Predicting the Future

One of the most elusive things about wine - from an outsiders view, anyway - tends to be wrapped up in the process of aging. Why does aging wine make it better? How long is the ideal period to leave a bottle before opening? How do you know if a wine will "age well?" These are all common questions with not so simple answers - but I stumbled across a Q & A in The Seattle Times today that tries to address it. The Times' wine writer, Paul Gregutt, breaks things down simply and gives a fairly straightforward answer.

Gregutt was asked by a reader, "As you are tasting a wine, what criteria do you use (tannins, etc.) to decide if it would improve with time?"

His response:

"Most of the wines I taste are quite young, as the rush to be the first to market the newest vintage tends to hurry up release dates. But I've found it is not that difficult to get a fairly good idea of how a wine will age.

In general what I look for in a young wine is aromatic complexity; balance in the mouth; no excessive alcohol, oak or tannin; and the ability to reveal more and more layers as it breathes open. A good way to guesstimate its future prospects is to decant it and taste it over the course of several hours. Sometimes, if I think a wine is really wrapped up tight, I taste if a few times, then put the cork back in the bottle, and simply let it breathe in the bottle overnight. If it has improved the next day, it generally means that it will likely improve with more cellar time."