Various Reds: Drink Now? Later?

[quijote]

I've been trying to get a sense of when certain reds should be consumed for maximum enjoyment, and one source I looked at says that pretty much all wine under $25 is ready to drink and won't improve much with ageing. Is this true?

Here is a sampling of what I have on my wine rack; all but one are reds. Are any worth holding onto for a while? Any comments about them that may help guide me? Thank you so much!

1. Marqués de Murrieta 1995 Rioja (Ygay-Pratum Lagareta)

2. Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 1996

3. Marqués de Cáceres Vendimia Seleccionada 1998 Rioja

4. E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône 2000

5. Ch. La Rose Metairie Haut Médoc 2000 Bordeaux

6. La Carraia Sangiovese 2000

7. Viña Alarba Red Wine 2001

8. Di Majo Norante 2001 Sangiovese

9. Domaine de Montpezat 2001 Merlot

10. Rockbare 2001 Shiraz

11. Francis Blanchet Vieilles Vignes 2001 Pouilly Fumé

I really do appreciate your guidance!

John

[Innkeeper]

Hi John, and welcome to the Wine Board. You might hang onto the Bordeaux for six months. Even that is not for sure; it, like all the others could be ready to go right now.

[dananne]

With the way the wineries bottle age before release, many of the Spanish wines are ready to go upon release, even though many benefit from further aging.

The Murrieta Castello Ygay Gran Reserva 1994 is drinking wonderfully right now -- probably the best wine I've had in over a year. The 96 Murrieta (not the Ygay) is also drinking well right now. So, not having had your 95, I'd guess that it is drinking well, but like the 94 Ygay could wait a bit too. I'm planning on drinking my 94s through 06 or so (I'm guessing I'll run out before the wine really turns downhill).

I'd hold the Caceres from 2-5 years.

Vina Alarba is a great $ value wine that is great right now. It's old vine grenache, and unlike many low-priced grenache, may have stuffing to bottle age a bit, but I don't think much about that when I've spent $6 on a bottle that is drinking well out of the gate.

[Auburnwine]

Aha, Dan, I see why the Vina Alarba spot at Tower Liquors was empty!

I am with The Keeper of the Inn: drink up most of it right now.

[dananne]

Hmmm. Well, that may be. I promise, though, that the bins for Castano Hecula and Castano Solanera still have contents!

If not for long . . . especially that Solanera [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]