How can you tell which bottles to cellar? How do the wine makers know? Are there particular methods in use, to 'design' a wine for the long term?
I've read that nearly all wines are meant to drink young, so there must be something special otherwise, unless it's accidental -
The vast majority of wines are made for immediate consumption, but then the vast majority of wines are relatively cheap and have little in the way of special character. Aging is expensive both for the producer and the consumer. For an easy reference on when some wines (those in the real premium category) are ready you might look at a reference like Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedia of wines.
Others can tell you about the chemical reactions that occur in the bottle and how hat effects the taste and feel of the wines. Suffice it to say if you buy your wine in the grocery store it is probably ready to drink. Some retailers like Costco sell some pretty nice age worthy bottles as well as every day drinking wines. All wine shops will have a mixture of the two.
See Joseph Coulter's response, and let me add that the major wine component that lets it last and improve for years is tannin. So if you taste a wine and find it tannic, there's an excellent chance that it's "designed ... for the long term."
If you don't know what tannin tastes like, try tasting grape skins and very strong tea.
"RichD" asked the collective wisdom of the group.............
Ah, the question of the ages :-)
Perhaps, a better phraseology would be "How does one determine if a wine is
*age-worthy*.I am not suggesting that this change of words will bring you closer to a definitive answer to your questions, but it does give focus as to why one should cellar any particular wine.
Many might argue that a wine will become "better" with aging.
At the risk of sounding flippant, *each and every* bottle of wine can be stored in an appropriate storage facility for a few months or a few years - however, usually little can be gained - most will certainly not be "better" for their time in custody.
If a wine does not possess those elements which make it "age-worthy", pedigree; structure; fine fruit/sugar/acidity/tannin balance, these same wines, though capable of enduring, won’t actually change.
If red, they may get smoother, shedding whatever tannins they had - if white, they will probably oxidise into oblivion.
But nowhere along the journey from youth to old age will they have become dramatically, dimensionally different from what they were when first made.
And this is the key as to which wines to cellar - which wines, through careful cellaring over many years will *transform* into a thing of elegance and grace - a veritable sensual symphony? And here I must declare that I have no absolute answers.
You see, my taste is probably totally different to yours - I am on safe ground in making this statement, because my own taste differs from most of my contemporaries.
So, firstly, your own likes and dislikes must be your first determinate.
Next, there are some wines whose aging journey may be likened to the metamorphosis from ugly caterpillar to beautiful butterfly, such is the transformation.
Varieties such as Riesling, Semillon, Chardonnay (particularly grand cru Chablis) may undergo a wonderful transformation with 10-15-20 years of age.
Age-worthy reds include classified growth Bordeaux (and a few Californian Bordeaux styled examples); some Burgundy and Rhone reds. Traditional Barolo is very tannic when young but ages well.
A wine chemist may be able to identify and quantify the various elements which will contribute to a wine being age-worthy: acidity and pH and alcohol content; polymeric combinations of anthocyanins and tannins (although, as previously indicated, white wines pursue a very different chemical logic from what happens in red wines) - but many more factors come into play: optimum cellaring; screwcap or cork closures (we are still learning)
Can we foresee how long a wine will live, or at least which ones will live for a long time? Probably.
Can we prophesy what the survivors will taste and smell like? Probably not - not until the bottle is opened will this question be answered.
I guess my own short answer to your question can be summed up in one word "Pedigree" - and the undying belief that one cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
The smell of the fruit and, to a lesser degree, the fermentation odors are called the aroma of the wine, and it is most prevalent in young wines. This aroma will fade with time. While the aroma is fading, the alcohols and acids of the wine combine to form esters, which are called the bouquet of the wine.
Can you tell me how I like my steak cooked? No, because that is a personal taste. If you are accustomed to drinking wines young, then you probably appreciate the fruit of the grape. If you father laid down wines in the basement when you were a boy, then you probably prefer softer, mustier wines that show bouquet.
My best advice is to buy what you like by the case, and then at intervals (years) taste a bottle and record your impressions. Eventually, you will develop an opinion as to when the wine will give you the greatest pleasure.
If you are like me, you will prefer young wines, and fruit, because that is what is available to me. I have tasted old reds that were very unappealing to me, but desired by others. On the other hand, old sweet wines (30 years+) can be very seductive. Then there was that 1950 Lafite, which seemed to defy age.
Buy a case, and make notes. It's something to do ;O)
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