One of the great misconceptions about wine is that all wine gets better with age.
It’s true that some wines benefit with time in the bottle, but the bulk of wine sold in Australia and around the world is at its best when you buy it. So how can we keep it that way for as long as possible?
Serious wine collectors have temperature-controlled cellars, wine fridges or off-site storage to give their wines every chance to live up to the potential they or, indeed, a columnist lsuch as myself see in the wine.
Not everybody has the means, or the patience, to cellar wines properly. But we all, at some stage,
end up with bottles of wine laying about the house that need looking after – even if we plan on drinking them sooner rather than later.
What do you do with the dozen bottles of wine you picked up while driving through the Yarra Valley, or that bargain offer that arrived in your inbox and was too good to refuse?
The screwcap has eliminated cork taint and random oxidisation from storing wines, but there are a few things you need to be careful of when it comes to keeping bottles of wine at home. There may not be a best-before date on a bottle of wine, but in the wrong conditions it can go off in just a couple of months.
I keep wines that do get better with age in an off-site, temperature-controlled cellar (this removes the temptation to open them too soon).
Everyday wines and review samples are tucked away in their boxes at the back of cupboards, which tends to get in the way of an unhealthy retro trainer fetish I have, in a bid to keep them away from the harm of light and temperature fluctuation.
Ornamental wine racks sitting in the hallway that display prized purchases have no place in my home and here’s why: Wines need a consistent temperature (ideally 15 degrees) and temperatures in the average house fluctuate constantly during day and night. Keep bottles in the box they came in, which is a great insulator, and preferably in a room or cupboard with a constant temperature. Under the stairwell is ideal, but definitely not next to a brick wall that sees the afternoon sun.
Wine needs to be kept in the dark. High levels of light (natural and artificial) lead to premature ageing, and the sun’s ultraviolet rays also wreak havoc. It’s another reason to keep them in their box.
There are other factors that influence the premature ageing of wine, but tackling them isn’t necessarily practical for those wines bought for drinking in the short term. These include humidity (a level of 70-75 per cent is ideal but hard to maintain at home) as corks can dry out and speed up a wine’s oxidisation. Another is vibration, which prevents natural sediment from settling.
And the worst place to keep wine? In a rack on top of the fridge. Light, heat and the constant vibration from the fridge’s motor will all help to spoil a wine in just a couple of months.
LOVE A BARGAIN?
Longhop Shiraz 2009 (Mount Lofty Ranges) $15; 14%
4/5
Food match: Roast pork.
Made from grapes off old, low-yielding vines, this wine has fragrant aromas of blackberries and cherries, with hints of eucalypt, white pepper and vanilla oak. It’s full-bodied and fills the mouth with intense flavours of plums, fruitcake, blackberry and a hint of olive. There’s loads of dusty, drying tannin and bright acid and this is equally happy alongside food or a fireplace. I’m not sure how, or why, this is so cheap – the $15 is no mistake, though – so scoop this up for the cold nights ahead.
TASTINGS \ DRINK THIS
Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2009
(Tumbarumba) $40; 13% a/v
4/5
Food match: Salt-and-pepper squid
The last Bin 311 I tried (and bought), the 2006, has become a modern-day classic and is still drinking beautifully. The ’09 is full of pear, mandarin and saffron aromas with a great linear acid profile. It’s light-bodied and packed with complex citrus flavours (juice and rind) along with cashews. Don’t serve this too cold and give the aromas a chance to flourish. If you like your chard lean, as I do, you would do well to pick some up.
Yering Station Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
(Yarra Valley) $28; 14.5% a/v
3½/5
Food match: Barnsley chops and chips
The grapes for this wine are grown at two locations in the Yarra Valley and it is aged for 15 months in oak (25 per cent is new). This smells of black and redcurrants, cherries, violets, chocolate and cedar oak. It’s medium to full-bodied and displays flavours of cassis and red berries. It’s the structure of the wine I like: lush, ripe fruit and good acid supported by smooth tannins. It should improve with a bit more time in the bottle.
Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
(Great Southern) $40; 13.5% a/v
4½/5
Food match: Roast lamb loin and Jerusalem artichokes
2008 was a cracking year for cabernet sauvignon in Western Australia. This has complex aromas of blackcurrant, black and blueberries, some eucalypt and a hint of cedar oak. It’s not the most powerful cab out there but the balance is superb, with blackcurrant, chocolate and savoury flavours combined with lovely fine-grained tannins and tight acid. It’s a super wine and good value, even at $40.
Pyren Block E Shiraz 2006
(Pyrenees) $30; 14%
4/5
Food match: Pork rilletes
The more wine I drink from the Pyrenees, the more I realise what an underrated area it is. This has a complex array of aromas including plum, chocolate, vanilla oak, regional eucalypt and clove spice. Assertive, food-friendly acid is supported by flavours of plum, dark cherry, raspberry and olive along with fine-grained, velvety tannins. It’s an elegant wine in many ways but is not too polished, which makes it quite charming.