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Chapter 41 - Aerate, Decant, Lay Down or Drink Up?

41.1. Wine Characteristics and Wine Ageing
Weather conditions in spring, summer and early autumn influence all aspects of grape composition and thus have a significant impact on the ageing potential of red wines. Several factors can either accelerate or slow down the ageing of a wine.

41.2. Same Vintage, Same Appellation, Different Producers
• Simple case: Single-variety appellation (Beaujolais - Gamay, Burgundy - Pinot Noir, Madiran - Tannat, etc.)
A given producer (1) may have picked poorly ripened grapes at high yields (i.e. tons of grapes per hectare). This was followed by a short skin contact time and limited addition of press wine. In such a case, the ageing cycle will be accelerated, since the initial tannin content will be too low to resist the march of time. In contrast, another producer (3) may have a completely different philosophy: one based on making age-worthy wines. The conditions needed to make this type of wine include:
- Well-ripened grapes + limited yields + long skin contact time with temperature control for optimal tannin extraction + addition of some press wine.
Another producer (2) may have opted for an intermediate route.
Comments: In year A:

• Wine 1 is already declining
• Wine 2 is mature
• Wine 3 is just beginning to open up.

You cannot simply rely on the reputation of an appellation and
a vintage: you have to taste the wines first. "Age-worthiness"
does not mean the same thing for everyone.

More complex case: Multi-variety appellation
The parameters cited above also apply here, but there is also the issue of blending to consider. One winery may include a large proportion of low-tannin varieties in order to make a wine for rapid consumption, whereas another will include mostly high-tannin varieties to ensure greater ageing potential.

41.3. Same Appellation, Same Producer, Different Vintages
If a winery follows the same winemaking philosophy year in year out, the vintage will determine whether the wine is ready to drink or not.
Each vintage will have its own "life expectancy"; some should be drunk up rapidly, whereas others should be laid down.

Comments on the Vintage Effect
In the figure:

• Wine 3 has a life expectancy of 13 years (16-3)
• Wine 5 will last only 7 or 8 years (13-5)
• Wine 5 will be ready to drink before wine 3, even though it was made two years later.

When to Drink a Certain Vintage
The year in which a wine is ready to drink does not correspond to the year in which it was produced .
If your cellar houses several different vintages from a single winery, do not simply drink them in the order of vintage year. In year B, wine 3 may be just beginning to mature after four or five years of age, whereas wine 5 may already be mature.