Stage of flavor

[Explorer]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

Are there any general guidelines regarding the proper time to breathe as it relates to the type or age of a wine?

For example, I noticed 6-7 yr old Chateauneuf-du-Pape are dull until after a good 30-45 mins of being open, while other 5yr old mineral French Burgundy whites will develop into 2-3 stages of flavor over the course of a bottle, or a Mercury 1er Cru might be intense only during the first 20 mins. I know that we are supposed to enjoy each stage of flavor and go for the ride accordingly.

Although, I noticed that these various time-to-flavor dependencies exhibited themselves more often with old world wines, could you please shed more light for us on this topic?

[Andreawine]

It's tough to give set rules by wine type because it also depends at on which stage in the wine's life you've opened it (young, medium, or older), and the wine itself. One Chateauneuf may be much different from another. Sorry - I wish I could give more firm info!