Do all wines get better with age?
As with many things, and certainly with wines, preferences are personal. However, generally speaking there are some wines that hold up to age better than others. In my own opinion, there are relatively few wines that age well, and many others that should be consumed earlier.
I’ll provide a very brief description of the mechanism of aging, and then ideas for wines to age.
What really happens as a wine ages? If it has a cork closure, then over time, air (and oxygen) will enter the bottle. Oxygen will darken a white wine and provide orange and brown hues to a red wine. And it also affects flavor. The best way to learn to recognize this flavor is to taste sherry. Made using the Solera process, where the sherry ages in stacked barrels over time, a controlled entrance of oxygen is key to its flavor profile.
If you are tasting a sherry-like character in the wine, then it has likely picked up oxygen. Sometimes, if ordering a glass of wine in a restaurant, and the wine is not a big seller, you may detect this flavor if the bottle has been open awhile; in this situation you can and should be comfortable to ask for a pour from a new bottle.
Wines with screw-cap closures do not exhibit oxidation like those with corks, because the screw caps are more effective at preventing oxygen from entering the bottle.
So what wines do age well?
Wines that have substantial tannin (and particularly oak aging, especially with some portion of new oak), and higher acidity tend to stand up to or slow down the oxidation process. Fruit and tannin flavors can change over time, which is the allure of the aging process.
My favorite wine for aging is the Rioja Gran Reserva, from Spain. For red wines, the council that regulates the denominacion requires a minimum of 2 years in barrel and 3 years in bottle…before the wine is even released. Some bodegas (wineries) are known to hold their wines longer; Bodegas Faustino may wait 10+ years before releasing a Gran Reserva vintage. These wines can often be found in the mid $20 range at retail, and can stand up well to much more expensive wines. As with other red Rioja wines, the base grape is Tempranillo, although other varietals like Mazuela, Carinena, and Garnacha may be blended in.
Other age-worthy red wines:
| Country | Wine and Region | Grape |
| Spain | Ribera del Duero (especially Gran Reserva) | Tempranillo |
| France | Bordeaux | Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant if left bank, Merlot-dominant if right bank |
| Italy | Brunello di Montalcino (Toscana) | Sangiovese |
| Italy | Barolo or Barbaresco (Piemonte) | Nebbiolo |
| Italy | Taurasi (Campania) | Aglianico |
| US | Napa/Sonoma | Cabernet Sauvignon |
Remember, in Europe location is everything, so when you are in the store or looking at a wine list, think location first, and you will find what you’re looking for. The grapes are included for reference and for interest.
In contrast to Wine Hack #1 and Wine Hack #2, and the wines in the quick reference guide, these wines will be on the pricier side. Bordeaux can be found at the $20 price point retail but higher in good vintages. Barolo starts mid $30s and can go much higher; Brunello di Montalcino, which ages a minimum 5 years, will usually exceed $50. Aglianico from Italy is a bargain-worthy candidate for aging.
In general, white wine ages less well than red wine…although I’ve tasted aged Sauvignon Blanc in the Sancerre region in Loire Valley, France, as well as aged Vouvray (also from the Loire valley), and both stood up to time. Chardonnay, of all the white grapes, is full-bodied and can stand to age for 5-10 years.
In contrast, I have tasted white wines from producers, comparing the latest vintage released with the vintage from the year before, and the drop off in flavor was stark. So my preference with white wine tends to be to drink the current vintage.
Again, these things are very personal, so what is right for us individually may be different from what is above.
My list is not meant to be exhaustive, but they are my favorites. What about you? Have you had success aging these varietals, or others?