To Age or Not to Age

That is the question you might ask with wines you've purchased or wanting to purchase. Should I, or can I, drink this now or is it best to wait 3 years, 10 years, or a couple of weeks?

It's complicated as it depends on the wine, the storage conditions, and your preference.

 

The Wine

Some wines are structured to reward longer aging, the acid, tannin, fruit, concentration, and finish are all in balance. Some wines you can expect to age just by the growing area and/or the winery. Bordeaux is famous for making many wines that age well. Cabernet Sauvignon, especially, can age a long time if it's structured. Some New World cabs are soft (low acid) and may come across a bit sweet. These are meant for early drinking.

Storage

Most of us don't have a wine cellar. The purpose of a cellar is to keep a constant cool temperature and moderate humidity. Cool temps age the wine slowly; the proper humidity keeps the cork from drying out or getting moldy. Temperature swings and direct sunlight will "jerk" the wine around and mess with its chemistry. 

Drinking Window

Having a not-quite-perfect place to store wines mean you won't want to age them too long, and it probably means your drinking window is shorter so it will be difficult to know the peak. Many wines will do better with short to moderate aging (months to a few years). Some you should drink young and fresh, such as rosé and sauvignon blanc. 

What You Like 

Not everyone has to like aged wines. If you store your wine for years, you will eventually run into a wine past its peak. So you've had this cabernet for over ten years, and now it tastes like dirt and mushrooms? Yeah, you waited too long. It's much better to have a wine a little early than a little too late. Regardless, aged wine will taste different. Smoothing out rough edges on a wine is great. After that it completely depends on your preference.

What I Do

My conditions are okay, but definitely less than ideal. Whites I drink within about three or four years from the vintage date on the bottle. Sparkling wines can go a bit longer as they have higher acid (acids are a preservative). Tannins, alcohol, and sulfites are also preservatives. Pinot noir, merlot, and zinfandel, about five years. Cabernet sauvignon seven to ten, sometimes longer. Any wine that I pick up at a store or have shipped, I will lay down for a few weeks to let it "settle down."

There are plenty of exceptions. I've had five-year-old sparkling wine and ten-year-old cabernet from my cellar that were blah. I've had twenty-year-old zinfandel that was incredible. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't.