Hanzell Pinot Noir is a particularly well-aging wine relative to other California Pinots.

Drinking well-aged wines can be a fabulous experience. But not every wine ages well. Whether you are stocking a wine cellar for aging wine or just shopping the “old and rare” section of your favorite wine shop, there are a few things you should know:

• How do wines change over time?
• What types of wines age well?
• Roughly how long will they continue to improve or hold?

Varietal blend, terroir, winemaking techniques and vintage make huge differences when aging wine. And wine doesn’t age in a linear fashion. There are quiet periods, times of rapid development and plateaus of consistency. Storage and handling of the bottle at the winery, your home and in between have a significant impact too—bottle variation becomes a bigger and bigger issue over time. Nonetheless, general guidelines are useful when planning a cellar.

First, let’s clarify what aging wine means. Every wine left undrunk will get older. Only a small percentage of those wines will develop in a positive way. That development, which leads to more refinement and greater complexity, is our goal in aging wine.

There are four stages in the aging of wine:

Youthful or Primary – This beginning of a wine’s life, when the color is bright and the fruit at maximum freshness. Acidity is at it’s maximum but, in a red wine, so are tannins. Oak flavors may be quite distinct from others in the wine. If the wine is youthful and is likely to get much better over time, it may be called “young.” On the other hand, most wines are best consumed in the blush of youth.  We sometimes call those wines “youthful as intended.”

Developing – This is an intermediary phase. There’s still a lot of freshness in the aging wine, but aromas and flavors of maturity are starting to emerge. Tannins may be softer. If there were green or oaky notes initially, they may have gained subtlety.

Mature – The wine has reached its maximum potential. It may “hold” in this phase for a while, but won’t get better.

Old or Past its Prime – This wine has past maturity and is on a downward slide. It has already begun to lose pleasurable characteristics. The main pitfall of aging wine is letting it go too long.

At Peak – Another way of saying a wine is as good as it will ever be, this isn’t a phase itself. It’s a suggestion you should start drinking up. At peak usually refers to a matured wine. However, most wines are at peak when still youthful.

How Does Wine Change as it Ages?

Wines that age well tend to be well-balanced overall but have high levels of at least two of the following: phenolics (such as tannins and color), acidity and sugar. To aficionados, age-worthy wines are better — sometimes much better — after some years in bottle than they were when first released.

Unsubtly bright fruit, oaky flavors and tannins or harsh acidity in red wines may be replaced by a smooth, supple palate, mellowed fruit and, eventually, tertiary flavors of cigar box, leather, earth, etc. Aging also tames white wines with very high acidity and allows more complexity to develop. Red wines get lighter in color and begin to turn orange, eventually brown. White wines get darker and move to gold, amber and then brown.

When wines that are not age-worthy get old, the lively flavors dissipate but nothing attractive takes their place. And the wine’s structure, be it acidity or tannin, may either disappear or become overly strong in the absence of fruit. It’s better to drink a wine to soon than too late!

The following is an overview of how a variety of popular wines do, or don’t, age. Remember that, even within specific categories of a particular type of wine, ageability will vary dramatically based upon vintage, producer, etc. Unless otherwise noted, the comments below pertain to wine in 750ml bottles. Magnums last longer, 375ml bottles age more quickly. Wines sealed with screwcap instead of cork also mature more slowly. Before making decisions involving large outlays of cash, be sure to check into the track record of the specific wine involved too.

General Guidelines for Aging Wine

Wines you should consume within one year or less of bottling or which won’t improve in bottle

Beaujolais (except Village and Cru)
Beaujolais Nouveau (drink within two months)
Bottled wine with plastic or rubber corks (drink within 6 months or less)
Boxed wine (drink within 6 months or less)
Jug wine
Light, sweet wines (Moscato/Muscat, White Zinfandel, etc.)
Most European wines designated as table wine or IGP/Vin de Pays (and their equivalents in other countries)
Wines sold for $15 or less
Most non-vintage sparkling wine from anywhere except Champagne, including Asti, California sparkling wine, Cava, Prosecco and Sekt
Most fortified wine, including ruby Port, tawny Port, Late Bottled Vintage Port, light Sherry (especially Fino and Manzanilla), Rainwater Madeira, Vin Doux Naturel, Rutherglen Muscat, etc.
Rioja Joven

Wines usually best within two years or so of bottling

Albariño
Barbera
Cabernet Franc (except Chinon, Napa Valley and Bordeaux)
Carmenére
Chardonnay (unoaked, except some Chablis)
Chenin Blanc (except from the Loire Valley)
Dolcetto
Grenache (except Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Priorat and the finest versions from California and Australia)
Gewürtztraminer (dry, except Alsace and the best from New Zealand)
Icewine
Malbec
Marsanne
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris (except top quality Alsace)
Riesling (Austria, California, German QBA)
Rioja Crianza
Rosé
Sangiovese
Sauvignon Blanc (dry)
Sémillon (except Sauternes and top dry wines from Australia or Bordeaux)
Viognier
Zinfandel (except relatively high-acid, high-tannin wines from top producers)

Wines typically best within 2 – 6 years

Beaujolais (Village and Cru)
Bordeaux (dry white)
Cabernet Franc (except Bordeaux and Chinon)
Chardonnay (oaked, except Burgundy 1er and Grand Cru)
Chianti Riserva
Grüner Veltliner
Merlot
Nebbiolo (Langhe, New World)
Petite Sirah
Pinot Gris (dry Alsace)
Pinotage
Riesling (Alsace, Austria’s Wachau, German Trocken, New Zealand)
Rioja (white)
Sauvignon Blanc (sweet from the New World)
Sémillon (dry, oaked)
Shiraz
Syrah (except Cote-Rotie and Hermitage)

Wines typically best within 2 – 10 years

Barbaresco
Barolo
Burgundy (outside Cote d’Or, ripe vintages within Cote d’Or)
Cabernet Sauvignon (except top producers from Australia, California, Italy and Washington)
Gewürtztraminer (Alsace Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles)
Grenache (Priorat, top wines from Australia and California)
Madeira (Colheita)
Mourvedre
Pinot Noir (Australia, California, New Zealand, Oregon, Switzerland and German Spatburgunder)
Rioja
Roussanne (drink within 3 years or after 7)
Sauvignon Blanc (top quality New Zealand, Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre and California Fumé Blanc)
Syrah (California, Cornas, New Zealand, Saint-Joseph, Washington)
Tempranillo

Wines from top producers in great years can age much longer than would normally be expected. I tasted this 1965 Hanzell Pinot Noir Sonoma Valley just a few years ago. It was a beautiful example of fully developed Pinot. Still ruby at the core and maintaining its acidity, the wine offered aromas and flavors of baked ham skin, dry and moist leaves, cherry, mushrooms, thyme, smoke and more. The finish was long too. Remarkable!

Wines typically best within 4 – 15 years

Bordeaux (dry white from a classified growth)
Bordeaux (red, Right Bank)
Burgundy (white, Grand Cru or 1er Cru)
Cabernet Franc (Bordeaux and Bourgueil)
Chablis (Grand Cru)
Chateuneuf du Pape (white, drink within 4 years or after 8)
Chianti Classico
Nebbiolo (Gattinara)
Pinot Gris (Alsace Vendange Tardive)
Riesling (Alsace Grand Cru, Australia)
Syrah (Cote Rotie)

Wines that are typically best within 5 – 20 years

Barbaresco (top producers and vintages)
Brunello di Montalcino
Burgundy (red, Grand Cru or 1er Cru)
Cabernet Sauvignon (top producers from Austalia, California, Italy and Washington)
Chateauneuf-du-Pape (red)
Marsanne (Hermitage and select Australian producers, best after 10 years)
Merlot (Spring Mountain)
Riesling (Alsace Vendange Tardive, German Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese)
Sauternes Savennierés (best early or after 8 years)
Sémillon (dry and unoaked from Hunter Valley)
Shiraz (top wines)
Sparkling wine (vintage, not from Champagne)
Super Tuscan
Syrah (Hermitage)
Vouvray (dry and off-dry, best early or after 8 years)

Wines typically best within 5 – 25+ years

Barolo (top producer and vintage)
Bordeaux (red, Left Bank)
Champagne (vintage)
Coteaux du Layon
Madeira (vintage)
Riesling (German Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein)
Rioja Gran Reserva

If you need a wine that might be enjoyable after 50 years, look for the best of these from top producers in great vintages

Barolo (traditional style with high-acidity and tannin)
Bordeaux (red, Left Bank)
Burgundy (red, Grand Cru or 1er Cru from a cool year)
Madeira (vintage)
Riesling (German Spatlese, Auslese)
Sauternes
Vintage Port
Vouvray (sweet)

An extreme, but very good example of aged wine

I tasted the wine shown at left just a few years ago. It’s a 1911 Riesling and was truly excellent. In the glass it was clear amber with a water white rim. Aromas and flavors included dried apricot, dried orange peel, dill, tart apple and mahogany. Though it was probably akin to a spatlese upon release, the wine I tasted was fully dry. It still had mouth-watering acidity. It also had staying power. The first wine poured that evening, neither it’s aromas nor flavors were significantly diminished after three hours in glass.

If you want to know the aging potential, or current state, of a particular wine, I recommend looking it up on one of the major wine review websites, such as Vinous or RobertParker.com.

Copyright Fred Swan 2016. All rights reserved.