Julie Harrison - Aging wine

There are some basic guidelines to aging wine.  Firstly most wine is consumed within 2 years of being made and is designed for this to happen, an obvious example being  New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  It won’t be long until 2015 Sauvignon Blanc will be on the shelf and most Sauvignon Blanc is best drunk young.  Even so this does not mean that the 2014 vintage or the 2013 vintage Sauvignons are past their “use by” date.  Some winemakers are making Sauvignon Blanc that is meant to spend two or three years in the bottle, with these wines often having some form of oak treatment or time on lees. These are great to try if you like wines with a bit more complexity.

Some of the key components in wine that determines aging potential are phenolics.  Phenolic compounds include tannins and anthocyanins and are mostly found in red wines, which is why red wines tend to age better than whites. These compounds come from the seeds, stems and skins of the grapes but also from oak barrels that the wine may be aged in.  If you look at Chardonnay a light, unoaked Chardonnay should be consumed earlier than a heavier complex, oaked Chardonnay with some of the great Chardonnays from Burgundy have significant aging potential.   Acidity is also a factor in aging with more acidic wines having more aging potential. Riesling is a good example of this. The change in character of Riesling as it ages is huge going from a zesty light floral wine to a deeply coloured golden wine with complex kerosene notes.

Most decent reds will benefit from some aging with a few exceptions such as Beaujolais Nouveau which is made to be drunk immediately.  At the other extreme you have wines such as the famous Italian Barolo made from the Nebbiolo grape. This wine needs a good ten years in the bottle before you even thinking about opening it.  Any good quality Pinot Noir or Syrah will enjoy some time in the bottle with good Bordeaux reds or the equivalent Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends definitely benefiting from some aging. I was lucky enough to try a 2003 Margaux recently which still had wonderful fruit character and plenty of life in it yet.

The aging process is of course all about chemical reactions within the bottle.   As time passes the phenolics in the wine react together and with other components reducing the harshness and astringency you get with a young wine.  The wine will become softer and less fruity.  When you open an older red wine you see evidence of this with a change in colour and formation of sediment as a result of these compounds falling out of solution.  Decanting is a good idea for an older wine so you avoid getting a mouthful of this.

The advent of the screw top can change how a wine ages as very little oxygen enters the bottle compared to wines with a cork.  Corks vary in quality and some will let in too much oxygen causing oxidation of the wine. Generally speaking if you took the same wine with a screw cap it should age better than with a cork.  Of course some of the great “aging” wines of the world still come with corks and there are many out there who would not have it any other way.

Wine quality will determine how well a wine ages.  A perfect balance between tannins, acidity and flavour is required for a wine to age gracefully and a low quality wine will not get any better in the cellar.    As with anything to do with wine it all comes down to personal preference.  If you try a good quality red and you find it a bit harsh then maybe buy another couple of bottles and cellar them for a year or two before having another go.  Try and find a good quality Riesling that is a few years old and compare it to a recent vintage to see which style you enjoy. If you are lucky enough to have a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco in your cellar leave it alone for a few years and enjoy the rewards later, remembering that if you are cellaring wines they like to be kept at a constant, cool temperature and left undisturbed!