When to Age?

[Esbeen55]

Relatively new to wine appreciation, I am wondering what factors in a wine suggest to you that it will age well, or at least improve with age? I've noticed some vintage charts suggest "drink now" or "save" but I suspect this varies a lot with particular wines? I am particularly wondering if some reds from Argentina's 2002 vintage are better stored for awhile, while others can be enjoyed now. Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

[Innkeeper]

Hi Esbeen, and welcome to the Wine Board. We just handled this question a couple of days ago. Check out this thread. http://wines.com/ubb2/Forum37/HTML/002801.html

This Tech thread deals with questions about the workings of this board alone. There I am moving you to the Novice thread, where you should get more responces.

[Esbeen55]

Thanks, that helps, but is price really the key to this question? Living in Brazil at the moment we have good access to Argentine and Chilean wines at very good prices. Some I have tried however have really mouth puckering tannins, which I am guessing indicates they may be more drinkable with some cellar time? Are there specific qualities you look for that help you decide to put some down for future tasting? And what about the Argentine 2002 vintage, any specific thoughts?

[Innkeeper]

Price is not the only determinate, but is a significant one. If you are talking about wines at the first or second price point, it is possible that two or three years in proper storage may smooth out the tannin. For long term aging, the wine has to be balanced between fruit, acid, tannin, and other elements. The result of long term aging is transformation. The wine morphs into a complete something else. You might seek an opportunity to at least taste an aged out wine to see if you like it. Some people don't, and even if they buy expensive wine, they drink it young.