Wines With Age
October - November 2010
ATTEMPTING TO EXPLAIN WHAT MAKES A WINE MATURE is like asking what it is about Monet’s lilies that astounds art enthusiasts. It is less about translating the concept of a mature wine into words, more about searching out and enjoying wines at their peak.
Maturity in wine only comes with time. What happens to a wine over time is an amazing evolution – in some ways, it is not different from the maturation of an individual. As humans, we peak at certain periods of our lives, whether in creativity, physical prowess or in our careers. If you look at the career arc of a prolific writer or actor – or perhaps even a close family member – you can often pinpoint the time in which they became more complex, and alternately, more simple; ideally you knew this person when the balance was just right.
These parallels also are found in wine, although we look at it through a different lens. We try to identify traits like fruit, acidity, alcohol, body, oakiness (if any), sweetness and earthiness – and find at what point these planets align. Once pinpointed, they should exemplify balance, complexity and harmony.
Many drinkers view white wines as less “age-worthy” and able to reach maturity earlier than reds. Generally this is true. But there are some white wines, particularly sweet wines, that can outlive most reds. Noble whites such as Vouvray made from Chenin Blanc, great Rieslings of the world, Sauternes (made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc) and even Chardonnay from the famed vineyards of Les Clos and Le Montrachet are wines that can easily reach their 25th or 50th birthday without seeming to tire. In these cases, the fruit starts to become more than the simple sum of its parts. It begins melding together with the
earth and wood (if it is used in the winemaking) to create a host of new aromas, such as honey, butterscotch, malt, apple pie, ginger biscuits and roses.
Reds tend to age well because of tannin found in their skins – something white wine grapes do not have. It creates pigment as well as that dry sensation on your gums, and is a natural preservative. In red wine, the fruit must last just as long, if not longer, than the tannin in the wine. As time passes, the tannin starts to bond with other tannins, creating that sediment you see at the bottom of a mature bottle of wine. (This also leads to the dulling or browning of color in wine.) This process softens the wine into silkiness and creates the velveteen texture found only in mature wines. In mature reds, aromas and flavors run the gamut from truffles to leather, heavenly teas to meat and game, berries to stones. They are some of the most fabulously complex wines you could possibly drink.
All mature wines taste of more than just fruit. Mature wines never assault your senses with simply one flavor, sensation or aroma. They own a multitude of notes that can enthrall your palate like a veritable symphony. They also reveal more earthiness with time, which really makes them a unique expression of where they come from.
Alas, trying to find a mature bottle of wine in Hawaii is like searching for the endangered Hawaiian Hawk. You are better off going online or buying your favorites young and aging them yourself. But when you do finally taste a mature wine, it can send your senses soaring – and begging for just a little more time.
