Closed wines

[Thraz]

I started buying cases a couple of years ago, so I am only now really seeing the effect of (a little) time on certain wines. I used to think that the impact of ageing on taste could only be represented graphically in two shapes: a bell curve, or a downward line. Now I am really baffled by the concept of "closed" (a reverse bell curve I guess).<P>In particular, a St. Joseph from Alain Paret (Rochecourbe, 99) was drinking beautifully last year. So I confidently served it at Christmas, only to find out that it had turned into this non-descript "red" (that would be my best effort for a tasting note on that one). It is (was) a great wine, with good tannins so I assume it has closed but can continue to age.<P>So my question: when can I start opening the remaining six bottles? Is there a resource somewhere where I can go check indicative drinking windows for certain regions and vintages?<P>Thanks.<p>[This message has been edited by Thraz (edited 02-15-2005).]