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The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.
-H. L. Mencken In the land of the blind, known as the world of wine, falsehoods and misconceptions abound -many spread by the alleged experts that make their living from the grape. But of all the fabrications, distortions and outright lies perpetuated upon the public by the wine press, none is as insidious as those concerning the "age-ability" of wines. According to the foremost wine critics of our day, there are many wines that taste sensational today and that will continue to improve for 20 years or more! Likewise, they seem to dismiss perfectly good wines as "early maturing. How do they know? Time machine? Detailed statistical analysis? Magic 8 Ball? Or do they really know? Perhaps, much like their precious (and meaningless) 100-point scoring system, there is absolutely no unambiguous, empirical measure in existence and they're just making it up as they go along. Well, why not? Making definitive pronouncements with little or no regard for facts is a time-honored political tradition (how else did we end up in Iraq?). It seems to work equally well for the wine press! So, the question begs should you age wines? And if so, which wines and for how long? I believe the answer lies in the process, the actual science of aging. The possibility of aging wines largely occurs in two settings; in tank or barrel prior to bottling, and then, in bottle. Obviously, the winemaker or oenologist is in total control of the first. Briefly, aging prior to bottling allows for some settling of the newly made wine, which may allow the flavors, acids, tannins and other compounds to meld together. In addition, aging in barrel may allow for some evaporation (often called the "angel's share") as well as the introduction of additional flavors from the wood. This aging prior to bottling may take anywhere from two months to five years depending on the goals of the winemaker. Likewise, after bottling, the winemaker may opt to continue to allow the wine to age in the bottle prior to release. In some winemaking regions, law mandates the length of aging before release. For instance, the minimum aging requirement of a Brunello di Montalcino is 48 months: 36 in barrel and 12 in bottle. OK, so after the wine is released, the consumer gets in the act, and things get really confusing. As aging wine is supposed to be a beneficial thing, some understanding of what happens is probably as important as how it happens. The name of the game is maturity; a mature wine is (theoretically, at least) less tannic, more complex, less bold, and more delicate. The bright aroma of the young wine recedes and is replaced by more a subtle bouquet. The color fades from vibrant and dark purple or red (in red wines) to softer and muted garnets and brick; or from bright yellows and golds (in whites) to straw, bronze or coppery hues. And finally, the bold and forward fruit flavors and (perhaps) piquant acidity are muffled. The physical reasoning for these changes is the actual bonding of acid, tannin, flavor, and color compounds called phenolics. As these phenolic molecules bond and grow heavier, they actually drop out of the liquid in the form of sediment. Hence, the diminishing changes noted above. This brings forward two problems. First, for those physical changes (i.e., the bonding, et al) acid, tannin, flavor, and color compounds must be present in the wine to begin with. However, the wine style en vogue in today's wine market (and certainly favored by the wine press) is high on color and fruit flavor but low on tannins and acids. This is largely due to the trend towards ripeness in the vineyards (riper fruit typically has less acidity). Therefore, as the wine ages, it becomes lighter, less fruity, and extraordinarily low in acid. Think weak, alcoholic grape juice. Without an adequate acid and tannic backbone, aging will not be beneficial. The second problem is simply personal preference. If you like ripe, big, bold fruit flavors in your wine, why age it? The end result will be less fruit and less weight -a less dramatic wine. The most laughable part of the aging equation is the wine critics predictions. The rate of maturity in humans, let alone wine, is a moving target. But lets just focus on the wine. The level of phenolic compounds in a wine varies from wine to wine, vintage to vintage, winemaker style to winemaker style. Equally as important is shipping and storage conditions. A wine that has never left the winery and has spent its entire life in a dark, cool wine cellar, rarely touched and hardly moved, will mature completely differently than a wine shipped overseas, trucked across land, stored in a un-refrigerated warehouse, delivered to a wine shop, and finally, carried home by the consumer. The more hands touching the wine, the more changes in temperature, light, humidity and handling will impact the rate of maturity. And we can add to that laundry list of potential and actual variants, the closure ˆ„Cork? Screwcap? Composite? Is our local wine critic really taking all those variants into effect with his predictions? Is he even remotely in control of enough information to render an opinion? Not likely. So to answer the question, should you even age wines? Well, I'd have to say, with some degree of certainty - maybe! Waiting for wines to mature can be one hell of a fun science project! Tracking the various rates of change from wine to wine, year to year, can be a statisticians dream! But for the rest of us, who merely want to enjoy the bottle we bought last night or last year -drink up! I suspect that many of us have our hands full waiting for our spouses, parents, and/or kids to mature. Do we really need one more unknown in our already complicated lives? - Peter Wood
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