How long can french whites age ?

I have recently been given several dozen bottles of French wine. Nothing sensational but some decent vintages. They are mostly reds with about 10-15 bottles of white. The white vintages are all around the mid 90's ('93-'97) and are varied (Sauternes , Pouilly Fume, Alcase Riesling and even one white Chatteauneuf du Pape). All the bottles were cellared appropriately.

Have these whites passed their peak or are they still drinkable ?

Thanks

Reply to
Nelson Munce
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Appellation alone says nothing, what matters is who made them. Sauternes can last for a century, Alsace riesling after 10 years seems to develop a new balance and loses any petrol it might have had at the beginning, but can age for 30 years. Chateauneuf du Pape white can also age 30 years. If the wine was made well, of course.

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

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Reply to
Mike Tommasi

dunno... but a couple years ago... i had a california chardonnay that was cellared in 1970 and was like the nectar of the gods.

cheers! Doc

Reply to
Doc Martian

] On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:09:33 -0400, "Nelson Munce" ] wrote: ] ] >I have recently been given several dozen bottles of French wine. ] >Nothing sensational but some decent vintages. They are mostly reds with ] >about 10-15 bottles of white. The white vintages are all around the mid 90's ] >('93-'97) and are varied (Sauternes , Pouilly Fume, Alcase Riesling and even ] >one white Chatteauneuf du Pape). All the bottles were cellared ] >appropriately. ] ] Appellation alone says nothing, what matters is who made them. ] Sauternes can last for a century, Alsace riesling after 10 years seems ] to develop a new balance and loses any petrol it might have had at the ] beginning, but can age for 30 years. Chateauneuf du Pape white can ] also age 30 years. If the wine was made well, of course. ]

Yup, my white Chateauneufs from 88-91 are drinking brilliantly now.

FWIW what is a bad vintage for red is not necessarily so for white. Some of the '91 white chateauneufs are excellent, although you'd be hard pressed finding many reds that are better than "good."

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

Yep, to me the 3 most important things re a wine are producer, producer, and producer. :)

Of course vintages matter, too. A couple of gross generalities re the '93-'97 period: Best Sauternes vintage was '97, followed by '96. No really bad vintages in Alsace, '96 followed by '94 would probably be my personal choices to hold if a good producer. But I've had very nice '93s, '95s, and '97s, too. No matter the producer, I wouldn't hold a pre-'97 Pouilly-Fume (unless MAYBE a D. Dageneau) any longer, likely should have been drunk already.

If you post exact wines, people can give better advice. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Reply to
Dale Williams

Whose white CdPs would you recommend, Emery? I've tasted a number that I liked young, but whose are ageworthy?

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

"Nelson Munce" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

All are drinkable - but the Sauternes may probably keep 10-20 or more years if they are any good. Anders

Reply to
Anders Tørneskog

] Emery Davis wrote: ] ] ] > Yup, my white Chateauneufs from 88-91 are drinking brilliantly now. ] ] Whose white CdPs would you recommend, Emery? I've tasted a number that ] I liked young, but whose are ageworthy? ]

Hi Mark,

Some of the usual suspects. I think the Gonnet bros make some of the finest (and most ageworthy) CdP. La Nerthe. Coulon. _Not_ Roger Perrin, although it can be very nice young some years (the red is better).

Of course the Beaucastel Perrins make a white or two worthy of age... :)

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

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