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Anthony Gismondi on Wine

Just how long should one lay down or cellar wine, and to what purpose?

Cellar Dwellers

Better yet, how will you ever know when they are ready to drink?

Proper wine cellars are not common, but makeshift rooms in the basement appear with frequency, and many apartments and condominium dwellers are buying specialized wine refrigerators/storage units. 

Mobile collectors and those strapped for space also use private wine storage companies to keep their wines safe. No matter what your choice, before you know it, you will be the proud owner of aged wine, and that means there will be inevitable decisions about when to open it.

In broad terms, most every wine gets better in the bottle, so storing it for even a few weeks or months in a quiet, cool place will likely allow the wine to rest and settle down and recover from the shock of being bottled and shipped and generally bounced around in its early life. 

Again, red wines keep longer than whites in the broadest of terms, and most whites keep longer than rosé. 

That said, many bottles are not made to be cellared and will not improve in any real respect no matter how much you invested in your cellar. To wit, in the next few weeks, dozens of 2008 and 2009 rosés will be on sale in British Columbia. Almost every rosé is made to be consumed before the end of the next summer while it remains fresh and its primary fruit flavours are bright. In this case, cellaring them will not improve their vibrancy. 

I would apply the same rules to most dry, aromatic whites like sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, ehrenfelser, gewürztraminer and unoaked chardonnay. Price can also be a guide; few wines under $15 are designed for ageing. Those that may improve with age would undoubtedly be red and contain large amounts of cabernet, syrah, mourvèdre, possibly malbec and/or zinfandel, and other rich tannic varieties from places like southern France, southern Italy, possibly Argentina, Chile and California.

Because it's fermented on its skin and often aged in wood, red wine contains tannin and. When combined with the right amount of acidity and alcohol, all in balance, it can live a long life.

How long you can age wine is a tougher question. Top wines from highly rated vintages can easily age a decade or more under perfect conditions. The conditions are a dark, cool (8-14C), vibration-free space with a humidity level of about 60 percent.

 I would suggest that if you enjoy drinking red wine young, you would see significant improvement in mouthfeel and texture if you age everything for three to five years. The better the producer, the wine and the vintage, the longer you can wait. There's no perfect answer, but I find that waiting is better after years of trial and error. Just remember that all wine was made to drink sometime. 

You will have to hunt for the El Burro Kickass Shiraz 2006 from Spain in private wine stores. Look for black cherry jam, plum, licorice, peppery, rooty, meaty, chocolate flavours. There is plenty of fruit and stuffing to handle a beef stew or grilled meat. It will be better with two more years in the bottle. Good value.

The Quinta do Crasto Douro Vinho Tinto 2007 is the ultimate cellar wine. One of the best vintages in a century makes this a very collectable red. It swarms the senses with rich peppery, black plum fruit with that quintessential cocoa/Christmas pudding finish. Super intense, yet fragrant and no oak. Just the essence of the Douro.

A great candidate for medium-term ageing is a wine such as Ogier Côtes du Rhône Heritages 2007. A grenache syrah blend has a supple, ripe palate with good acidity and a modicum of tannin. There is plenty of solid fruit in its balance with just the right amount of acidity and tannin. Continued solid value. It will be best by 2013.

The Ricossa Barbaresco 2004 is a stunning value from Piedmont. Its rich, spicy, licorice root, black cherry, mineral, nose previews a dry palate with supple but grainy tannins and juicy acidity. More black cherry, plum, licorice, pepper and savoury, spicy, leather, tobacco flavours suggest it will improve in bottle over the next five years or drink it now with beef or lamb—fantastic value for Barbaresco.

Torres Celeste 2005 is a Ribera del Duero red with legs. The palate is warm and ripe but with plenty of acidity. Look for chocolate, peppery, smoky, meaty, tobacco flavours that finish fat and slightly rustic. Best now with roasted meats or cellar for another five or six years.

There's no problem ageing Amarone, the classic power red from Veneto. The Tommasi Amarone della

Valpolicella Classico 2005 is made with corvina, corvinone, rondinella and molinara grapes all grown on hillside terraces. The '05 has a fresh character on the nose with hints of black cherries and spice. The textures are rich and smooth with youthful black plummy fruit, tobacco, pepper, pruny chocolate flavours and rich but soft tannins. You could serve it now with roasted meats, game dishes or ripe cheeses or cellar for a decade.


CELLAR CANDIDATES:

 

El Burro Kickass Shiraz 2006, Bullas, Valencia and Murcia, Spain

Price      $15 private stores only

UPC       5060108901109

Score     86/100

Remarks              Good value that will improve in the bottle.

 

Ogier Côtes du Rhône Heritages 2007, Rhone Valley, France

Price       $17

UPC       00714320135006

Score     87/100

Remarks                Round, supple, ripe palate with good acidity.

 

Quinta do Crasto Douro Vinho Tinto 2007, Douro Valley, Portugal

Price       $20

UPC       05604123000814

Score     91/100

Remarks                One of the best years in a century. Cellar a decade or more.

 

Ricossa Barbaresco 2004, Piedmont, Italy

Price       $22

UPC       08032610318079

Score     88/100

Remarks                Will improve over the next few years but drinkable with beef or lamb now.

 

Torres Celeste 2005, Ribera del Duero, Castilla-Leon, Spain

Price       $27

UPC       08410113003508

Score     88/100

Remarks                Slightly rustic style for roast meat or cellar through 2015.

 

Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2005, Veneto, Italy

Price       $60

UPC       8004645402108

Score     90/100

Remarks                Serve it now with roasted meats, game dishes or ripe cheeses or cellar for a decade.

Written By: ag
Anthony Gismondi
Anthony Gismondi

Anthony Gismondi is a Canadian wine journalist and one of North America's most influential voices in wine. For over 30 years, he has been the wine columnist for The Vancouver Sun. The twice-weekly column is distributed across Canada through the Postmedia Network to millions of readers. In addition, Anthony hosts the BC Food & Wine Radio Show, broadcast in 25 markets across B.C. and available as a podcast on major platforms. He launched Gismondionwine.com in 1997, attracting one million monthly users from 114 countries. It continues to be a valuable resource full of tasting notes, intelligent wine stories and videos for the trade and consumers. Conversations with wine personalities are available on his  YouTube Channel.