It’s a common belief with wines - an older bottle is better than a younger bottle. But, is that always so?

If you’ve read some of my past blogs, you’d know that one of my favorite lines is “One of the first things to understand about aging wines is that a wine cellar isn’t a wine hospital. If a wine is flawed or just not very good, it doesn’t magically become better with age…” [from “Ask Dr. Vinny” Wine Spectator online (Sept. 21, 2014].

Today, most wines, both reds and whites, are meant to be enjoyed right away. When wines are bottled, they’re ready for consumption. Aging doesn't necessarily make them better.

This point is always driven home for me when Wine Enthusiast puts out its annual Vintage Chart. It provides guidance on when wines are “At their Peak” and whether to “Drink” or “Hold” a wine based on the wine region and the vintage date. Here are some generalized notes from the 2021 chart regarding California wines:

Zinfandel — The 2012/2014 are at peak; The 1989 wines may be past their peak; the 1987s are in decline and may be undrinkable
Pinot Noir — The 2012 are at peak; The 1989/1990 wines may be past their peak; 1986s are in decline and may be undrinkable
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon — The 2012/2014 are at peak maturity; those back to 2001 are shown as ‘Can drink, may be past peak’

A good rule of thumb is that most wines will begin to fade to the down side in as few as five years and after 10 years they'll generally have lost most of their character, if not out-right spoiled. And, remember, this assumes that the wines are aged properly in a cool, dark, humidity-controlled location.

So, older wines can be better, but only up to a point. So, you don't need to age wines to be able to drink great wines.

Next time we'll look at what makes a wine age-worthy.