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 As Only a small percentage of wines get distinctly better with age, but those that do are worth the wait. Drinking an age-worthy wine at its peak of perfection is an event not to be missed for any serious wine drinker.
While most white wines are intended for drinking within two to three years of vintage date, many red wines improve with age. This is due to tannins, which are the astringent and bitter group of compounds found in the seeds and skins of grapes. In addition to giving wine an agreeable astringency, tannins impart great aging potential by slowing oxidation. Unlike white, red wine is fermented with the grape skins. Winemakers monitor the extraction of tannins throughout fermentation and determine when to remove the skins. When a red wine is young, its tannins are new and bitter but over time the wine becomes softer and more pleasantly astringent than bitter.
After a wine is bottled, it has much less exposure to oxygen. Once the tannins absorb the oxygen in the wine and headspace (the space between the wine and the cork), the process slows down. As the wine's varietal components interact with each other, and with the oak imparted from fermentation and barrel aging, and as the tannins and pigment compounds continue to link together, over time, the wine shifts in color from purplish to brick red, and develops increasingly complex flavors and aromas.
Wine does not have to be expensive or very old to show the benefits of aging. It just has to be the right kind to start with and stored in a cool area - close to 55 degrees year-round.
Here are several types of wine that might be worth aging and when you should drink them:
Bordeaux - Made largely from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in the southwestern corner of France, this is the gold-standard of age-worthy wine. Vintages vary significantly here but the best years will produce $100 and up wines that improve for 20 or more years; $50 wines that improve 15 years or more and even $18 wines that will evolve for five or more years.
Cabernet Sauvignon - Most $20 to $200 Cabs from Napa Valley, Sonoma County and a few other spots in California will get more interesting with at least three to five years mellowing after release.
Red Burgundy and Pinot Noir - Unless you buy a blue chip Burgundy, aging of this wine is a gamble. This applies to American Pinot Noirs as well. A $30 Burgundy is safer for three to five years, but the US Pinots are good within a year or two of release.
Zinfandel - Basically you can drink this wine upon release or a couple of years afterward, but aging for a longer period of time does not improve the benefits of aging.
Port - Real vintage Ports from Portugal are perfect for the wine cellar. A good label can easily improve for 25 years. |
