Should I Age This Wine?

Wine is only one step on the path from grape juice to vinegar. Some wines let us walk that path slowly with them, stopping to smell the roses.

Everyone has heard of wine’s magical ability to improve with time, but for most people this causes more questions than answers. In this article, I’m going to give clear and helpful guidance through a series of yes or no questions. These tools will help you learn which wines are worth aging and lead you down the rabbit hole that is aging wine.

I’m writing this to help the myriad of people that ask about this on social media. In lieu of typing the same answer multiple times, I plan to simply link this article. If you are here because of one such link, welcome!

I hope this helps. It is for you.

What Do We Mean When We Say “A Wine Can Age?”

When we age wine we are looking for a situation where: 10+ years from Vintage date, under proper cellar conditions, the wine will be more interesting, more complex, more nuanced, and overall more enjoyable than when it was released.

We aren’t looking for a wine that persists, but one that improves. There is no reason to spend the effort of aging a wine if you aren’t going to get more a more compelling experience.

What are “Proper Cellar Conditions?”

• A constant temperature of 48-59 F

• A constant humidity between 55-75%

• Darkness, quiet, and lack of vibrations

• All bottles stored on their side and very infrequently moved.

Two Important Caveats:

• 99% of wines do not improve with age. Please start from an assumption that the wine in front of you won’t improve with age. This includes almost all of America’s most popular wines and probably most of your favorites. This isn’t a condemnation of those wines. Many of them are amazing. Not every wine was meant to age. If we age the wrong wines, we end up with nothing more than expensive vinegar.

• The questions below are helpful simplifications and there are going to be rare exceptions. However, if you follow my test almost all people with have success almost all the time.

The Questions and How to Use Them:

As you read the questions below - and answer them about your wine - keep track of how many questions are answered with “Yes.” The more “Yes” answers your wine receives, the more likely it is to be ‘age-worthy.” If the answer isn’t ‘definitely yes,’ it is “no.”

Some of the questions are contradictory, so it is impossible for your wine to get a yes answer for all of them. That’s okay.

Is This Wine a Sweet Dessert Wine?

I’m specifically thinking about Vintage Porto, Sherry, Sauternes (France), Trockenbeerenauslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, Ice Wine, Jurançon, Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN), and more.

If the wine is one of these glorious dessert wines, you can stop answer questions right here.

These dessert wines age nearly indefinitely and no one alive could reasonably expect to outlive them.

Is This Wine a Dry Red Wine?

The vast majority of age worthy wines are dry reds.

Is This Wine a Riesling from Germany or Austria?

This is the exception to the dry red wine thing. Riesling wines tend to be age worthy.

Was This Wine Made in Europe?

Give an extra point if it was made in France, Italy, or Spain.

I’m not criticizing wine from the United States, Australia, or elsewhere with this. Some wonderful wines are made in those countries. It’s just that our culture tends to not age wines and our country’s wines tend to be optimized to our culture.

Is the Price of This Wine above $65?

It isn’t that wines meant for aging cost more. It is that inexpensive wines are almost never made to be aged.

Was This Wine Made in Bordeaux, France?

No wine producing region in the world produces a higher percentage (or quantity) of age worthy wines.

Does Cabernet Sauvignon Make up 75% or More of This Wine?

Cabernet Sauvignon is incredibly age worthy. Especially at higher prices and from the premier regions.

Is the Listed Alcohol Percentage Between 12.5% and 14.5%?

While not always the case, wines outside of this alcohol range tend to have less balance and balance is important for age worthiness.

Did You Buy This Wine from an Independent or Specialty Wine Merchant?

Again, it isn’t that Independent wine merchants feature age worthy wine. It’s that large box stores or grocers tend to work with the largest wine companies and those companies tend to make wine for near term consumption.

A Few Slightly More Advanced Questions:

You should probably have enough tools to analyze the age worthiness of any wine you come across at this point. However, if you’d like to drill a bit deeper into this question here are a few additional questions to refine your decision. They require a bit more wine experience compared to the previous questions.

If You’ve Tasted the Wine, Did It Taste Firm, Hard, and “Tight?”

You should probably not age a wine that you consider smooth, luscious, delicate, creamy, mellow, soft, or “not too dry.” As an athlete must stretch before an event, great age worthy wines are often tight if you open them too young.

Was the Wine Made in Hermitage, Cote-Rotie, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti Classico, Rioja, or Priorat?

If your wine has met lots of the other criteria and is from one of these regions, the likelihood of age worthiness significantly increases.

Did the Wine Come from a Great Vintage?

While great vintages do not make wines age worthy, age worthy wines tend to be even more so in great vintages.

For example: a great Bordeaux in an ‘off-year’ might age well for 10 years, but in a great year it might age 30+ years.

In Conclusion:

I hope that what I’ve written here will be a good tool for you to use in your own wine journey. We need more people who are interested in the journey of pleasure and discovery that comes from aging wine. They just need to know which wines to age. This should help you get started.

Wet Ferrets & Cardboard Boxes: Detecting Flawed Bottles of Wine in Restaurants

The following is a clip taken from Austin Beeman's interview on the Upside of 40 Podcast with Sean Mooney.

TOPIC: Wet Ferrets & Carboard Boxes: Detecting Flawed Bottles of Wine in Restaurants.

Sean Mooney: "People have been out to dinner and I guess a lot of it is tradition where they come and they open the bottle of wine and you're the guy who ordered it. So they will come over and make a nice little presentation, and put a little bit in the glass, and you don't know what to do. They swirl it around, they smell, and they're like, "Yeah. Okay." Really, what are you looking for when you do that?"

Austin Beeman: "So here's what's happening..."

ABOUT UPSIDE OF 40 WITH SEAN MOONEY

Upside of 40 finds Sean Mooney wrestling with something new – the facts of life after 40. It’s candid talk for men with real experts on money, dating, relationships, fitness, health, technology, food, travel, retirement, sports and more. Get the good, the bad, and the funny about life after 40.

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Full Transcript:

Austin Beeman:

You ordered a wine, the waiter went to get it, he came back out and he shows you that. Your job is to make sure that it's the wine you're asking for, the vintage you're asking for, and the specific variation you're asking for. So for example, on certain wines, there'll be a normal version that'll be $100 and reserve that'll be $1,000. If you accept the reserve, you accepted the $1,000 bottle, and that has happened and you've accepted that check. So you want to make sure that it is the thing that you're asking for and they didn't swap a vintage because vintage especially on good quality wine, it matters. It will change dramatically from year to year. So you want to make sure that that wine is what you think it is.

Then it's going to be opened and they're going to show you the cork. Generally, you want to make sure that cork isn't completely falling apart or that it doesn't smell like a wet dog or like a cardboard box. None of those things will automatically mean the wine is flawed, but they are things that might tell you that, "Now I got to pay a lot more attention because there's something-"

Sean Mooney:

Yeah, heads up.

Austin Beeman:

"... possibly wrong here." They're a blinking yellow light as you're driving down the wine road. Then he's going to pour the sample and it should be poured for the person that ordered. That person then is tasting the wine, not to decide whether or not they like it, but to decide whether or not it is flawed in some way. The common flaws will be something known as being corked, which is pretty complicated in terms of the technical side of it. But it means that the wine is damaged by the cork in a way that a percentage of all wines under cork are damaged, and that it will smell off in a way that is cardboardy. And we all know what sort of cardboardy or musty books at grandma's house, or something like that.

If it is flawed in that way, or in a way called being maderized, where it actually smells and tastes like a wet dog, or like feral ferret in the rain, or something like that, then you kick it back and they should bring out a different bottle of that same wine. Because a wine being corked is part of what it means to be a wine. When wine is put under a cork, a percentage of those are going to be flawed. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about a $10 bottle or a $10,000 bottle, a percentage of those wines are going to be flawed. Iin a restaurant environment, part of why you pay a significant markup over what you would pay at a retail store is that they are going to make sure that wine is correct, and they should take it back, no questions asked, boom, and bring out the same bottle.

You should never be like, "Oh, this wine was corked. Get me something else off the list." No, because there's nothing wrong with the wine. There's something wrong with that bottle of the wine. And that's the process that is happening at the dinner table.

Sean Mooney:

Yeah. So the guide even if you're not really knowledgeable, that if it just smells off, just from your own palate, that there's something wrong, there probably is?

Austin Beeman:

Yep. It's those two things: the feral animal or the cardboard box.

Sean Mooney:

Yeah. You've got to mind those.

Austin Beeman:

Those are things that any of us can identify. And if it's subtle and you don't recognize it, then that wine's okay for you and go ahead and drink it and it's not a problem. But if you do recognize it, send it back. Any restaurant worth its salt and almost any restaurant in the world will totally swap it out no problem.

My 12 Most Memorable Wines of 2020

2020 was a year to forget, but one we’ll always remember. COVID-19 was the big story of the year with lockdowns, stay-at-home-orders, restaurant industry devastation, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Fires ripped through the wine countries of California, Oregon, and Australia while believable reports of sexual abuse ripped through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Of course, I shouldn’t ignore that we also had protests, riots, and an ugly, protracted political election.

With all the challenges and trauma of the year, it became necessary to focus on community, friendship, and the human connections. These moments were few but precious. Risk could be limited, but not fully removed. For a lover of wine, I sanctified these moments, by embracing special wines that in a previous season might have been deemed too special for a simple dinner with a friend.

In 2020, the motto became, “Drink the Good Stuff!”

What made wines memorable in 2020 is something that we often forget. The purpose of wine is to lubricate human connections with beauty, grace, and an intimate interaction with the world around us.

Here are 12 wines listed in the order I experienced them.

Bonny Doon Vineyard 2007 Le Cigare Volant

Having sold in January 2020, one of the greatest Rhone-varietal advocates in California is not what it was when I worked there. Under new management, many of the beautiful older wines were sold at extreme discounts.

This beautiful Chateauneuf-inspired wine was absolutely singing in 1.5L magnum. Wild, primal, earthy, and exotic. It reminded my why this was arguably California’s most underrated wine.

Hervé Souhaut 2018 La Souteronne

It was the night before Ohio closed down restaurants and last time I would have dinner in a restaurant for over 10 months, but I didn’t know it at the time. I was dining with Mike Gregg, the excellent Sommelier at Basil Pizza & Wine Bar in Perrysburg, at one of my favorite Cincinnati restaurants - Please.

This Gamay from the Northern Rhone is a cult classic of the Natural Wine Community. Juicy, smoky, and delicious with lots of wild red fruits. Superb!

Smith-Madrone 2016 Cook’s Flat Reserve

2020 was the year that every winery tried to go digital. The most memorable was a virtual ‘influencer’ tasting with Stuart Smith, Founder & General Partner of Smith-Madrone.

A red blend patterned after Bordeaux, this is a seriously luxurious taste of Napa Valley’s Mountains with just enough structure to keep from descending into goo. Pretty great stuff.

Champagne Bollinger 2011 ‘James Bond Edition’

Covid did a number on the movie industry as well with many films delayed, including the new James Bond film. This bottle was originally meant to be opened the night of the release, but when surprise synchronicity put my James Bond-loving friends and I in the same place on a Saturday afternoon, I knew this had to be opened.

I’m glad I didn’t wait, because this is a gorgeous Champagne. Full-bodied, yeasty, and rich with crystalline bubbles that reflect the sunlight. It was wonderful to share it.

Raft Wines 2019 Counoise

My good friend, Thea Dwelle of Luscious Lushes turned me on to this boutique woman-owned winery. I’m glad she did.

Bright and frivolous! This low-alcohol red is almost transparent. If the ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ could be a wine, this Counoise is she. So much fun!

Dr. F Weins-Prüm 2011 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett

Another casualty of Covid was one of Cincinnati’s finest restaurants: Bauer Farm Kitchen an elevated German place run by the excellent Jackson Rouse.

This Riesling came from their wonderfully eclectic wine collection. While very youthful at 9 years old, the wine shows off a fusion of dense stone, exotic melon, yellow apples, and wisps of petrol.

Suavia Soave Classico ‘Le Rive’

Dinner parties that in 2019 were a dozen people became socially distanced groups of four in 2020.

This was the precious last bottle of one of Italy’s great white wineries. I’ve produced two videos on my wine show during my visit to Italy in 2012. Here & Here.

I don’t remember the vintage, but it was no younger than 2010. This oaked interpretation of Gargenega had aged like fine White Burgundy. Dense, layered, complex, and profound.

d’Arenberg 2010 Shiraz ‘J.R.O. Afflatus’

Like it did for many others, Covid destroyed my travel plans. The blessing here was the ability to spend that time with family instead. My father grilled steaks and I decided to “Drink the Good Stuff.”

This is insanely old-vine Shiraz (1912) from McLaren Vale. I first was exposed to this in 2014, when visiting Australia for my MBA. It is one of the finest Syrah/Shiraz made anywhere in the world.

Dry herbs. Bitter chocolate. Dense black fig. Eucalyptus. Ridiculously long finish. Wow!

Penfolds 1997 Grange

In late summer, as COVID was apparently waning, a few of us tried to get together for an outdoor gourmet dinner. Almost everything we opened that night could have made this list, but the 1997 Grange was the standout.

I love rooting for underdog wines, but it often good to be reminded that legends are expensive and respected for a reason. This is a monumental wine. Both an Aussie Ur-Shiraz and completely distinctive bottle.

Lucien Le Moine 2014 Volnay 1er Cru ‘Hospice De Beaune: Cuvée General Muteau’

Another expensive legendary winery showing that it was worth every dollar. I opened this with two very good friends from Pittsburgh. A silence - pregnant with awe and beauty - came over the entire room.

This is kind of experience that inspires you to throw money at Burgundy for a lifetime. I won’t try to describe the taste. It just wouldn’t be fair to the wine.

Domaine Tempier 2018 Bandol Rosé

Lucie ‘Lulu’ Peyraud, Matriarch of France's Domaine Tempier, died at 102. Her story and the quality of her wines were instrumental in creating my fascination with the world of wine.

As usual, this rosé was wild and intense without ever losing the freshness. Cheers Lulu! Thanks for the inspiration.

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

There was obviously no big birthday party in November, but instead some delicious wine and cheese with a close friend. So why not open a birth-year wine?

A bit of the barnyard funkiness but quite a bit of black fruit left. Well balanced with cigar box and a bit of greenery. A lot better than most 1978’s I’ve opened.

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Disclosure 1: At the time of this writing, I work for a wholesale distributor that represents some of these wines in Ohio and Kentucky. Neither my representation of these wines or lack thereof, affects this list in any way.

Disclosure 2: The wines on this list were a combination of promotional samples, purchased at discount due to my industry status, tasted with friends who purchased them, or purchased by myself at full price.