new wines old wines

JD · Post by JD » Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:30 pm

Had a Bin 61 2005 Leasingham Shiraz last night and it was a fantastic drop very smooth and very easy to drink. Also a 2004 Cab Sav from Mcmasters Wines Mudgee and was very good drinking as well

Both were brought by guests

I went to my cerllar and brought out a 1996 ( sorry disposed of the bottle already ) Cab Sav and thought I would trump my 2 mates

well tasted alright but after 10 years in a cellar sure wasn't up to the 04 and 05 ones

I am new here and thought i would post a few rambling thoughts

DJ · Post by DJ » Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:30 am

Often the up front fruit of a younger wine can trump older wines. After 17 years of cellaring I'm still trying to get a handle on which wines I'll enjoy more younger than older.

Sometimes an older wine will take longer to open up in the glass. The 99 St Peters I had on Friday night had only begun to hit its straps as th bottle ended 2 hours after being decanted.

Food can make a huge difference. When eating chilli or spicy food, the rich mellow flavours of an old wine are easily over powered, young bright sweet fruit handle this much better.

There is always something more to learn about wine - only limited by the liver, waist line and the wallet.

Shiraz Man · Post by **Shiraz Man** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:10 pm

I much prefer aged wine. I love the smooth mellow taste of an aged wine, not to mention that extra degree of complexity. Furthermore, a wine might taste disjointed or oaky when young, and then given time the wine integrates and does not have these problems.

I am really enjoying drinking my aged wines (most around 10 years old) at the moment.

Craig(NZ) · Post by **Craig(NZ)** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:24 pm

Furthermore, a wine might taste disjointed or oaky when young,

agree, i have a hard time enjoying new releases

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:39 pm

In my opinion drinking a young wine and an old wine are two different things, which one has to approach with different expectations. I personally enjoy both, but if you are more into an explosive fruity wine, then forget about the aged. As mentioned, they mellow out, become more complex (and interesting) and vulnerable. If you drink a really old wine, it may even reflect a totally different winemakingstyle. I had a Chianti Classico '75 (from a very good winemaker) along with a three year old Chianti Classico. Huge difference indeed. The young one blew the older one away, but both were still very enjoyable and interesting (especially the older one). And show the aged wine respect by drinking it first.

My two cents....

Gustav

Daryl Douglas · Post by **Daryl Douglas** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:57 pm

gustav wrote:In my opinion drinking a young wine and an old wine are two different things, which one has to approach with different expectations. I personally enjoy both, but if you are more into an explosive fruity wine, then forget about the aged. As mentioned, they mellow out, become more complex (and interesting) and vulnerable. If you drink a really old wine, it may even reflect a totally different winemakingstyle. I had a Chianti Classico '75 (from a very good winemaker) along with a three year old Chianti Classico. Huge difference indeed. The young one blew the older one away, but both were still very enjoyable and interesting (especially the older one). And show the aged wine respect by drinking it first.

My two cents....

Gustav

Very true Gustav, that's why vertical tastings logically present the wines oldest to youngest.

Cheers

daz