The best wines can be stored for more than 100 years, but most great wines will reach their peak before they turn 50 years old. Find out if your wine is ready to drink now…
It never stops, no matter what precautions you take. That’s why, while some wines can last a hundred years, they don’t last forever. Eventually, too much change will occur. But somewhere on that continuum of a wine’s ever-changing composition is a sweet spot, an optimal drinking window.
The Wine’s Development Curve
All wines have a unique development curve which is determined by the above factors. If we are to generalize, most wines taste good right when they come to the market. Then big wines tend to “shut down”, where the fruit appears less positive. Often during this period, the wines will appear dry and flat in their expression.
However, the great wines are coming back again, with lots of good notes. The fruit gathers, the wine opens and falls into balance as they say. From here on it will be approachable and arrive at the plateau. The plateau will be a period where the wine does not get much better, but where all elements appear in balance. Here the wine can stay for a few or many years.
Eventually, the wine will slowly move downhill again. To begin with, it loses its breath and becomes dull before it eventually ends up on the bottom and turns into wine vinegar – the stage where all wine ends.
Recommendations For When To Drink The Wine
When it comes to making recommendations for when a wine should be drunk, it will also be in general terms for typical areas and vintages, as there is a myriad of exceptions. First and foremost, there are three stages of development that we can measure from the harvest year:
No-touch: Time when the wine has not yet gathered and is not recommended to drink.Plateau: Where the wine, all other things being equal, should taste best – also known as the “drinking window”Downhill: Time when the first wines in the category begin to move downhill in terms of taste
Note: Some of the largest wines, in all categories, may have a development window that significantly exceeds these general windows.
| Wine | No Touch | Plateau | Downhill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bordeaux, Medoc, Classified | 10 yrs | 20-50 yrs | 30 yrs |
| Bordeaux, Pomerol & Saint-Emilion | 8 yrs | 10-40 yrs | 25 yrs |
| Burgundy, Grand Cru (red) | 10 yrs | 10-30 yrs | 20 yrs |
| Burgundy, Premier Cru (red) | 6 yrs | 7-20 yrs | 12 yrs |
| Italy, Piemonte Barolo | 12 yrs | 15-50 yrs | 30 yrs |
| Italy, Toscana | 8 yrs | 10-30 yrs | 25 yrs |
| Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon | 8 yrs | 8-30 yrs | 15 yrs |
Sommelier Tries A 94 Year Old Red Wine | World Of Wine | Bon Appétit
FAQ
Is a 200 year old wine drinkable?
How much is 100 year old wine worth?
Is 1000 years old wine safe to drink?
What would 100 year old wine taste like?
Can wine last 100 years?
Century-old wine holds a certain allure, but the question remains whether or not wine can last 100 years. While there are exceptions, most great wines reach their peak before they turn 50 years old, and only a small percentage of wines benefit from aging.
Is it good to drink a glass of red wine before bed?
It is a controversial subject as some can benefit from the compounds present in wine and sleep well, but others can feel the effects of alcohol and not get a good night’s sleep.
Is a 16 year old wine the same as a 40 year old?
The 16-year-old version and the 40-year-old version are the same person. The older one should display well-earned wisdom in its maturity while allowing you to sense extra soul that had been underneath the youthful vigor. Well-aged wines show you more of who they really are.”
Is a wine really better if it’s young or old?
It doesn’t always mean that the wine is necessarily better,” writes Liem, adding: “Whether a wine is at its best when it’s young, old, or somewhere in between is often very much a matter of personal preference. But if you do appreciate the character and complexity of mature wine, the only way to achieve that is through time.”