A question of age

CHEERS: Barton on Wine

BY WARREN BARTON

I am always politely amused, when the talk turns to wine, by people with loads of enthusiasm but little real knowledge who prattle on about their "cellars" and the wonderful old wines they have in them.

What many mean, I suspect, is that they have a few bottles of popular but rather ordinary wines stored under the stairs or in a dusty wine rack in the lounge in the belief that they will improve with age.

Most will not. And if they did, would these enthusiasts who bought and stored them know the difference anyway?

Probably not.

The fact is that up to 90 per cent of all wines made these days should be consumed within a couple of years of being produced. It is generally only the more expensive wines that are designed to or will change, or improve with age.

This applies especially to tannic (mouth-puckering) reds, though some whites aged in wood can also undergo a metamorphosis.

Over time the hard, tannic reds will become softer in the mouth, less fruity, more complex; the oaky whites more complex and subtle too, and their colour will change to gold.

The trick, of course, is selecting wines which will reward your investment and your patience (generally wines that have plenty of tannin, fruit and good acidity or a history of aging well); knowing how and where to cellar them; and understanding that it is just as possible to age a wine for too long as not long enough.

What also clearly needs to be understood is that when a wine reaches maturity, or a plateau, it gradually goes into decline and can eventually become undrinkable.

Which means that either you have to buy more than one bottle of the wine you want to age so that you can chart its progress or you seek advice from someone who can make an educated guess on its lifespan.

The most ageworthy wine is cabernet sauvignon or a blended red containing a high proportion of this variety which is made from a thick-skinned grape and as a result is high in tannin. Pinot noirs can also age extremely well. So can many merlots and syrahs, depending on where and how they are grown and produced.

And the whites? As Michael Cooper observes in his Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines to broach a top chardonnay under 2 years old can be infanticide.

Likewise, a fine Riesling before it has developed those wonderful toasty, honeyed characters.

Sometimes I wonder whether the best bet is to take what they used to call "a bob each way" and buy a wine that is perfectly palatable (approachable is the term) at this stage of its life but also has the capacity to age. And I can think none better to start with reasonably priced recent releases:

Sileni Estate Selection 2008 Pacemaker Cabernet Franc (about $27): One of the better examples of this variety so far produced in this country. Black cherries, berries will give way to gamier, spicy influences over next six or seven years. But still good drinking now.

Sileni Estate Selection 2008 The Triangle Merlot (about $27): A gorgeously ripe, plums and berries Hawke's Bay merlot with enough smooth tannins to ensure further development and good drinking for several years.

Craggy Range 2008 Gimblett Gravels Syrah (about $30): Packed with dark berries, cherries and seasoned with liquorice, spice and cracked black pepper. Excellent value for a wine you can drink now or in 10 years' time.

Church Road 2007 Cuve Series Cabernet Sauvignon (about $26): A powerful, rich and earthy wine made in the classic Bordeaux-style. Already drinking beautifully but has the promise of a much longer life – till 2020 perhaps, maybe beyond.

Villa Maria 2009 Reserve Hawke's Bay Chardonnay (about $31): A creamy, stonefruited wine leavened with nuts and toasty oak. A typically understated example of this label which deserves at least four, up to six years in the bottle.

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