It’s the age old question, when does wine hit its prime? So many factors play into this question – acidity, tannin, wine making techniques, aging decisions and on and on. But, at the end of the day, it all comes down to luck. Crystal balls? Voodoo dolls? A bit of hocus pocus? A four leaf clover? Or, all the above, vintage wine is a guessing game and no one knows the result until the cork is popped!
Most wines in the U.S. are meant to be “drink me now!” wines. Fact is, somewhere in the range of 80% of bottles purchased in the good ole U.S. of A. are in fact consumed within hours of purchase. Gotta love a wine drinker on a mission! The percentage of wines produced globally with intent or best practice of aging 5, 10 or more years is extremely low, somewhere lower than 5% of all wine produced annually. So what makes a wine worthy of aging? Multiple factors come into play!
It’s a great vintage, let’s hang on to this one
Let’s talk vintage. I’ve covered old wines before in previous posts and as always, Mother Nature has her way with vineyards all over the world each year. Some years, she’s kind. Other years, she wreaks havoc. From first bud of leaves to harvest, each magical step of growth matters in the ultimate quality of the wines being made from the vineyard. Oddly enough, some things we think of as pure and utter torture for our gardens are actually gifts in disguise for vineyards! Rain at harvest is a nightmare with the potential to yield puffy, overly plump grapes with sappy, under-concentrated grapes. Dry, warm, challenging weather can provide ripe grapes with highly concentrated, complex juice resulting in magical wines. A world of opposites.
To you, and to me, average wine consumers, this may all be way too complicated to digest. So a few tips can help predict whether a wine will reach its peak, its epiphany, its most magical expression. Tannins. Acid. Provenance.
Wines with higher tannins have the ability to age much longer. Therefore, one can predict high tannin reds can be laid down for 5, 10 or more years and continue to meld, soften, increase in complexity and still shine. But tannins alone are not the only key to the equation.
Acidity rules. Acidity keeps reds and whites fresh, crisp and prevents early aging and oxidation. High acidity varietals such as Riesling for white wines have the ability to age not only years, but decades. I’ve has the blissful pleasure of drinking 50 year old Riesling from Alsace which absolutely rocked my world. Age was definitely on its side!
When would 20 not be the new 40?
Sometimes, however, even all the stars being aligned cannot keep a wine in its prime. Take, for example, the wine in this post’s feature. A 1978 Dry Creek Zinfandel from Cali. Zin’s profile is typically bold, spicy, high acid, juicy red and black fruit. All of these characteristics make it ideal for longevity. Was this one worth the wait?
While the spicy signature of Zin had long faded, stewed plums and figs, soft and velvety tannins and moderate acidity presented a wine which takes me on a walk down memory lane. Brilliant sunsets, cool evenings, lightning bugs glistening in the bushes and the cusp of a moon on the horizon. Memories, undefined, yet precious. Hints, but without the spotlight and glare.
Bottom line, this wine may be past it’s prime in the eyes of Master Somms and wine collectors, but in my opinion, it is a reminder of things in my past I should never let go. Of friends and family, of experiences and celebrations. Of life’s little pleasures which may make me vintage in my own right, but tells me vintage wine has so much more to say than a wine score.
