Aging Wine - It's Not a Magic Bullet

[Rebel Rose]

Scenario: "Taster Al" posts a tasting note on a wine that he has acquired from a limited release winery. He's been on the waiting list for a while, and so he is anxious to taste these new releases and evaluate them, so that he can buy more wine, if possible, before they are sold out.

But "Taster Al" finds that the wines are not pleasing. His solution? He will "age" them, and they will "resolve" into beautiful wines. Or will they? Check out Al's wine choices below. Will these wines improve with age? Why or why not? If one thing could be improved in each wine, what would it be?

"Serious Syrah" has:

* super-ripe fruit, but somewhat one dimensional in the blue fruit category

* gentle acids, a thick, soft mouthfeel

* thick, astringent tannins

The "Zuper Zin" has:

* overtly high alcohol, a hot finish

* an interesting brick (as opposed to purple) color

* layers of raspberry, clove, pepper, and fines herbes

And the "Shiraful Cab" (80% Cab, 20% Syrah) has:

* Medium tannins and medium (13.5%) alcohol

* Layers of complex fruits; titillating secondaries like wet gravel, roast beef, licorice; a long finish

* A lack of "pow," gentle mouthfeel, somewhat feminine

[eje]

Scenario:  "Taster Al" posts a tasting note on a wine that he has acquired from a limited release winery.  He's been on the waiting list for a while, and so he is anxious to taste these new releases and evaluate them, so that he can buy more wine, if possible, before they are sold out.

But "Taster Al" finds that the wines are not pleasing.  His solution?  He will "age" them, and they will "resolve" into beautiful wines.  Or will they?  Check out Al's wine choices below.  Will these wines improve with age?  Why or why not?  If one thing could be improved in each wine, what would it be? 

[...]

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OK, I'll play.

Is there a right answer?

In order of preference I'd say the Shiraful Cab, Zuper Zin, and Serious Syrah.

One dimensional blue fruit doesn't sound good to me for aging, though a decent tannic spine might save it. Lack of acid, though, might leave the tannins without much to balance against.

Zuper Zins may age well, though, they sometimes develop flavors with aging we call in our family "motor oil". Other times, though, they develop into beautiful brambles of dark berry fruit flavor.

Titillating secondaries and layers of complex fruit sound good.

The grape juice and acid seem to go first, leaving the darker fruit flavors. The tannins mellow next and some of the secondary flavors become more dominant.

On the other hand, we've had Bonny Doon wines, whose secondaries seemed intriguing when they were young; but, ended up being just awful with age. They took over and dominated the wines.

Do many modern wineries really think much about making wines that will age well?

<snark on>Isn't it all about making an impression at the tasting room and moving the boxes?</snark off>

[Rebel Rose]

No, there isn't a "right" answer. Just darn good guesses, and I personally agree with your comments. I think the cab has the best chance of making it. Higher alcohols tend to caramelize the fruit, and zins have an irregular tannin structure, so the zin will probably be great up to about seven years, perhaps longer . . . the briary styles seem to last longer than the plush purple, slightly sweet styles. The first wine, the syrah, has the least chance, in my opinion, because the plush mouthfeel indicates low acidity and probably high pH . . . any problems in the wine will be compounded in that fertile environment, possibly even creating a nasty secondary fermentation. Even if that doesn't happen, without acidity, the tannins will not soften. (Think of it as using vinegar to clean a pan--acids are critical to the process of softening up the hard, woody structure of the tannin and pigment.)

[JohnL]

I wouldn't bet on any of these. One way or the other.

The development or aging of wine is so complex and has so many variables that to make any assumptions is a wild guess at best.

For eg--it was thought that acidity was key. Yet many lower acidity vintages of Bordeaux have aged beautifully--59, 82, 89 etc.

Alcohol? High? Low? Well both Amarone's and German Rieslings seem to age pretty well.

Fruit extract? How about those Loire whites? and then there are those fifteen year old Cal cabs like Caymus and...

Wine has so many variable components that impact upon and that are, in turn, are impacted by aging that I have never seen any reliable rules of thumb. i have seen lot's of often conflicting theories from credible experts though!

[David94928]

From the three discriptions the "Shiraful Cab" seems to have the best chance of either being better with age, or at least not completely falling apart with age.

The description indicates the wine seems to have a balance in its elements - alcohol, acid, tannin, fruit.

The "Serious Syrah" needs to be throttled back a bit on ripe fruit and a better acid/pH level. The tannins may subside someday, but what is left will likely be like an very overripe piece of fruit.

The "Zuper Zin" needs to go to the spinning cone to lower its alcohol level. Not that I believe that's always a good choice, but if it's hot it's way too alcoholic for the other elements of the wine. The brick red color (what vintage is this?) might be from a very high pH (like 3.9-4.0) so it's likely to need more acidity.

Just my thoughts....

David

Scenario:  "Taster Al" posts a tasting note on a wine that he has acquired from a limited release winery.  He's been on the waiting list for a while, and so he is anxious to taste these new releases and evaluate them, so that he can buy more wine, if possible, before they are sold out.

But "Taster Al" finds that the wines are not pleasing.  His solution?  He will "age" them, and they will "resolve" into beautiful wines.  Or will they?  Check out Al's wine choices below.  Will these wines improve with age?  Why or why not?  If one thing could be improved in each wine, what would it be? 

"Serious Syrah" has:

* super-ripe fruit, but somewhat one dimensional in the blue fruit category

* gentle acids, a thick, soft mouthfeel

* thick, astringent tannins

The "Zuper Zin" has:

* overtly high alcohol, a hot finish

* an interesting brick (as opposed to purple) color

* layers of raspberry, clove, pepper, and fines herbes

And the "Shiraful Cab" (80% Cab, 20% Syrah) has:

* Medium tannins and medium (13.5%) alcohol

* Layers of complex fruits; titillating secondaries like wet gravel, roast beef, licorice; a long finish

* A lack of "pow," gentle mouthfeel, somewhat feminine

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Edited March 29, 2007 by David94928 (log)