A sommelier investigates: Can white wine age?
How do white wines change over time? Are they better upon release? When is a white wine too old to drink?
The days of cheap, one-dimensional, uninteresting white wines are over. Consumers are demanding a more diverse white wine selection. I'm finally starting to hear customers talk about Torrontes and Arneis, but the subject of 'age-able whites' has yet to come up... that is, unless we're talking about which Grand Tour host has aged most gracefully.
Still, many people I've spoken to view white wine as something to drink while you age your reds and savor your whiskey. As usual with wine, it's a bit more complicated than that.
93-year-old bottles of Riesling from FinestAndRarest.com
Yes, we can age white wine!
Some varietals and styles are designed to age with finesse and grace. Quality Riesling, of both dry and sweet styles, are known for being able to live for decades. The oldest drinkable examples are nearly 100 years old! With that said, most should be drunk within a 5 to 25 year span, depending on quality. As Riesling ages, those zesty citrus notes turn into marmalade. The acidity softens, but remains very present on the palate. The minerality morphs into baking spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Oxidative almond and marzipan notes start to pop up. The sweeter options, like Germany's Trocken-beeren-auslese (TBA) Rieslings will become rich with honey, crème brulée, and aromas of baked pastries, similar to France's Sauternes.
Other wines like Chardonnay from Burgundy or the Willamette Valley can rest for +20 years before fading. Hunter Valley Australian Semillon gains an amazing toasty, honey-butter nuance with time. The depth of complexity in Grüner Veltliner from Wachau really get's into its own after about 10 years of bottle ageing. South Africa's Vin du Constance, a dessert wine made from Muscat, rivals Port in age-ability.
So yes, white wines can age, and they seem to get more complex and savory with time.
No, we can't age white wine! ('huh?' Let me explain)
Let me just clarify: 'most' wines today – red, white, or rosé – are made to drink upon release. At most, you should be consuming reds within 5 years, and whites/rosés within 1 to 3. Wines like bargain Italian Pinot Grigio or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will fade quickly and start to taste like over-ripened bruised fruit in a relatively short time.
After a few years, you may find pleasant aromas of almond extract and dried citrus peel, but the acidity and freshness will have left without ever saying goodbye. The pigment in white wine oxidizes more quickly and can appear amber or copper colored at times.
2015 Zenato Pinot Grigio, tasting like cooking Sherry after 5 years. Kris Pinot Grigio, drinking perfectly at only 2-years of age.
At the end of the day, consumers demand fresh, crisp, ripe fruits on the palate. Maybe a little floral or earthy nuance, but overall, they require a fruit forward structure in their whites. So even if your bottle has the potential to age, most wine drinkers prefer a young, lively, clear white wine. So what's the point?
Maybe we should age white wine!
There are many age-worthy white wines I haven't been able to mention. In addition, there's a noticeable gray area I've yet to dive into. It's an area most Sommeliers hate to mention, but it's an important one called: "I Don't Know."
Yes. There is an unbelievably vast world of wine out there in which I've yet to experience, and for that reason, I have an eagerness to experiment whenever I can. I'm not about to drop several thousand dollars on some historical Puligny Montrachet just to see how it has aged; but in an effort to find some old-ish white wines, I wandered into an midscale liquor store looking for those bottles that have been collecting dust. To my surprise, I stumbled across a few promising labels, which I learned later, were all rubbish. Of the three bottles I open, one was actually quite nice, and not at all what I expected.
The label, explained... Winery: Brunori. Vineyard: San Nicolò. Grape: Verdicchio Region: Castelli di Jesi
Verdicchio from the Castelli di Jesi DOC(G) is a delicious, understated, Italian white you can get exquisite examples of between $15 and $35 USD. This particular bottle is from the oldest designated growing region in Jesi, which is why it bares the "Classico" name. "Superiore" implies that it's from a higher quality site, and it's required to have a higher ABV%. However, none of these words suggest that this is an age-worthy white the way "Reserva" would. So what was it like after 10-years of age? Somehow, credulous...
The color was a golden hay yellow, and it smelled of marzipan a meter away from the glass. The aromatics were very busy with honeysuckle, cinnamon, curry, and chamomile. The wine was medium bodied, held tight to its phenolic texture, and it was just acidic enough to remain refreshing. When the wine warmed up, you could notice a subtle white balsamic tone on the mile-long finish that suggested it was oh so subtly "over the hill." But all things considered, this was a spectacular experience and a delicious wine. With some artichoke dip, good sourdough, and a few old Top Gear reruns, this was a perfectly enjoyable $12 wine, and it taught me a lot about how Verdicchio evolves over time.
Thank you ambiguous liquor store for the concerningly old white wine, and thank you FoodTribers for reading. Tell me about your old white wine experience in the comments.
If you enjoyed reading this, please like, follow, and most importantly, share this with someone who has yet to join FoodTribe! Your time is priceless. – The Angry Somm
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Comments (16)
Excellent read Mr Angry Somm! Loved itttt.
Why thank you Madame Rachel Hogg
One time I found a small wine store that had +10 year old bottles of different Chilean reds. I bought almost all of them and it was hit or miss 😅. How do you decide which wine you will age?
I observe regional trends and producer’s habits... You can try the wine and go by structure like acidity and tannins. Intensely structured reds like Barolo age forever. Soft, jammy, Shiraz does not. Aggressively acidic Albariño will age...
Read moreNaturally research about the region. Are wine from there long livers. If at all possible, try to see the cork and look around the store how wines are kept, i.e. are they laid to keep cork moist, how much of natural and artificial light around,...
Read moreOf course white wines age superbly. Chablis, Meursault, Montrachat, Alsace Rieslings to name but few. And then of course Sauternes' and, to a lesser extend, Cadillacs. Some years ago my wife and I were fortunate enough to be at a great private event where guests were treated to several wines from great years of Château d'Yquem. 1929, 1959, 1967, 1976 and the star of the show was 1893. We still recon we have the taste of it on our lips.
I’ve had 90’s Y’quem, but never a vertical of such majesty. I’m a big fan of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. I had a vertical from the Valet Village. 2015, 2013, 2009, 1999.
Eden Valley Australian Riesling is another fantastic wine to age.
I can also recommend anything from Margaret River. Speaking of which, it is sad time for my wife and I. We would be now getting ready for various food and wine event,. Margaret River Food and Wine Festival is most loved by us, but like most such...
Read moreI’ve read (though never experienced) that the British have a thing for aged champagne that forms a “peacock eye” in the glass. Or am I just confabulating a past Avengers episode?
I know the British adore a champagne and helped it become the effervescent delight it is today. But I’m not sure what they mean by a “peacock eye”... Could be some beatnik poetry term from the 50s. They wrote a lot about Champagne back then and...
Read moreI may have confabulated a peacock with a partridge... fpwm.com/n-v-jean-vesselle-oeil-de-perdrix-blanc-de-noirs-champagne-france-750ml/
Very interesting 👍
Glad you liked it ☺️