When do wines change the most?

[jon bricken]

With great interest I read Roy's notes on the '07's and it made me think about when a wine changes the most during their evolution towards maturity?

As we all know most wines are made to be consumed within a few years of bottling (something like 98% of all production). but what I am asking deals with the other 2% of fine wines.

IMHO wine making has changed the most since 1995 with the advant of the global spread of technology in wine making, information sharing between wine makers, wine makers working all over the world, the explosion of wine drinking, severe selection of grapes for 1st tier wines, etc...

For example just evaluate Bordeaux since the 1997 vintage. In the past some of the subsequent vintages would have been undrinkable like 1991 & 1992, but today technology, vineyard & cellar management have raised the level of wine making to a point where the industry can adjust/manipulate the juice to compensate for a host of issues that in the past would have ruined a vintage.

The effect of this has been the move to make wines more approachable in their youth. We live in a world of instant gratification and all you have to do is look at the proliferation of young fine wines on resteraunt lists.

Port has had the advantage of the "declaration" system which has allowed the producers to circumvent the every vintage drinkable problem by not releasing certain wines as "Vintage " port.

Isin't this why we have seen a rise in the release of SQVP's?

Additionally, I realize that there are some external factors which effect the production of fine wines today. Just look at a few of the comments by the port producers about their 2007's. Lots of talk about improvements in their processes and components.

So back to my question - when do wine changes the most as they move towards maturity?

[Eric Menchen]

When you open the bottle?
Seriously, I really don't have a good answer, although I think this is an interesting question. The biggest change I notice is when all the tannins have dropped out and the VP drinks like a tawny. But I don't know if that evolution is strictly linear, or if it falls off. It seems to me it is non-linear, as I find very few bottles that have a small amount of tawny character, but that just might be a perception thing. Also, I've hardly tasted any cask samples or done comparative tastings of bottles within a few years of bottling, so I wonder if that might also be a time of rapid change ...

[Glenn E.]

So back to my question - when do wine changes the most as they move towards maturity?

In a word, immediately.

The difference between a cask sample that I tasted in July and a finished bottle that I tasted in November was eye opening. That same Port tasted in 2 years will be an entirely different wine yet again. We'll never see such rapid and dramatic changes in that Port again unless someone sits it in a shop window during a hot summer.

I think that the changes slow down with time, much as they do as people age. During the first 3 years of a babies life the changes are dramatic and incredible... the changes from 42-45 generally not so much.

[Roy Hersh]

Jon,

For the moment, I am going to keep my opinion's to myself and would prefer others to voice theirs instead. Like Aaahhnald said: "I'll be back."

I did want to step in and say hi and it was a nice surprise to see you posting here again.



back home to !