Let the dust settle on your favorite bottles of wine; a little time will result in a softer, more balanced taste.
Wine
Collecting the Classics
Your future self will benefit from a diversified cellar of age-worthy reds and whites.
BY
Emily Harrington of Rimann Liquors
PHOTOGRAPHY
iStockphoto/Turbinado

It is often said of wine that no two bottles are exactly alike, and this quality is something that is greatly amplified over time. Early in wine’s history, people observed the changes that occurred in their libations as they were stored for months, years or even decades. In antiquity, people even discerned which locations were ideal for producing extraordinary wine, observed the differences between harvest years and assessed them according to popular tastes.

This great appreciation for fine wine declined somewhat following the fall of the Roman Empire but was revitalized in the Modern Age of winemaking. With improved technology and a better understanding of what makes exceptional, age-worthy wine, producers were able to reach the full potential of their vineyards and the grapes grown there. The advent of bottling wine in glass bottles changed the dynamics of collecting wine, making red and white table wines more suitable for long-term storage.

A few factors are essential in creating world-class, age-worthy wines. Generally speaking, a wine that will age well has the right balance of tannins, acidity, alcohol and residual sugar. Each of these compounds acts as a preservative, though the right proportions are needed in order to result in a wine worth opening. In their youth, some of these wines may seem unbalanced and overly acidic or extremely tannic, but time softens these qualities through a complex process of chemical changes.

People often fret over exactly when the “right time” to drink a particular wine is, and quite unnecessarily. The fact of the matter is that the aging of wine is only vaguely understood and merely educated guesswork. There is no single moment when a wine transforms and emerges like a butterfly from a chrysalis, but rather it is a general process and part of the charm and intrigue that   surrounds wine itself.

Many of these wines benefit from aging as little as a few months to lasting decades in the bottle. For this reason, it is beneficial to buy your collectibles in reasonable yet adequate quantities. This way a wine can be tasted in fairly regular intervals. Try one when you first buy it, then again at two years, five, 10 and beyond. In this manner, you can always find a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion to bring out one of your favorite wines.

Red wines tend to develop more earthy characteristics reminiscent of grated truffles or fallen autumn leaves, and the once bright and vibrant fruit flavors become more subdued and take on a dried fruit (i.e. cranberry, fig)-like quality. Tannins begin to unfurl, and the wine changes from a tight, muscular, unflinching bundle into an elegant, refined, seductive wave that carries the  flavors and unfolds as the wine develops. The classic wine-producing areas of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley are in keeping with this tradition, as well as New World cabernet, shiraz, zinfandel and blends that show an amazing capacity to age. Italy is also a universal favorite, with wines from Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont, Brunello and Chianti Riservas in Tuscany, as well as exceptional new-style bottlings from the Northeast, Sicily, Super Tuscans and the up-and-coming wines of the south. Unusual, off-the-beaten-path reds from Greece, Spain and Portugal, or varietal wines of South America, add variety and novel experiences when collecting and aging fine wine. 

Red wines are certainly not the only wines eligible for serious cellaring and collecting. The great wines of antiquity have frequently been white wines of France’s Loire Valley and Rhône Valley, which are proven collectibles, as well as the much-beloved dessert wines from areas as far-flung as Alsace and Hungary, Tuscany and South Africa. These wines can prove an amazing potential for aging, with wines lasting 10, 20 or even 100 years! White Burgundies and Sauternes are among the most widely available age-worthy whites, in addition to German  rieslings from the top producers and the rare Tokaji of Hungary, once prized by Louis XIV. Because dessert wines are “under the radar,” they are frequently extraordinary, under-valued collectibles that will undoubtedly last decades. 

Above all, wine is something to be savored and enjoyed, something that is both inspiring and meditative. By practicing variety in your wine consumption and investing a little time into your own modest or grand collections, you can become part of the great continuum that is wine and wine culture.