A question about wine

[pedantlewis]

bernard black said:

the older the wine, the gooder it is

With the above in mind, as well as the prices which wines from a 'good year' can fetch, why is it that some wines have a "drink it immediately or within a year" message on the label?

I'm not asking because this evening I drank a glass of Ogio Primitivo from 2007 with said message on it. Nope. Definitely not.

Just wondering whether wine producers somehow know that their product is worth keeping in the cellar for twenty years, and if so, how?

[sherman]

Currently drinking my way through a Spanish 2006 tempranillo. It tastes really drinkable. Just remember when drinking red wine to let it breath for a while before drinking it .

[HiRich]

pedantlewis said:

Just wondering whether wine producers somehow know that their product is worth keeping in the cellar for twenty years, and if so, how?

I'm sure bebs will come along and give a more detailed reply but...
The two important elements (in a red wine at least) are the tannins (from the grape skins left in the inital maturation of the wine, and also from the oak barrel) and the fruit flavour compounds in the juice. The tannins give "structure" and the fruit "flavour"

Over time, the compounds merge into longer chains, eventually so long they fall out as sediment. The tannin (an astringent, like a cup of over-steeped tea) reduce, whilst the flavours grow more complex. But left too long, the flavours eventually become less pleasant and eventually fail. This chemical process is now fairly well documented.

So the flavour of the wine changes over time, gradually improving, reaching a "plateau of maturity" before eventually decaying. The trick of the winemaker is to balance the reduction of the tannins (which hold the structure of the flavour) against the maturation of the flavour to their optimum. Too much tannin, and by the time it has reduced satisfactorily, the flavour has collapsed. Too little tannin and the wine fails before the fruit flavours have developed. And remember that the flavour compounds you start with a variable with how good a growing season, and how good your growing/viticulture has been.

A skilled winemaker tastes and tests (for sugar content) the pressed juice, and can judge how it could develop. Playing with the fermentation, infusion from resting on the lees, and its barrel maturation (new oak leeches more tannin than old, how long it stays in barrel), to produce a licquor that will mature in bottle the way they want. For cheap wines this could be a short period, for premium wines it will more likely be to achieve the best wine possible whenever that may be.

So yes, a great winemaker will be able to estimate when a particular vintage will reach its plateau of maturity, and how good it will be (and therefore how much they can charge). They can also tailor this to some extent to make the most of the grapes coming in from the fields.

So if we consider a miserable Bordeaux vintage like 2007 (incredibly wet), the wine was never going to be legendary. By vicious pruning of the grape bunches (concentrates ripening into the remaining bunches), selective harvesting, controlling the fermentation and restricting the tannins, the best chateaux were able to produce a remarkably good wine. Quantities are limited, the peak will not be as glorious as a legendary vintage, and its aging potential will be very restricted.

[pedantlewis]

HiRich said:

Interesting wine science

Thanks, that's clever stuff!

My dalliance with the Ogio hasn't killed me either, it even tasted okay.

[navier_stokes]

Also bare in mind that different wines are made to be drunk at different times.

E.g. the finest of Bordeaux's may reach it's peak after at least 15+ years. Whereas a lot of the new world reds (much of the crappier likes of which end up on supermarket shelves) are at their best within a year - this also applies to much of the lesser known reds from the old world like the red Rhones, Languedocs, Provences and stuff from southern Italy. There is generally less importance on ageing whites because much of their appeal lies in their freshness and fruitiness, however, for example, a good Riesling can be aged for 10+ years before its at its best.

So to answer your question; it depends on where the wine is from, the quality and type of grapes. Also bare in mind that there is no real definitive answer, even the maker can only guess when it will be best to drink it.

But older definitely does not necessarily mean better.

If you want to learn more, I'd highly recommend High Johnson's world atlas of wine:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1845333012

It'll give you a much better idea of what wine is produced where etc. Also has a nice couple of pages dedicated to ageing.

Edited by navier_stokes on Monday 5th October 14:07