Hi Agnes. I came across your channel today and subscribed after watching this video. Thank you for producing such informative content. I completed building my wine cellar in 2009 in my basement (Pennsylvania) including an environment control unit to maintain humidity and temperature. A few years ago my very dear friend who I have shared many wines, passed and his widow gave me his wine collection consisting of 200+ bottles of French, Spanish, Italian, Australian and Californian reds with several vintages dating back to the early 2000's. I transported these wines to my cellar where I shelved them and sampled a few. I was surprised at how poor the quality was. I then was away for 6 months while the cellar remained untouched. Upon returning I discovered that several of the wines I had previously found unpleasant had matured into fabulous tastings. I have since changed my cellar management approach. Now upon purchasing wines I place them in my cellar and allow them to rest 4-6 months before opening. This has greatly improved the quality of my wines. Any thoughts?
Thank You for Your comment. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 What You are telling makes a lot of sense. Many wine professionals and winemakers will advise to lay down Your wines after traveling (for a few months) before opening them. Vibration and movement for a long term cellaring is also not advisable. So it seems to me that You have experienced the difference first hand. Also, as wines age, each bottle will develop slightly differently. One has been closer to the wall (where it is warmer or cooler) or has a minor issues with cork. This will end up in bottle variation, with some wines being great and other bottles (same label) not as good. I have opened two magnums from the same producer, sourced from the same cellar - one was dead the other was epic! 🤷♀️
My first wine aging experience. Decades ago I purchased six bottles of Delatite "Devils River" from Mansfield, Victoria, Australia. It's deemed essentially a Cab. Merlot but actually its Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (23%), Malbec (10%) and a small touch of Cabernet Franc (2%) . I placed these bottles in the rack in a less than ideal setting and opened one each year. Upon opening the last one I took a sip. I then locked the doors, drew the curtains, took the phone off the hook, turned the music down and eased myself in - twas nothing I wanted to share 😉 That was my education. My cellar now is modest but in times past was 600 bottles strong. Cellaring is a well worthy pursuit. I have long considered cellaring success to minimising temperature fluctuations. Oh sure things will be warmer in summer and cooler in winter but as long as those temperature changes don't occur daily or weekly we're good generally.
New to wine and also under the impression that older is better. We bought several wines locally over the last couple years, which we very much loved at the vineyard, only to open up a year or more later and find that we did not like them at all. At first I absolutely thought it was completely my fault before doing a bit more research and realizing that not all wines age well, if at all. So, now we drink more and store less. What I do store I tend to be more selective about and we pretty much stay away from all of our locally produced product for storage. Learning a lot and enjoying the content, keep it up.
Thank You very much for this insightful comment. 🙏🏻 On my latest podcast, interview with Andrew Jefford we talk about the young vs older (aged) wines. And I think You will find his views on this topic interesting as well. 🍷 however, I am sorry to hear that You invested in wines that You couldn’t enjoy! 😢
All great advice! I agree that premature opening is better than opening too late, but I’ve also had my heart broken by opening something up too early, and finding it’s tightly wound. At my immature level of expertise, I often don’t know just how prematurely I’ve opened something like an entry level Bordeaux until it has opened in the glass or decanter into something totally different and beautiful… when the bottle is nearly finished.
Thank You. 🙏🏻☺️ I know what You mean - once I opened 2008 Barolo from a respected producer, and it was dead. 🥹 I panicked and opened another Barolo 2007 vintage from great producer and it was still very rich and even tight, it would have benefited from more years in the bottle. 🤷♀️ But for You that is a great experience You can learn from, and what I mean by that: 1. You enjoy Your wines at more matured level 2. You can leave Your wines in the decanter to breathe a bit longer, than some suggest I, for example, usually don’t decant my wines at all. I like to follow their evolution in the glass. We all are different and it is completely normal that we enjoy wine the way we like the best.
Hi Agnes, In the mid 1990's I bought 6 bottles (1 box) of Bollinger Grand Annee 1990 which went into my cellar. Over the next 12 plus years I opened them on various occasions, 3 were superb and 3 were corked, must have been a bad batch of corks and I was unlucky to get three of them. Recently (over Christmas) I opened a bottle of Carruades de Lafite 1990 and was disappointed, it just seemed to be 'tired' and a bit stale - but was still drinkable. I also opened a 2014 Ch. Batailley which was, by contrast, excellent and actually preferred by my guests to a 2014 Eglise Clinet which was tasted alongside.
Hi. :) yes, wine is great, but even the greatest and rarest succumb to the test of time. I was recently incredibly lucky to taste Château Ausone 1978 and unfortunately for my taste it was a bit tired. I wish I would have tasted just 10 years earlier. 🤷♀️
It's also possible that your palate prefers younger, more fruit forward wines ? To be fair, a Chateau's 2nd labels are usually meant to be consumed much much sooner than their first label.
I am binge watching your videos, you are amazing! Your videos are entertaining and I am learning a lot. I also appreciate your "hidden gems", some more affordable but good quality wine tips. Definitely my favourite wine channel. I store my wine in a simple 2x2m outside cellar that keeps 15-16°C in summer and...well I am not sure how much will it drop in the winter yet, but it is above zero :D
🥰 wow, thank You, this is such a lovely compliment, You made my day! 🥂 as long it is below zero and as long the temperature fluctuations are not sudden, it is a perfect place to keep the wines! 🍷🍾 Cheers! 🥂
Thanks for the nice video, Agnese. As a wine lover who does not own a wine cellar, it was a relief to watch (even with the sky-rocketing energy price these days). Fortunately here in Denmark, it is a natural wine cellar where the daily temperature rarely fluctuate. I previously thought it was unfortunate especially during the winter but since I dived into wine world, I started appreciating the weather 😂😂 I think this video was one of the best I have watched so far! Not only because you are wearing my favorite band's t-shirt 🤘😝
Thank You very much for the comment and a compliment. It truly means a lot to me. 🙏🏻🍷 Yes, the cool weather actually works in our favour when it comes to wine ageing. However, now I can tell You that I can’t wait for spring to start already. 😅🫣 Cheers! 🥂🍾
Thank You for a lovely comment. 🙏🏻 Always eager to hear Your know-how’s. 🥂 I buy wines only for my own consumption, not really a investment. But maybe that will change. 😅
@@NoSediment I don't buy wine for investment purposes but some of my wines have appreciated tremendously (e.g. 1983 Chateau Margaux) that I have sold a few bottles here and there to friends over the years. My objective is to enjoy them when I can.
I’ve seen lots of friend’s wines left too long. And some never learn. I tend to drink my wines too early, but I prefer primary characters anyway. Very interesting point regarding storing champagne vertically 👌
Yes, sometimes we cherish those expensive bottles for too long, and once we are finally ready to open them, they are long gone. Fruit is what I want to still have in my wine. 🙏🏻🍷
Had some 1983 Margois Bordeuex opened in 2005 and was great , opened last bottle in 2016 , good for a few moments then gone! all stored in controlled wine cellar.
So it really does require a wine fridge to cellar wine in an apartment. Unfortunately, we have no obvious place to put one, so after I’ve learned a little more about wine, thanks also to this channel, we have started focusing more on buying wines that are ready to drink, including paying more for older vintages.
I feel very sorry that it came out like this - if You are not planning to cellar Your wines long, it is not necessary to invest in wine fridge. Just cool and dark place (hopefully humid as well) will do the trick. Of course, the more expensive the wines the safer it would be with some kind of temperature control. Cheers and thank You for the comment. 🙌
I haven’t thought about it really.. 🤔 I would say that it really would depend on how long - because I would guess (I have not studied that closer) that extra pressure on the closure would lead to premature leakage at some point.. 😥
A lot of sensible advice. I have been fleeced online for suggesting that ageing modern wine for decades really isn't worth it. I see a Tondonia in this video and I bought an old one not long ago. Well, it was definitely on the downward slide and past its best. I think stuff like quality Montalcino does need some time time (over a decade) to peak but with modern wine making processes we just don't have to age forever the way we used to do. I have a small house in England and a tiny house in the mountains north of Malaga. Most of my wine is kept in a darkened pantry in England with no ill effect whatsoever. My Malaga home is one of those white hill homes and stays cool inside and I store in a wine rack and some wonderful, stacking, clay tubes made for wine storage. Despite all the doubts it stores really well without any problems.
When transporting from the winery or store... In your picnic cooler put a folded frozen towel on the bottom. Then a plastic bag over that. Put wine on top. This will reduce jostling (jumbling from travel is bad for wine) and keep labels dry. This system refuces vibration and temperature shock while you go from winery to winery. Travelling with the wine in cardboard upright cases in the summer is wine abuse.😢
Just opened a 2010 Pontet Canet and it was so closed, very difficult to tase much. This most definitely needed more than 12 years top open even with a few hours of decanting......so not always the case to open early!
Had a bottle of local wine stored at room temp for a few years went completely flat, nothing left .Had a very good cab sav 2013 stored in my wine cooler until 2022 opened it was fantastic! Waiting another five years for my bottle of Haut Brion to open should be amazing! Remember not to serve your red wines at room temperature, should be cooler not fridge temp but not 72 degrees Fahrenheit or 22 degrees Celsius. 60 degrees is where I drink my reds.
One of the best wines I've had the pleasure to try was a 1974 Christian Brothers Cab. It was about 5 years ago and been kept in a cellar with a window AC unit and 72% humidity. It had the forest floor/mushroomy elegance of the variety. I worked in a liquor store in 1972 and we sold the brand. CB was bought out some time ago and I have no idea what the new owners are producing. One other thing, we lived in Atlanta at that time and Joined Bacchus, the Atlanta Wine Society. There was a tasting of Alexis Lechine wine and he said one of the best wines he had was stored behind a wood burning stove in a French farmhouse. So, I guess the trick is to keep your wines at a constant temperature, and not let it fluctuate.
Well I think, we always can share exceptions in rules, and no-one will question that. But overall wine will mature slower and hopefully better when aged at lower temperature! 🤷♀️ Cheers! 🍾🥂✨
Hi, Agnessa! What do you think about wax covered bottles? What is the reason? Is it to prevent micro oxidation of the wine through the cork or simply marketing value?
There used to more reason for wax than nowadays, in my opinion. It added another barrier between wine and outer influences, including oxygen (though not completely). But now, it also looks good and is part of the label design. 🤷♀️
If you aren't patient you can always buy already aged wine. It costs more because you are paying a premium because someone had to use up space to store it in good climate conditions but it's worth it if you just want to taste something different on special occasions.
Nooo, as I say in the video, tannins do become softer with time. But, if they are bad quality at the beginning they will never become nice and smooth with time. Sorry for the misunderstanding. 😅
I haven't had any wine in about a month. I'm for sure gunna be brainstorming what to crack open when I get back home. Been on a Cider kick out here in Australia, trying all the Aussie ciders I can find.
I don’t think I have ever tasted a Aussie cider, but I do love good Normandy cider. And great alternative to a wine actually, low alcohol and refreshing.
You said it in the beginning, theres a mystery to aged wines, thats a big part of the attraction. The greatest wine experiences in my life have all been with aged wines, such as a 77 Brunello that was almost miraculously great straight from the bottle or an amazing 2001 Clinet on my birthday. Nothing beats a well matured red wine or perhaps a Riesling. But after 10 years or so, opening any dry wine with a natural cork comes at the risk of heartbreak, any minor problem with the closure will over time spell big trouble. When I buy older vintages I always try to get at least two bottles because its such a bummer to open up a long anticipated wine on a celebratory day only to find it undrinkable. After a certain time there are no great wines only great bottles of wine. A question, do you find that screw cap reds age differently than those with natural cork? There are obvious advantages with the screw cap but are there also negatives? Apart from being less romantic I mean…
Hi, thank You for Your comment. And I completely understand Your point of view, some of those beautifully aged wines are a real treat. However, me too, have been disappointed by some great labels, but “gone” wines. And yes, if You can afford, buy at least two bottles thus increasing the odds. 😃😉 I have opened some nice wines from 70ties: one bottle not impressive, other amazingly complex - stored in the same cellar. 🤷♀️ Regarding the screw caps, I don’t have a lot of experience with red wines, so it would be wrong of me to comment. But I have seen lovely development in white wines under screw caps, and there shouldn’t be any difference for reds. 😬 I was looking into my wine fridge the other day and I have several Penfolds wines - I should taste them in couple of years. 🤔
@@NoSediment Yeah the odds increase a lot. If you buy three bottles instead of one and there’s an estimated risk of 1 in 4 that the wine is spoiled, the risk that all three bottles are spoilt is 1 in 64 or about 1,5 %. But the odds that all three bottles are good would still be close to 50%. Uhm, I should probably stop doing math… Anyway, when you plan on opening those Penfolds let me know alright! You know, for science 😉
Nicely done. I do love older wines, really as much as ones aged on my car ride home.😁. But the older are a gamble….had a 97 Shiraz a few weeks ago that was all bottle notes up front with a touch of dried black fruits and had a 66 red burgundy over new year’s that was still in its prime….
Thank You! 🙏🏻 I do think that Shiraz is often overlooked at how great it can age. And not only Rhone Valley, but also those New World examples. Beautiful wines! 💯
There actually is another agricultural product that can be kept for decades, even centuries and sometimes improve: Cuban cigars. (Possibly also some others). I'm aging Cubans as we speak. Wine actually has quite a bit in common with cigars. A certain palate can make a decent guesstimate on the maturation potential of a cigar and also say something about how long its stages will last. In some ways, cigars are easier than wine due to the fact that the cigar world is so small compared. There are only so many varieties and variables, whereas the wine world is an ocean of varieties and variables. But in other ways, cigars are more secretive than wine because unlike wine that's been picked apart in every way possible by countless people, cigars simply haven't.
WOW! Thank You, I haven’t thought about it, but it seems that is really the case. About cigars I know close to nothing, but I know it is a diverse and unique world that people can enjoy, study and taste as much as wine or whiskey. I will keep this mind, really, really interesting. 🙏🏻
In 1992, I made 2 cases of Gewurztraminer from fruit grown locally, in Southeastern Massachusetts. There had been an early frost that year that stripped the leaves and the fruit came in at about 16 degrees Brix. I got it at a discount, took it home and chaptalized it to about 12 percent alcohol. It was fermented with a champagne yeast, and for the first few years it tasted like a tight sparkling wine; not bad but quite acidic. I forgot about it for another 5 years or so, then pulled a bottle at about 8 years old. I kid you not, it had grown a spicy complexity that was a lighter version of an Alsatian Gewurz. Where this came from I don't know; but it taught me to be patient with wine that has structure. It's also true, 'though, that most commercial wines can be drunk as soon as they hit the shelves.
This story sounds epic, sorry for my late reply! 😓 Yes, magic can actually happen in winery and cellars. ✨ What I meant about “early consumption wines” was that - when they are released by a winery, most of them are meant to be drunk early. Your wine was still not ‘released’ if I may say so… 😂🫣 Also, Gewurztraminer is such a great grape, yet sometimes hated by wine professionals. I don’t know why! 🤷♀️ Cheers!
Hi Agnese, thanks for the great video. I store wine in our basement. Location Netherlands. Im measuring every season what temp is, and with the winter coming up: im seeing the basement is getting around 8-9 degrees Celsius. that not a problem for a couple of weeks? Also: should it go a bit lower, what do you advise to install, a heater of some sorts? Thanks!!! Ben
Hi! 🙌 Thank You for Your comment! I myself, wouldn’t worry, also cellars of winemakers sometimes shift in temperature and 8-9oC is still very good. And if it is dependent of the season, I am guessing it is not changing suddenly over a night. If however, wines You are cellaring are meant for investment, I would consider a professional cellars, who can provide temperature tracking.
2 other grapevarieties and regions, that comes to my mind, suitable for ageing, and affordable, are Albariño from Rías Baixas and Sagrantino from Montefalco.
Is it possible to store wines for long periods in compressor-cooled wine cellars? (generally small cellars). I ask because the compressor removes the internal humidity of the cellar and in all the ones I tested, it was around 25%, far below the ideal to maintain the elasticity of the corks. (hugs from Brazil!)
👋 Hi! I am not sure I know/understand what is compressor-cooled wine cellar. 😅 You said it Yourself, the humidity is needed for the cork, and it ability to maintain elasticity, therefore I wouldn’t store my wine there for long periods. But those that I intend to drink relatively soon I would keep there. 😉
@nosediment, soooo @7:23 you mention avoiding direct light. I have a basement (not quite low enough in temperature) at about low 60f average, but there are shuddered windows. Is indirect (really diffused and not sunny at all) light okay?
I haven’t done a serious experiments, but I would say that the best option is no light. And if not sunny- that is already a good thing! I, for example, will not remove any paper on the bottles or, if it’s full box, will not remove it from the box. Therefore it covers it more from light. 😅
@@NoSediment the epic part is the willpower it’s taking me to not try my mead. All my larger bottles are aging ATM. I had one small bottle after racking that I tried about a month after, and it was, um, well, it was nasty, but had “potential”. Then I read that it has to age quite a while, so here I am, hoping after 7 months it’ll be improved. Ha! The kraut will be good in another 3 weeks, as it’s pretty new. I have some homemade Tabasco that is phenomenal though…
Nice video, congrats. I am a wine lover with a cellar of almost 1,200 bottles that btw are all red wine ( I don´t like champagne or whites at all). One myth I am not longer paying attention is in regards of humidity in the cellar. My cellar has always been in the 45-55% R/h and in 20+ years I have yet to see a problem with wine. Also, I live in a very hot place and my cellar cannot go below 59f and its almost always between 59-61f and have enjoyed quite a lot of 20+ aged wines there without an issue. The main problem is not temperature, but temperature variations or swings. You can age a wine at 63f without a problem unless you want to age it for ultra long time 25+ years. Yes, I have aged wines more than enough, and yes many wines tastes better while younger 5-8 years. But I have yet to discover a great bottle of Bordeaux that tastes better younger than with some age ( Giscours, Troplong-Mondot, Canon, Cos D´Estournel, Malescot, Feytit-Clinet, etc). There is one thing you forgot and it is decant. I have tasted many wines that with 1 hour are great but after3 or 4 they go south, so also decanting time is or might be another myth.
Great comment, thank You. 🙏🏻 I was focusing on myths regarding the wine ageing, so I didn’t include decanting. Do You mean that some wines loose their appeal after a while in a decanter? If so, than I completely and 💯 agree with You! 🫣
Great point with regard to the decanting time. I keep sticking between 60 to maximum 90 minutes those days as some wines really lost their touch after decanting for 3 hours or more. Have never had a bottle like this when I just decanted for 60 to 90 minutes max. Also, I experienced that more expensive wine CAN endure longer decanting times but normal premium wines can’t
There's this trustable story of the rarities cellar at Mouton's. It fluctuates by season between 21°C and 10°C (that's 70°F and 50°F, resp.). If it works form them, I guess it'll work for me. I don't know about humidity, but I think it's more common at 65-70%.
Hi Agnese! First of all thank you for all your great videos! Love the vibe, love your style! I find your recommendation to keep quality sparkling wines vertical quite interesting!! Question: I like the small rack(s) your are using for those and was wondering if you have a recommendation on where to find them. Thank you in advance :)
Entertaining and knowledgeable video as always. Thanks! I have a bottle of 2007 Coche-dury bourgogne chardonnay (not even village 😂) and due to the name of the producer I have been hesitated to open it. Seeking your advice as to whether I should open it asap? 😊
Thank You! 🙌🙌 Great wine You have there! ✨ Coche-Dury is a legendary producer, which unfortunately I haven’t enjoyed a lot. However, I have been fortunate enough to taste few bottles. The problem for me would be more about the cork, not the wine. I remember opening some bottles (regional and village) and they were sealed with very tiny corks (short) and that would compromise wines quality if aged for longer. 🥹 Maybe with later vintages that has been changed? I don’t want to give any advises, but I just sorted out my wine fridge and put all of my Barolos (2007/2008/2009 vintages) to the drink soon shelf. 🤷♀️ Cheers!
@ElvisFerbeyre they might have, and if the wines are fine, that is perfectly okay. However, I prefer lower temperatures, that also ensures lower aging in general. 😃
@@NoSediment sounds perfect, I have one half in a wine fridge and the other outside in a rack, the outside ones is the problem, I try to move them into the firdge when I empty it a little bit.
Hi Agnes, I have this 1985 Barolo Riserva (Sorelle de Nicola Feyles - Vigna della Serra) my coworkers gave me when I left the company. It's from my year of birth and I am planing to drink it on my 40th birthday. Any thoughts?
Hi! How are You? Unfortunately I am not familiar with that producer, BUT 1985 was an excellent vintage, and that wine should be in a good condition. I hope You have excellent time and cheers! 🍷
@@NoSediment Absolutely. LBV Ports are ready to go or, if unfiltered, can keep their prime up to 10 years. Tokaji Essencia usually takes the same 10 years to reach its prime but after that is ready to go for the next 200 years, like Vintage Port or Torna Viagem Madeiras.
Eh, any Grand Cru or better will hold its structure for 20 years, easily. No offense, but I'm not sure why someone would waste cellar space storing a $15 bottle of wine anyways... that's what the kitchen rack is for... And on that note: needing a cellar/fridge for storing wine in the US is a myth in itself. The reason old world collectors need a cellar is because of the lack of air conditioning in a lot of non-US countries. 90% of houses here have central AC with a constant average house temperature between 67-72, and a lot of houses were built with a basement anyways. Really, all you need is a dark closet that stays slightly cooler than room temperature in most houses in the US. Some people just love to gatekeep wine collecting and try to tell you all the special conditions you need to meet...
Hi, thank You for Your comment and no offence taken! 😅😉 Regarding the price - not all can afford the expensive bottles, especially those Grand Cru wines from Burgundy. And if wine can age, why wouldn’t You cellar it? No matter the price. 🤷♀️ I disagree with GC wines though, especially if You are talking about Burgundy - there are GC that are large and the quality is varied among producers. Grand Cru unfortunately not always stands for the great wine. Yes, wine can have a potential to be great, but vintage condition, clone, viticulture and vinification can ruin so much. And I have tasted many GC wines, crazy amount of money paid, but would have been happier for good village wine instead. 🤷♀️
@No Sediment oh my apologies, nothing I typed was directed at your video, just rambling in general. I've never been a big burgundy fan, but I've also never dived into the region too deeply yet either, honestly. I mainly stick to Bordeaux, as there is so much varietal options. You can get a 90% Cab Sav from the left bank, a 90% merlot from the right bank, or a cheap 100% Cab Franc from the left over yield they didn't use for blending if you want something more fruit forward. I've just never been a big pinot fan 🫣 I also prefer heavily peated whisky tho, so my tastes are highly suspect, lol. Not sure if the Burgundy aoc classifies their estates differently (like St-Emillion does), but with bordeaux you won't really need to worry about the clones used or the age of the vines, as most estates are mapped out by age; younger vines go in the second offerings, not the GC or GCC. Per the price/aging: I'm really starting to feel like we're getting ripped off in my country the more videos I watch on UA-cam and see what is available in other countries, lol. For Cab under $15 in the US, you'd be aging Yellow Tail or Be Human or some nonsense. $20 would get you to readily drinkable. Something that could stand up to age is easily $25+ unless you really know and research your wine makers/importers. And by the time you're paying $25 for a drinkable Napa Cab, you may as well pay the $25-30 for a GC Bordeaux. 🤷♂️
I have had the privilege to open many older wines. It is truly a learning experience every time. I don’t find it a negative to open a 42 year old bottle and find it undrinkable as I am still learning from it.
Of course, but people are different, and some of those bottles are very expensive and rare. And at least I want to snap them while they are lively and full of fruit. 😅🫣
I recently shared a bottle of 1979 Cos d'Estornel. It isn't a great vintage, but it's my son's birth year. Long story; my son is fine but he can't drink. So it lingered. I'm not very knowledgeable about wine. I stood it up for 4 days before opening it up. When I took off the neck foil, there wasn't any cork. Of course there was, it just slid down the neck at some point in its life. I hope it happened during its last 4 days. I stored it laying down. Nevertheless, it tasted pretty good but again, I'm not the best judge of wine. I decanted it for 15 minutes. I have another bottle. Maybe I'll wait another 43 years ; )
"You don't need a wine fridge but make sure the temperature fluctuates between 8 and 15C" --How are you supposed to maintain such a temperature range without a temparature control system in 99% of the world geographies?? Makes no sense
There are cellars, garages and other parts of the houses/apartments that are not heated or not necessarily have such temperature fluctuations. I used to keep my wine at the bottom of the closet, which was always dark and never heated, as well as away from the windows. 🤷♀️
Old houses in the UK have larders - a walk in cupboard with stone flagging that is contact with the ground. In the south of the UK the average ground temperature is 8C.
They are not contradicting- in wine, as with everything else in life - balance is the key. For example, too much O2 is bad for wine, but others may argue that no O2 at all doesn’t allow wine to develop. You might look at it as contradictory, but in fact it is about balancing O2 intake. 🤷♀️ Cheers and I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for not waving your hands around so much like before. The content is much more watchable and enjoyable now. Please stick to this style.
Hi Agnes. I came across your channel today and subscribed after watching this video. Thank you for producing such informative content. I completed building my wine cellar in 2009 in my basement (Pennsylvania) including an environment control unit to maintain humidity and temperature. A few years ago my very dear friend who I have shared many wines, passed and his widow gave me his wine collection consisting of 200+ bottles of French, Spanish, Italian, Australian and Californian reds with several vintages dating back to the early 2000's. I transported these wines to my cellar where I shelved them and sampled a few. I was surprised at how poor the quality was. I then was away for 6 months while the cellar remained untouched. Upon returning I discovered that several of the wines I had previously found unpleasant had matured into fabulous tastings. I have since changed my cellar management approach. Now upon purchasing wines I place them in my cellar and allow them to rest 4-6 months before opening. This has greatly improved the quality of my wines. Any thoughts?
Thank You for Your comment. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 What You are telling makes a lot of sense. Many wine professionals and winemakers will advise to lay down Your wines after traveling (for a few months) before opening them. Vibration and movement for a long term cellaring is also not advisable. So it seems to me that You have experienced the difference first hand.
Also, as wines age, each bottle will develop slightly differently. One has been closer to the wall (where it is warmer or cooler) or has a minor issues with cork. This will end up in bottle variation, with some wines being great and other bottles (same label) not as good. I have opened two magnums from the same producer, sourced from the same cellar - one was dead the other was epic! 🤷♀️
My first wine aging experience. Decades ago I purchased six bottles of Delatite "Devils River" from Mansfield, Victoria, Australia. It's deemed essentially a Cab. Merlot but actually its Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (23%), Malbec (10%) and a small touch of Cabernet Franc (2%) . I placed these bottles in the rack in a less than ideal setting and opened one each year. Upon opening the last one I took a sip. I then locked the doors, drew the curtains, took the phone off the hook, turned the music down and eased myself in - twas nothing I wanted to share 😉 That was my education. My cellar now is modest but in times past was 600 bottles strong. Cellaring is a well worthy pursuit. I have long considered cellaring success to minimising temperature fluctuations. Oh sure things will be warmer in summer and cooler in winter but as long as those temperature changes don't occur daily or weekly we're good generally.
New to wine and also under the impression that older is better. We bought several wines locally over the last couple years, which we very much loved at the vineyard, only to open up a year or more later and find that we did not like them at all. At first I absolutely thought it was completely my fault before doing a bit more research and realizing that not all wines age well, if at all. So, now we drink more and store less. What I do store I tend to be more selective about and we pretty much stay away from all of our locally produced product for storage. Learning a lot and enjoying the content, keep it up.
Thank You very much for this insightful comment. 🙏🏻 On my latest podcast, interview with Andrew Jefford we talk about the young vs older (aged) wines. And I think You will find his views on this topic interesting as well. 🍷 however, I am sorry to hear that You invested in wines that You couldn’t enjoy! 😢
All great advice! I agree that premature opening is better than opening too late, but I’ve also had my heart broken by opening something up too early, and finding it’s tightly wound. At my immature level of expertise, I often don’t know just how prematurely I’ve opened something like an entry level Bordeaux until it has opened in the glass or decanter into something totally different and beautiful… when the bottle is nearly finished.
Thank You. 🙏🏻☺️ I know what You mean - once I opened 2008 Barolo from a respected producer, and it was dead. 🥹 I panicked and opened another Barolo 2007 vintage from great producer and it was still very rich and even tight, it would have benefited from more years in the bottle. 🤷♀️
But for You that is a great experience You can learn from, and what I mean by that:
1. You enjoy Your wines at more matured level
2. You can leave Your wines in the decanter to breathe a bit longer, than some suggest
I, for example, usually don’t decant my wines at all. I like to follow their evolution in the glass.
We all are different and it is completely normal that we enjoy wine the way we like the best.
Hi Agnes, In the mid 1990's I bought 6 bottles (1 box) of Bollinger Grand Annee 1990 which went into my cellar. Over the next 12 plus years I opened them on various occasions, 3 were superb and 3 were corked, must have been a bad batch of corks and I was unlucky to get three of them. Recently (over Christmas) I opened a bottle of Carruades de Lafite 1990 and was disappointed, it just seemed to be 'tired' and a bit stale - but was still drinkable. I also opened a 2014 Ch. Batailley which was, by contrast, excellent and actually preferred by my guests to a 2014 Eglise Clinet which was tasted alongside.
Hi. :) yes, wine is great, but even the greatest and rarest succumb to the test of time. I was recently incredibly lucky to taste Château Ausone 1978 and unfortunately for my taste it was a bit tired. I wish I would have tasted just 10 years earlier. 🤷♀️
It's also possible that your palate prefers younger, more fruit forward wines ? To be fair, a Chateau's 2nd labels are usually meant to be consumed much much sooner than their first label.
I am binge watching your videos, you are amazing! Your videos are entertaining and I am learning a lot. I also appreciate your "hidden gems", some more affordable but good quality wine tips. Definitely my favourite wine channel. I store my wine in a simple 2x2m outside cellar that keeps 15-16°C in summer and...well I am not sure how much will it drop in the winter yet, but it is above zero :D
🥰 wow, thank You, this is such a lovely compliment, You made my day! 🥂 as long it is below zero and as long the temperature fluctuations are not sudden, it is a perfect place to keep the wines! 🍷🍾 Cheers! 🥂
Thanks for the nice video, Agnese. As a wine lover who does not own a wine cellar, it was a relief to watch (even with the sky-rocketing energy price these days). Fortunately here in Denmark, it is a natural wine cellar where the daily temperature rarely fluctuate. I previously thought it was unfortunate especially during the winter but since I dived into wine world, I started appreciating the weather 😂😂 I think this video was one of the best I have watched so far! Not only because you are wearing my favorite band's t-shirt 🤘😝
Thank You very much for the comment and a compliment. It truly means a lot to me. 🙏🏻🍷 Yes, the cool weather actually works in our favour when it comes to wine ageing. However, now I can tell You that I can’t wait for spring to start already. 😅🫣 Cheers! 🥂🍾
GREAT content. I've been collecting and storing wines for almost 40 years and learned a couple of things here ! Thanks so much for sharing !
Thank You for a lovely comment. 🙏🏻 Always eager to hear Your know-how’s. 🥂 I buy wines only for my own consumption, not really a investment. But maybe that will change. 😅
@@NoSediment I don't buy wine for investment purposes but some of my wines have appreciated tremendously (e.g. 1983 Chateau Margaux) that I have sold a few bottles here and there to friends over the years. My objective is to enjoy them when I can.
I guess Have to start drinking those wines I stocked up during lockdowns
😂😂😂Possibly. 🤷♀️
I’ve seen lots of friend’s wines left too long. And some never learn.
I tend to drink my wines too early, but I prefer primary characters anyway.
Very interesting point regarding storing champagne vertically 👌
Yes, sometimes we cherish those expensive bottles for too long, and once we are finally ready to open them, they are long gone. Fruit is what I want to still have in my wine. 🙏🏻🍷
You do a wonderful job instructing. Thank you. Lovely from Latvia, focused and professional. Very glad I’m subscribed.
Thank You foe such a lovely comment! Cheers! 🍾🥂✨
Had some 1983 Margois Bordeuex opened in 2005 and was great , opened last bottle in 2016 , good for a few moments then gone! all stored in controlled wine cellar.
Well, unfortunately sometimes that happens. Also great reason why back vintages shouldn’t really be decanted, as it can accelerate this process. 🥲
So it really does require a wine fridge to cellar wine in an apartment. Unfortunately, we have no obvious place to put one, so after I’ve learned a little more about wine, thanks also to this channel, we have started focusing more on buying wines that are ready to drink, including paying more for older vintages.
I feel very sorry that it came out like this - if You are not planning to cellar Your wines long, it is not necessary to invest in wine fridge. Just cool and dark place (hopefully humid as well) will do the trick. Of course, the more expensive the wines the safer it would be with some kind of temperature control. Cheers and thank You for the comment. 🙌
Hello Agnes, I’ve been enjoying your videos. My question is if I cannot store them horizontally am I better off storing them upside down?
I haven’t thought about it really.. 🤔 I would say that it really would depend on how long - because I would guess (I have not studied that closer) that extra pressure on the closure would lead to premature leakage at some point.. 😥
A lot of sensible advice. I have been fleeced online for suggesting that ageing modern wine for decades really isn't worth it. I see a Tondonia in this video and I bought an old one not long ago. Well, it was definitely on the downward slide and past its best. I think stuff like quality Montalcino does need some time time (over a decade) to peak but with modern wine making processes we just don't have to age forever the way we used to do. I have a small house in England and a tiny house in the mountains north of Malaga. Most of my wine is kept in a darkened pantry in England with no ill effect whatsoever. My Malaga home is one of those white hill homes and stays cool inside and I store in a wine rack and some wonderful, stacking, clay tubes made for wine storage. Despite all the doubts it stores really well without any problems.
I completely agree with You! 🙏🏻 Yes, modern winemaking in many cases makes sure that wine is enjoyable early on in its development stage! 🍷
When transporting from the winery or store... In your picnic cooler put a folded frozen towel on the bottom. Then a plastic bag over that. Put wine on top. This will reduce jostling (jumbling from travel is bad for wine) and keep labels dry. This system refuces vibration and temperature shock while you go from winery to winery. Travelling with the wine in cardboard upright cases in the summer is wine abuse.😢
Just opened a 2010 Pontet Canet and it was so closed, very difficult to tase much. This most definitely needed more than 12 years top open even with a few hours of decanting......so not always the case to open early!
Thank You for Your comment. Of course it depends and each wine. 🍷 But I would guess it also depends on how matured wine You really like. ✨🥂
Had a bottle of local wine stored at room temp for a few years went completely flat, nothing left .Had a very good cab sav 2013 stored in my wine cooler until 2022 opened it was fantastic! Waiting another five years for my bottle of Haut Brion to open should be amazing! Remember not to serve your red wines at room temperature, should be cooler not fridge temp but not 72 degrees Fahrenheit or 22 degrees Celsius. 60 degrees is where I drink my reds.
Very good point. 🙏🏻 what is considered ‘room temperature’ is a bit cooler, than ‘actual’ room temperature. 😂
One of the best wines I've had the pleasure to try was a 1974 Christian Brothers Cab. It was about 5 years ago and been kept in a cellar with a window AC unit and 72% humidity. It had the forest floor/mushroomy elegance of the variety. I worked in a liquor store in 1972 and we sold the brand. CB was bought out some time ago and I have no idea what the new owners are producing.
One other thing, we lived in Atlanta at that time and Joined Bacchus, the Atlanta Wine Society. There was a tasting of Alexis Lechine wine and he said one of the best wines he had was stored behind a wood burning stove in a French farmhouse. So, I guess the trick is to keep your wines at a constant temperature, and not let it fluctuate.
Well I think, we always can share exceptions in rules, and no-one will question that. But overall wine will mature slower and hopefully better when aged at lower temperature! 🤷♀️ Cheers! 🍾🥂✨
Good info as usual. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank You for this lovely comment’ 🥂✨
Hi, Agnessa!
What do you think about wax covered bottles?
What is the reason?
Is it to prevent micro oxidation of the wine through the cork or simply marketing value?
There used to more reason for wax than nowadays, in my opinion. It added another barrier between wine and outer influences, including oxygen (though not completely). But now, it also looks good and is part of the label design. 🤷♀️
Maybe one day i will buy a wine and not drink it within a few days 😂
Hahaha. :) maybe. 😅🤔
Patience.....with the right one, you will be amply rewarded ! I have wines form the 90's that I have yet to open ! YIKES !
If you aren't patient you can always buy already aged wine. It costs more because you are paying a premium because someone had to use up space to store it in good climate conditions but it's worth it if you just want to taste something different on special occasions.
Great topic. Perfect video. Thanks!
Thank You’ ✨🥂 Cheers! 🍷
I learned something new from this video. I always thought it did soften tannins. Now I don’t have to wait!😂
Nooo, as I say in the video, tannins do become softer with time. But, if they are bad quality at the beginning they will never become nice and smooth with time. Sorry for the misunderstanding. 😅
"and yes, those expensive bottles as well" 😂 👍
Well, but that is true! 😂
I haven't had any wine in about a month. I'm for sure gunna be brainstorming what to crack open when I get back home. Been on a Cider kick out here in Australia, trying all the Aussie ciders I can find.
I don’t think I have ever tasted a Aussie cider, but I do love good Normandy cider. And great alternative to a wine actually, low alcohol and refreshing.
Nice to see some Australian wines in your collection 👍
I have very little, I wish I had more. 🥹
You said it in the beginning, theres a mystery to aged wines, thats a big part of the attraction. The greatest wine experiences in my life have all been with aged wines, such as a 77 Brunello that was almost miraculously great straight from the bottle or an amazing 2001 Clinet on my birthday. Nothing beats a well matured red wine or perhaps a Riesling. But after 10 years or so, opening any dry wine with a natural cork comes at the risk of heartbreak, any minor problem with the closure will over time spell big trouble. When I buy older vintages I always try to get at least two bottles because its such a bummer to open up a long anticipated wine on a celebratory day only to find it undrinkable. After a certain time there are no great wines only great bottles of wine.
A question, do you find that screw cap reds age differently than those with natural cork? There are obvious advantages with the screw cap but are there also negatives? Apart from being less romantic I mean…
Hi, thank You for Your comment. And I completely understand Your point of view, some of those beautifully aged wines are a real treat. However, me too, have been disappointed by some great labels, but “gone” wines. And yes, if You can afford, buy at least two bottles thus increasing the odds. 😃😉 I have opened some nice wines from 70ties: one bottle not impressive, other amazingly complex - stored in the same cellar. 🤷♀️
Regarding the screw caps, I don’t have a lot of experience with red wines, so it would be wrong of me to comment. But I have seen lovely development in white wines under screw caps, and there shouldn’t be any difference for reds. 😬 I was looking into my wine fridge the other day and I have several Penfolds wines - I should taste them in couple of years. 🤔
@@NoSediment Yeah the odds increase a lot. If you buy three bottles instead of one and there’s an estimated risk of 1 in 4 that the wine is spoiled, the risk that all three bottles are spoilt is 1 in 64 or about 1,5 %. But the odds that all three bottles are good would still be close to 50%. Uhm, I should probably stop doing math…
Anyway, when you plan on opening those Penfolds let me know alright! You know, for science 😉
Nicely done. I do love older wines, really as much as ones aged on my car ride home.😁. But the older are a gamble….had a 97 Shiraz a few weeks ago that was all bottle notes up front with a touch of dried black fruits and had a 66 red burgundy over new year’s that was still in its prime….
Thank You! 🙏🏻 I do think that Shiraz is often overlooked at how great it can age. And not only Rhone Valley, but also those New World examples. Beautiful wines! 💯
I love points one and two… Most wines made around the world are NOT meant to improve with age. I am also PRO Stelvin…
Yeah, agree! 💯 Most wines are fruit driven and must be enjoyed as young and fresh as possible! 🍷
Thanks, very helpful video
Happy it was useful! 😁
I’m trying age my 2017 SLV I got at the winery. Haven’t wanted to open so far.
Sure, I mean that wine can age! I have few bottles in my cellar as well! 🤞🤞🤞
There actually is another agricultural product that can be kept for decades, even centuries and sometimes improve: Cuban cigars. (Possibly also some others). I'm aging Cubans as we speak. Wine actually has quite a bit in common with cigars. A certain palate can make a decent guesstimate on the maturation potential of a cigar and also say something about how long its stages will last.
In some ways, cigars are easier than wine due to the fact that the cigar world is so small compared. There are only so many varieties and variables, whereas the wine world is an ocean of varieties and variables. But in other ways, cigars are more secretive than wine because unlike wine that's been picked apart in every way possible by countless people, cigars simply haven't.
WOW! Thank You, I haven’t thought about it, but it seems that is really the case. About cigars I know close to nothing, but I know it is a diverse and unique world that people can enjoy, study and taste as much as wine or whiskey. I will keep this mind, really, really interesting. 🙏🏻
In 1992, I made 2 cases of Gewurztraminer from fruit grown locally, in Southeastern Massachusetts. There had been an early frost that year that stripped the leaves and the fruit came in at about 16 degrees Brix. I got it at a discount, took it home and chaptalized it to about 12 percent alcohol. It was fermented with a champagne yeast, and for the first few years it tasted like a tight sparkling wine; not bad but quite acidic.
I forgot about it for another 5 years or so, then pulled a bottle at about 8 years old. I kid you not, it had grown a spicy complexity that was a lighter version of an Alsatian Gewurz. Where this came from I don't know; but it taught me to be patient with wine that has structure.
It's also true, 'though, that most commercial wines can be drunk as soon as they hit the shelves.
This story sounds epic, sorry for my late reply! 😓 Yes, magic can actually happen in winery and cellars. ✨ What I meant about “early consumption wines” was that - when they are released by a winery, most of them are meant to be drunk early. Your wine was still not ‘released’ if I may say so… 😂🫣 Also, Gewurztraminer is such a great grape, yet sometimes hated by wine professionals. I don’t know why! 🤷♀️ Cheers!
@@NoSediment So true. I am still enjoying my Alsatian Gewurz's from the 90's !
Hi Agnese, thanks for the great video. I store wine in our basement. Location Netherlands. Im measuring every season what temp is, and with the winter coming up: im seeing the basement is getting around 8-9 degrees Celsius. that not a problem for a couple of weeks? Also: should it go a bit lower, what do you advise to install, a heater of some sorts? Thanks!!! Ben
Hi! 🙌 Thank You for Your comment! I myself, wouldn’t worry, also cellars of winemakers sometimes shift in temperature and 8-9oC is still very good. And if it is dependent of the season, I am guessing it is not changing suddenly over a night. If however, wines You are cellaring are meant for investment, I would consider a professional cellars, who can provide temperature tracking.
2 other grapevarieties and regions, that comes to my mind, suitable for ageing, and affordable, are Albariño from Rías Baixas and Sagrantino from Montefalco.
Definitely, well on point, thank You for adding that 🙏🏻 Cheers! ✨🍾
Thank you Comrade!
😉😉😉
Is it possible to store wines for long periods in compressor-cooled wine cellars? (generally small cellars). I ask because the compressor removes the internal humidity of the cellar and in all the ones I tested, it was around 25%, far below the ideal to maintain the elasticity of the corks. (hugs from Brazil!)
👋 Hi! I am not sure I know/understand what is compressor-cooled wine cellar. 😅 You said it Yourself, the humidity is needed for the cork, and it ability to maintain elasticity, therefore I wouldn’t store my wine there for long periods. But those that I intend to drink relatively soon I would keep there. 😉
Sorry, but in Southeast Texas where 90 -115 F is 8 Months out of the year a wine fridge is a must , at least for me !
Good point! 💪
@nosediment, soooo @7:23 you mention avoiding direct light. I have a basement (not quite low enough in temperature) at about low 60f average, but there are shuddered windows. Is indirect (really diffused and not sunny at all) light okay?
I haven’t done a serious experiments, but I would say that the best option is no light. And if not sunny- that is already a good thing! I, for example, will not remove any paper on the bottles or, if it’s full box, will not remove it from the box. Therefore it covers it more from light. 😅
@@NoSediment cool, I have a room off to the side that has no windows. I already use it to ferment my meads and sauerkraut at the moment, LOL!
@@RossPotts that sounds epic! I like all this fermented. It adds great flavour to food! 💪
@@NoSediment the epic part is the willpower it’s taking me to not try my mead. All my larger bottles are aging ATM. I had one small bottle after racking that I tried about a month after, and it was, um, well, it was nasty, but had “potential”. Then I read that it has to age quite a while, so here I am, hoping after 7 months it’ll be improved. Ha! The kraut will be good in another 3 weeks, as it’s pretty new. I have some homemade Tabasco that is phenomenal though…
Nice video, congrats. I am a wine lover with a cellar of almost 1,200 bottles that btw are all red wine ( I don´t like champagne or whites at all). One myth I am not longer paying attention is in regards of humidity in the cellar. My cellar has always been in the 45-55% R/h and in 20+ years I have yet to see a problem with wine. Also, I live in a very hot place and my cellar cannot go below 59f and its almost always between 59-61f and have enjoyed quite a lot of 20+ aged wines there without an issue. The main problem is not temperature, but temperature variations or swings. You can age a wine at 63f without a problem unless you want to age it for ultra long time 25+ years. Yes, I have aged wines more than enough, and yes many wines tastes better while younger 5-8 years. But I have yet to discover a great bottle of Bordeaux that tastes better younger than with some age ( Giscours, Troplong-Mondot, Canon, Cos D´Estournel, Malescot, Feytit-Clinet, etc). There is one thing you forgot and it is decant. I have tasted many wines that with 1 hour are great but after3 or 4 they go south, so also decanting time is or might be another myth.
Great comment, thank You. 🙏🏻 I was focusing on myths regarding the wine ageing, so I didn’t include decanting. Do You mean that some wines loose their appeal after a while in a decanter? If so, than I completely and 💯 agree with You! 🫣
Great point with regard to the decanting time. I keep sticking between 60 to maximum 90 minutes those days as some wines really lost their touch after decanting for 3 hours or more. Have never had a bottle like this when I just decanted for 60 to 90 minutes max. Also, I experienced that more expensive wine CAN endure longer decanting times but normal premium wines can’t
There's this trustable story of the rarities cellar at Mouton's. It fluctuates by season between 21°C and 10°C (that's 70°F and 50°F, resp.). If it works form them, I guess it'll work for me. I don't know about humidity, but I think it's more common at 65-70%.
@@NoSediment And yet, I have experienced wines that peaked after 3-4 hours in the decanter. But also the opposite, I should add.
You got a lovly page!
Thanks! 🙏🏻
Hi Agnese! First of all thank you for all your great videos! Love the vibe, love your style! I find your recommendation to keep quality sparkling wines vertical quite interesting!! Question: I like the small rack(s) your are using for those and was wondering if you have a recommendation on where to find them. Thank you in advance :)
Hi, thank You for Your lovely comment. This is done by company: My Wine Design, they are based in Austria. 🍇 Cheers! 🍾✨🥂
Entertaining and knowledgeable video as always. Thanks! I have a bottle of 2007 Coche-dury bourgogne chardonnay (not even village 😂) and due to the name of the producer I have been hesitated to open it. Seeking your advice as to whether I should open it asap? 😊
Thank You! 🙌🙌 Great wine You have there! ✨ Coche-Dury is a legendary producer, which unfortunately I haven’t enjoyed a lot. However, I have been fortunate enough to taste few bottles. The problem for me would be more about the cork, not the wine. I remember opening some bottles (regional and village) and they were sealed with very tiny corks (short) and that would compromise wines quality if aged for longer. 🥹 Maybe with later vintages that has been changed? I don’t want to give any advises, but I just sorted out my wine fridge and put all of my Barolos (2007/2008/2009 vintages) to the drink soon shelf. 🤷♀️ Cheers!
Many thanks🙏🏻! Now I know what to do and more importantly, learn something new from you again 😊 Cheers
Hello, it's 70-80 F good for aging?
Hiii! If I did my calculations correctly, and converted to C right, in my view that would be too warm. 😬
@@NoSedimentI'm scared they may go bad, some people say they have age it well like that though
@ElvisFerbeyre they might have, and if the wines are fine, that is perfectly okay. However, I prefer lower temperatures, that also ensures lower aging in general. 😃
@@NoSediment sounds perfect, I have one half in a wine fridge and the other outside in a rack, the outside ones is the problem, I try to move them into the firdge when I empty it a little bit.
Very Nice
Thank You! 🥂✨
Hi Agnes,
I have this 1985 Barolo Riserva (Sorelle de Nicola Feyles - Vigna della Serra) my coworkers gave me when I left the company. It's from my year of birth and I am planing to drink it on my 40th birthday. Any thoughts?
Hi! How are You?
Unfortunately I am not familiar with that producer, BUT 1985 was an excellent vintage, and that wine should be in a good condition. I hope You have excellent time and cheers! 🍷
What is your dog's name and favorite wine?
Dog is Obi Wan and he has never tried wine. 🫣 But if I would have to guess, I would say the one that goes well with meat! 🥩 🍷
Myth 8 - fortified wines take decades to reach their prime. Most of current fortified wines take a maximum of 5 years to reach their prime.
And some are even ready to be drunk at the release. 🙌 So, it really depends on each specific wine! 🍾✨🥂
@@NoSediment Absolutely. LBV Ports are ready to go or, if unfiltered, can keep their prime up to 10 years. Tokaji Essencia usually takes the same 10 years to reach its prime but after that is ready to go for the next 200 years, like Vintage Port or Torna Viagem Madeiras.
Nice shirt, btw!
Thank You! 💪
Eh, any Grand Cru or better will hold its structure for 20 years, easily.
No offense, but I'm not sure why someone would waste cellar space storing a $15 bottle of wine anyways... that's what the kitchen rack is for...
And on that note: needing a cellar/fridge for storing wine in the US is a myth in itself. The reason old world collectors need a cellar is because of the lack of air conditioning in a lot of non-US countries. 90% of houses here have central AC with a constant average house temperature between 67-72, and a lot of houses were built with a basement anyways. Really, all you need is a dark closet that stays slightly cooler than room temperature in most houses in the US. Some people just love to gatekeep wine collecting and try to tell you all the special conditions you need to meet...
Hi, thank You for Your comment and no offence taken! 😅😉
Regarding the price - not all can afford the expensive bottles, especially those Grand Cru wines from Burgundy. And if wine can age, why wouldn’t You cellar it? No matter the price. 🤷♀️
I disagree with GC wines though, especially if You are talking about Burgundy - there are GC that are large and the quality is varied among producers. Grand Cru unfortunately not always stands for the great wine. Yes, wine can have a potential to be great, but vintage condition, clone, viticulture and vinification can ruin so much. And I have tasted many GC wines, crazy amount of money paid, but would have been happier for good village wine instead. 🤷♀️
@No Sediment oh my apologies, nothing I typed was directed at your video, just rambling in general.
I've never been a big burgundy fan, but I've also never dived into the region too deeply yet either, honestly.
I mainly stick to Bordeaux, as there is so much varietal options. You can get a 90% Cab Sav from the left bank, a 90% merlot from the right bank, or a cheap 100% Cab Franc from the left over yield they didn't use for blending if you want something more fruit forward.
I've just never been a big pinot fan 🫣
I also prefer heavily peated whisky tho, so my tastes are highly suspect, lol.
Not sure if the Burgundy aoc classifies their estates differently (like St-Emillion does), but with bordeaux you won't really need to worry about the clones used or the age of the vines, as most estates are mapped out by age; younger vines go in the second offerings, not the GC or GCC.
Per the price/aging: I'm really starting to feel like we're getting ripped off in my country the more videos I watch on UA-cam and see what is available in other countries, lol.
For Cab under $15 in the US, you'd be aging Yellow Tail or Be Human or some nonsense.
$20 would get you to readily drinkable. Something that could stand up to age is easily $25+ unless you really know and research your wine makers/importers. And by the time you're paying $25 for a drinkable Napa Cab, you may as well pay the $25-30 for a GC Bordeaux.
🤷♂️
I have had the privilege to open many older wines. It is truly a learning experience every time. I don’t find it a negative to open a 42 year old bottle and find it undrinkable as I am still learning from it.
Of course, but people are different, and some of those bottles are very expensive and rare. And at least I want to snap them while they are lively and full of fruit. 😅🫣
@@NoSediment no doubt.
I recently shared a bottle of 1979 Cos d'Estornel. It isn't a great vintage, but it's my son's birth year. Long story; my son is fine but he can't drink. So it lingered. I'm not very knowledgeable about wine.
I stood it up for 4 days before opening it up. When I took off the neck foil, there wasn't any cork. Of course there was, it just slid down the neck at some point in its life. I hope it happened during its last 4 days. I stored it laying down. Nevertheless, it tasted pretty good but again, I'm not the best judge of wine. I decanted it for 15 minutes.
I have another bottle. Maybe I'll wait another 43 years ; )
@@bill9989 corks will fall in. If you drank it and didn’t spit it out immediately that’s a win. If you enjoyed it, that is all that matters.
Guess who opening a bottle of red later 😋I bet it sour…?
just keep it in your regular fridge specially after opening it. no need for cellars
"You don't need a wine fridge but make sure the temperature fluctuates between 8 and 15C" --How are you supposed to maintain such a temperature range without a temparature control system in 99% of the world geographies?? Makes no sense
There are cellars, garages and other parts of the houses/apartments that are not heated or not necessarily have such temperature fluctuations. I used to keep my wine at the bottom of the closet, which was always dark and never heated, as well as away from the windows. 🤷♀️
Pretty doable in a cellar if you live in a temperate climate!
@@VeloRad-nu6jm Absolutely. Who doesn’t own an underground wine cellar these days?
Old houses in the UK have larders - a walk in cupboard with stone flagging that is contact with the ground. In the south of the UK the average ground temperature is 8C.
There are too many contradictions in the points you make. Makes it hard to properly follow.
They are not contradicting- in wine, as with everything else in life - balance is the key. For example, too much O2 is bad for wine, but others may argue that no O2 at all doesn’t allow wine to develop. You might look at it as contradictory, but in fact it is about balancing O2 intake. 🤷♀️ Cheers and I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for not waving your hands around so much like before. The content is much more watchable and enjoyable now. Please stick to this style.