and contribute their own flavour characteristics. Aldehydes (compounds in transition from alcohol and acids to oxidation) change the overall flavour of the wine.
All these happen slowly or rapidly pending on cellar temperature. At least in theory, you can age a bottle by subjecting it to heat, but this brings changes that fail to be positive such wines smell and taste “cooked”, dull, and unpleasant.
Red wines that are “over the hill” have a dull brown colour, smell “off”, and in the mouth only alcohol is perceptible with an oily texture.
White wines that are past their prime have an old gold or brown-yellow colour, practicallt no fruit and complexity, taste of alcohol and little else.
Here are some guidelines to aging parameters of vartietal wines in proper cellars with constant temperatures and appropriate humidity levels:
Cabernet sauvignon 3 – 14 years
Classified Bordeaux chateau red 6 – 18
Merlot 1 – 8
Tannat from Madiran or Uruguay 3 – 10
Raboso from Piave, Italy 3 – 6
Saperavi from the Republic of Georgia 2 – 8
Baga from Portugal 3- 12
Kadarka from Hungary 2 – 6
Xinomavro from Greece 3 – 8
Pinot Noir from Burgundy, New Zealand 2 – 8
Pinot noir from Oregon, Australia, Piedmont 3 – 7
Shiraz from Australia 1 – 15
Syrah from Cotes du Rhone 2 – 18
Nebbiolo from Piedmont 4 – 18
Sangiovese from Tuscany 2 – 10
Zinfandel from California 2 – 8
Aglianico del Vulture from Puglia 3 – 12
Plavac Mali from Croatia 3 – 6
Melnik from Bulgaria 2 – 6
Nero d’Avola from Sicily 3 – 8
Negro amaro from Puglia or Sicily 3 – 7
Reising form Germany 2 – 30
Chardonnay Burgundy 2 – 6
Chanin blanc from Loire 4 – 30
Furmint from Hungary 3 – 20
Tokay Hegyalya 7 puttonyos quality 50 plus
Tokay Hegyalya essencia quality100 plus
Madeira of superior quality 100 plus
Petit Manseng from Jura in France 3 – 8
Borytisized wines 5 – 25
Icewines from Ontario or British Columbia in Canada 4 – 12
Aging wine is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. When in doubt it is better to err on the side of youth, rather than wait for too long.
 |
Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? |
|
Share it with others! | 
|
|
Loyd
March 22nd, 2010 at 23:28
Some wines should be kept in cellar for such a long time that only our ancestors will be able to taste the wine we once made)))))
Heru Kurniawan
March 23rd, 2010 at 03:41
Of course, not all wines are meant to be aged. Most of the wines of the world are meant to be drunk young while they still possess their youth and freshness. Most of the wines that are destined to the cellar are red. Very few white wines need time to mature. For this reason, most white wines are purchased on an as needed basis. With that said, there’s no doubt that all wine will benefit from even a few days rest after bringing it home.
After going to some great wine tasting in fed square my wine cellar is now about 60 bottles of great wine, most should be kept for at least 3-5 years but some are drink now wines that are delicious! I only have limited space in my house so I’ll slowly increase the number of wines when I get some more space to put them, but the cellar is well and truely started so consider this task done.
http://www.mgleizer.net
.-= Heru Kurniawan´s last blog ..Long Term Investments for the Future =-.
Mason
March 25th, 2010 at 18:05
Great article. Many people do believe that wine can age indefinitely and that is simply not the case. On the other hand, the trend toward immediate consumption of wine is concerning. Too few restaurants have aged wines- they only serve the most recent vintage of even high end wines.
Gino @ Bioenergiser
March 29th, 2010 at 08:16
Making of wine is not easy, To get quality wine it should kept near from external air for at least 2 to 3 month.
Candace
March 31st, 2010 at 17:02
This is some useful information for the home wine connoisseur. Most of us can’t afford to dig a cellar for our wines but there are other options. When I had my space updated with kitchen design in Toronto, I had them add a small wine cooler beneath the cabinets. Is this appropriate for both reds and whites?
Keith
April 19th, 2010 at 19:22
You can usually tell by the first taste whether the wine will age well or not. And, of course, as you pointed out, some grapes just do not make wine that is ageworthy.
Another way to tell age worthiness is to look at the cork. A long cork is an indication that the vintner expects the wine to age well. Almost all the great Bordeaux have a long cork. This is one case where size does matter. The longer cork slows the penetration of oxygen into the wine.
.-= Keith@Norman Rockwell Art´s last blog ..Apr 14, Girl at Mirror, Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post Cover 1954 =-.
Russi
April 23rd, 2010 at 15:34
Had never met such kind of articles – really interesting to read and teaches a lot.
Want more!=)
Nice job!