Is My Wine Ready to Drink? Aging For Character and Depth

By Kevin Kourofsky

Louis and Madeline are a very talented winemaking duo I had the privilege of interviewing. In 2018 they won a Double Gold and Best of Show in the AWS judging for a 2016 blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 4% Petit Syrah and 4% Petit Verdot. I wanted to know how they did it. They told me that they entered that same wine in the 2017 AWS judging and though pleased with the award, it only received a Silver Medal. It was clear to them that something happened to that wine. In just one further year the wine had developed greater character and depth. It went from Silver to Double Gold Best in Show!

Winemaking texts devote a great deal of advice to the application of techniques, testing and taste, but rarely discuss how to tell when a wine is at its peak flavor and how to get it there. Like people, wines may age gracefully, some wonderfully well and others not at all well.  A winemaker should have some insight into how a wine is likely to come out, even if it’s an educated guess. How is this wine going to turn out? This column will discuss the factors that affect the arc of wine aging.

What Happens to Wine as it Ages?

Most people buy their wine to order and store very few bottles. So, most wineries make wine to be consumed off the shelf. But that doesn’t mean it’s not aged. White wines might be an exception, as they are meant to be enjoyed “fresh.” Red wines tend to be held back a few years and sometimes held in barrel for a few years. Bordeaux makers will hold a vintage back for three years and expect the buyer to age the wine for several more years. The Spanish will age wines for a remarkably long time and sell it after extensive barrel and bottle aging, making it an incredible value. These makers are calculating when to release their vintage based on what maturity the consumer will expect and enjoy.

When white wine ages, it can go from a pale yellow to a straw color and beyond to a golden color. Red wines begin as a dark or ruby red, progress to a lighter red with brick color at the edge, then to a light brick color. These colors are due to the natural chemical change in the bottle and oxidation that comes with cork and certain screwcaps. A white dessert wine is expected to become golden. It will still be sound. Think of Sauternes or ice wine that can age gracefully for years. Otherwise, this white wine may be over the hill.

Red wines meant for immediate consumption when released may turn to orange-brick color and smell of ripe tomatoes if left too long in the bottle. Red wine flavors, in the medium time frame, can intensify. In warm-climate grapes the tannins can become silky with sweet fruit notes. In cool-climate grapes, the wines can tend toward earthier flavors with currant and cedar notes. Each terroir produces a unique flavor profile and a different arc to maturity depending on varietal, oak additions and method of storage, such as barrel or steel tank.

We amateur makers tend to make our white wines in an approachable style for early drinking. But even whites can develop layers of flavors with time, especially the aromatic varietals. We try to make structured red wines with an eye to the next vintage and our next challenge. In my experience, we amateur winemakers drink our red wines too early. 

So, how do we know which will age and which will peak early and disappoint after a year or so in bottle? There are some hints given to us when we are making the wine. Here are some factors to consider.

TA, PH & Ripeness

I think California has come a long way in understanding their terroir and managing the positives and negatives of their climate. One such problem is ripeness in the grapes. High sugars in the grapes do not indicate ripeness, just sweetness. Thus the endless fascination with “hang time” and discussions of phenolic ripeness causing an excess of sugar and a lack of acid in the grape. With modern techniques, California winemakers have been able to produce wonderfully approachable wines that have high PH and high alcohol that have stood the test of aging. These are so easy to drink that we all want to replicate that style. But we amateurs have fewer tools to handle such problems. A wine with a PH over 3.6 becomes chemically unstable and subject to oxidation problems. The amount of SO2 needed to stabilize these wines is mind blowing. Unless managed, these wine will not age well. Such high PH wines should be considered wine for very short term drinking.

Assuming the issues of sugar, acid and PH are ameliorated during the primary fermentation process, then aging with these wines comes down to the density of the tannins in the wine. These warm climate wines usually have softer riper tannins that allow for earlier drinking, but the amount of the tannins can still be an issue.

Ripeness is a cool climate issue as well, but in the opposite way. In cool climate wines, grape acids are usually higher than in warm climate grapes. And tannins can be firmer and chewier. I find that these wines, such as New York Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc, can take a longer time to come together than those from warm climate areas, such as California. But the wait is worth it!  

Grape Varietal & Tannin

The grape type, itself, can make a wine that takes more time to mature. Grapes that produce dark, tannin rich wine are more likely to not only last a long time, but take a longer time to integrate. A classic example is Cabernet Sauvignon, known for the rich fruit, relatively high acids and a strong tannin backbone. No wonder this is the work horse varietal in both Bordeaux and California. And just about everywhere else. Cabs can be complex from the start of their life but are known to evolve with bottle age.

Merlot has a different taste profile, stronger in the mid-palate than Cabernet Sauvignon, but also adds softer tannins to soften the overall wine. The more Merlot, usually, the sooner to maturity. 

Gamay, the grape of the Beaujolais region, makes a tannin friendly wine often consumed as Beaujolais Nouveau, which is rushed to market in a few months after harvest. Needless to say, this is a light skinned grape, often fermented in a manner that limits skin contact. It doesn’t last much beyond the holiday season (Though Beaujolais Village wines are crafted in a more traditional manner and are often barrel aged, but are still relatively soft wines).

Just north of Beaujolais, in Burgundy, the Pinot Noir grape is king. Pinot Noir is also a thin skinned grape that can make a very light wine or a very deep wine, depending on climatic conditions. It can be soft in California, mid-structured in Oregon and quite deep in the classified regions of Burgundy. Pinots tend to come into their own within a few years, depending on the oak aging.

An example of the varietal effect was with my 2019 field blend of California grapes from the Lodi district. It was comprised of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc with 1% of Malbec. I cold soaked for only a day to avoid over-extraction. The color was quite dark and the tannins also seeped into the wine along with the color. I added oak by way of cubes and there was plenty of oak at bottling. After a year, the wine was pretty massive and, frankly, undistinguished.  I wasn’t getting the classic flavors in the nose and palate. That is not unusual for such a young wine. After the second year, I found not much had changed. A professional winemaker whose opinion I trust, felt it was okay but did not express the varietals. We both agreed that it had no real finish. I despaired of this wine. But wait, as they say on TV, after a full three years of aging, the wine emerged as if a door had opened. My winemaker friend didn’t think it was the same wine. Neither did I. These are the type of varietals that need time to express themselves.

Oak the Wild Card

Restrained oak additions will enhance a wine, bringing that pleasant flavor focusing the fruit on the palate. At the same time, oak will also add tannins and structure to the wine, a good thing for low tannin grape varietals. Some wines need a more complex tannin structure oak can bring. But, over-additions of oak can create a “licking a plank” feeling in the mouth, somewhat similar (in ancient years before plastic) of eating ice cream cups with those flavor-sucking small wooden spoons. It can overpower the flavor. The greater the amount of oak, the greater the time needed to balance out the oak against the flavors of the fruit.

In my experience oak additions don’t have a linear effect. Oak can help bring a wine to maturity in certain circumstances and in other circumstances can delay maturity, but enhance the final quality of the wine. I’ve always found that concept intriguing and in 2020 I decided to try an experiment with Pinot Noir from California’s North Coast, known to produce thicker skinned grapes due to the prevailing Pacific winds. I was surprised at how small and dark the Pinot grapes were. They were more like blueberries than grapes. I made a nine gallon batch which I then divided into three carboys at three gallons each. One carboy would have no oak addition. The second would have one half of my normal oak addition and the third the normal amount. I expected that the no-oak version would mature first and be nicely drinkable while I waited for the other versions to come to flavor maturity. For me, I find that the level of oak I like in Pinot usually takes three years to integrate.

It didn’t work out that way. The no-oak version did not come round even after three years. It was pleasant, but the wonderful aromas and flavors of cherry and dark cherry didn’t emerge even after three years. It was the second version that was wonderful after two years, whereas the third version is only now opening up after almost four years. The fruit of this dark Pinot has stood up to the aging and has gained some earthy tones that you might find in aged Burgundy. Perhaps oak is like a prescribed medicine. The exactly correct dosage can get you well quickly. A little too much can actually delay your recovery and too much can kill you! The exact vintage wine had different arcs of maturity based on oak addition alone!

Bottle Shock & Dumb Wines

A short term bottling issue is “bottle shock.” Newly bottled wines can go mute or “dumb” as an effect of bottling. There is also an odd problem that may occur with massively tannic, tightly wound wines, such as Classified Bordeaux or Napa Cabernet where the wine is aging well and developing, then shuts down or goes “dumb” for an extended period. It suddenly tastes of nothing in particular. It’s like the flavors go on sabbatical for a few years. It may simply be part of its maturity arc. The flavors return and the wine resumes its development.

Putting the Pieces Together

I think it’s fair to say that there is no exact formula to predict when your wine is ready to drink. Much depends on the quality of the grapes, the variety, oak additions, and your palate. For light skinned varietals, such a Pinot, perhaps a year of aging is enough. I’ve just made one that, despite my attempts to extract color, is not much darker than a dark rosé. I expect that it will be ready in two years from the vintage. My New York Cabernet Franc 2021 will probably need a full three years. My Merlot 2023 from Lodi is so wonderfully forward that it may be very good after two years, but much better after three. Unlike my Lodi Merlot 2022, which is sitting in my cellar like a lump. That’s why tasting wine is so important, to know what your wine should taste like and discerning where your wine is on the arc of maturity. Maybe like Louis and Madeline there is a Double Gold in your cellar?