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+--- Thread: Wine's age? (/thread-17344.html)
- txkajun - 01-08-2002
Okay, I am scared to frustrate the mentors with ridiculous questions, but here goes:
IK advised that I try a Beaujolais, and suggested the BN 2001 only through the end of the month. IK then advised on other beaujolais. How do I know what vintage is ok, what is past drinking, and what is going to be awesome when I am actually in the store trying not to look too stupid?
**smiles, and thanks, this place is great**
- Innkeeper - 01-08-2002
Beaujolais, or what I call plain ole Beaujolais, is a much better crafted wine than BN that lasts a couple of years. You will also see Beaujolais Villages. This is wine made from grapes from a more select area than plain ole, and makes a wine with more body and lifespan; up to three or four years.
Then there is Beaujolais that doesn't have it's name on the bottle. These are the Cru Beaujolais, made from the same gamay grape, from select vineyards. They have names like Morgon and Moulin-a-vent, and, in a good vintage will last ten years or more.
- txkajun - 01-08-2002
Again, IK, you are the greatest.
I have read a couple of posts, but I guess I still don't understand the term "cru". Any way to dummy it down for me?
- Innkeeper - 01-09-2002
Cru means growth, used as a definition of place. In the case of Cru Beaujolais it refers to small communities or vineyards that over time have been determined to consistently produce quality wine with unique characteristics. In other regions they will use the terms Grand Cru and Premier Cru to further define the best places to grow wine grapes in a given region.
- PortAh - 01-09-2002
IK, I(also a newbie) thought all red wines can be stored for many
years if the storage condition is ideal.
You're saying some beaujolais can only last
a couple of years.
Can you please clarify.
- Innkeeper - 01-09-2002
Most wine, including most red wine is made to be consumed at release or within a year or two. A lot of wine that will go much further even falls within this practice. You will see on many wines these days a statement that goes something like this: "Can be consumed right now, but will improve over the next few years." There is reatively very little wine that must be aged. These include most Red Bordeaux (say any that costs more than $15 or $20); some Burgundy reds and fewer whites; reds from the upper Rhone, and CDPs from the lower Rhone; Barolo, Barbarescos, and Brunellos from Italy, a small handful of shiraz from Australia; and their counterparts from other parts of the New World, including the U.S.
[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 01-09-2002).]
- PortAh - 01-09-2002
IK, I am still a little confused about
the term "last" you used in your first reply
to this thread.
From what I just read from you, do you mean BN will turn
bad if store it for say 10 yrs after release even in
ideal storage?
- Innkeeper - 01-10-2002
First of all, BN is short lived, and I never said it will last ten years. I said that a few of the Cru Beaujolais can. BN is made immediately after harvest and released a month or two later in November of each year. There is a more technical explanation, but the way it is made contains none of the qualities that give wine any lasting life. It is meant to be consumed immediately, which is why we say, drink it by the end of January. Some retailers will keep it on the shelf. If you see one in, say, April or May, buy it and try it, if you don't believe me.
When I say some Cru Beaujolais can last ten years, I mean just that. There is a difference between "keeping" and "aging." If I had said it takes ten years to age, then you would have to lay it down for ten years without opening any of them till then. A wine that will "keep" or "last" for ten years, means that you can drink it over that period. Take 1998 Moulin-a-vent for example. It was released in 1999. You could drink it then, but it was a little rough around the edges. It has improved right up to now, when it is drinking very nicely. It may improved still more over the next year or so. However, if I had a case in the basement, I might be able to drink it right up to 2008, but it would have stopped improving some years before that.
The same goes for wines that have to age. Once they reach maturity there is some keeping time. In other words, you don't have to drink it all at once. There would be no reason to buy wine by the case if this were the case.