Is it possible to know which red wines will improve with age?

Question

i want to buy some wines that will taste better the older they are ,say in 10 or 20 years from now.

Answer 1

French Wine will get better with age..  

You also need to think about proper storage. So this means you need to cellar the bottles you want to save. Do not store wine in a food fridge. Wine does not like to be moved.  I have a 70+ wine fridge made by Haier.  

I have 6 bottles of 1999 Sterling Vinyards Three Palms Merlot. Purchased in 99.  I drank a bottle last week and it was

an explosion of flavor on the palet..

good luck with that

Answer 2

There's a lot of elements that go into which wines are ageworthy, from the overall structure (which I find to be intentionally vague) which pretty much means acid levels in balance with other elements, like fruit, earthiness, tannins, etc.  One of the biggest myths I encounter concerns that all big red wines age.  While many rich reds age well, you will encounter many that won't.  This is why the best method for everyone except extremely experienced professionals is to go by track record.  Many, but not all, French wines improve with age.  Stephane gives a good list of specific wines, but here's my general guide (in no particular order) of my favorites.

1) California Cabs: The better ones will age 10-15 years.  There's still not enough of a track record to expect much more, but I've had a few wines that were remarkably fresh after 20+ years.

2) Bordeaux: The better Bordeaux will age at least 20 years and as much as 100 years in the best vintages from the best producers.  One of the challenges for all French wine is that the vintages are much more variable than California.  For example a wine from 1981 could be well past it's prime while the same producer from 1945 could still be young.

3) Burgundy: One of the most underappreciated wines for aging in the US, both reds and whites can age for long periods.  Again, vintage is everything and many bottlings now are released for swifter consumption.  If you want to hold these for 10+ years, talk to your wine guy first.

4) Barolo and Barberesco (both from the NW Italian region of Piedmont).  There has been a lot of changes in the vinification techniques in these areas, but examples of 50+ years are not uncommon.  10-20 from a good vintage is all but certain.

5) German Whites: One of the best kept secrets is how marvellously German whites can age.  I've had some incredible 30+ year German white wines.  However, German white wines encompass a lot, so if you're questionable, ask your local wine shop owner if he has any.

6) Rhone Reds:  Haven't had many older examples, but the best are amazing with some solid bottle age.  Price here can be a guide. (The whites also age shockingly well).

There's a lot of other wines, but I've probably droned on too much as it is.

Answer 3

Andrew don't speculate too much on aging :

Ten years is feasible - twenty is exceptional -

What can you expect from aging : a loss of excessive ° of alcohol combined with a positive evolution of tannins, which tannins are produced by the stones - nasty stones which also tend to produce oil -...

Tannins are, basically in youg harvested wines, very rough on the tongue - the reason why to drink them without eating is really masochistic in some cases - then after years tannins in a reverse process will give "smooth and silk" to the wine in mouth - and secondary magical flavours such as coffee bean and tobacco leaf ( great ) or chocolate-

Among french red wines nearly all passable Bordeaux will go with six years, the same for Bourgogne and Rhône ( north and south ) but maybe also Cahors and Madiran + Good Bergerac ( Bergerac are most of teh times nothing )

I would ignore Loire wines , Beaujolais wines, and Provence wines - they can be nice but not real good-agers -

Now some origins without killing your bank account :(My fav)

All the Saint- Emilion premier grand cru classé -

Graves : Best ones - The three " Brion "

Moulis : remember that name - it is like russian puppets a smaller cru in the big Haut-Medoc - and strangely not popular, which means lower prices -

Pomerol - a big brother of Saint-Emilion - Petrus is a Pomerol......

Remember : for those crus - not more than 10/12 years except if the vintage year is recommended in particular

( problem - sellers tend to say to sell all as "exceptional" )

If you trust me, go for 2005 - already three years - and wholesalers tend to restrain selling them - see why ???

They will easily reach 2017 -

Bye bye

Answer 4

Probably the more high quality the wine is...and most likely the more expensive

Answer 5

It all improves