Wine Tasting: Age on Wine

Older wines are generally thought to be better than young wines. But why? What difference does the passing of years make? Well, one way to answer that would be to taste several wines, pairing their newer vintages with old. I last did a tasting like this in 2012, so we were overdue. Thanks to the amazing inventory of K&L Wines, I was able to gather these four paired wines last week, rather than cellaring them myself for 21 years.

What did we learn? Well, I thought the two bottles from Bordeaux, 21 years apart, told the clearest story. The older wine drank as a well-integrated experience, with tannins, fruit, green pepper, and lots of earthy characteristics, all coming together beautifully. Its younger sibling had a lot more of some of these (tannin, fruit), a lot less of others (earthy characteristics), but presented with much less integration, almost sequentially. Time smooths off the tannic pucker, while (hopefully) bringing initially unbalanced characteristics into balance. At least, that seems to be the idea where wines are built to age. Most wines, especially at prices under $40, are not designed to age, so how those turn out is a different question...

Thanks to all who joined us! What we had below, with my favorites in bold, as usual.

1. 1994 Marqués de Murrieta Ygay Reserva Rioja ($45): made mostly of Tempranillo grapes, from one of the oldest wine producers in Rioja (1852!), this wine split the crowd, with many put off by its boldly sour finish. Although wines from Rioja are meant for long aging (especially the "Reserva" and "Gran Reserva" wines), I thought the imbalance on the finish suggested it was maybe a little over the hill. I still liked it, however, but can't really recommend it at $45/bottle. 
2. 2015 Marqués de Murrieta "Finca Ygay" Reserva Rioja ($24): So different, lighter, higher toned, more like what most people expect from a Spanish red. And a good value. But less interesting than its older sibling. 80% Tempranillo with 12% Graciano, 6% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha, a little more Graciano and Mazuelo, produced with grapes from a diversity of the 30 different plots within the estate. Fermented in stainless steel and matured in American oak barrels for 18 months. 
3. 1995 Coufran, Haut Medoc ($35): Ah, Bordeaux, where the reds are built to age, and this bottle shows why. Unlike its much younger sibling, this wine delivered a well-integrated experience, with fruit, tannin, green bell pepper, and earthy secondary characteristics all happening together, without any one aspect dominating. This wine (which probably retailed for under $20 on release) is in its prime drinking years now, 24 years later. A great wine for roast beef! 85% merlot, 15% cabernet sauvignon.  
4. 2016 Coufran, Haut-Médoc ($19): Same wine as #3, but 21 years younger. And, relatively speaking, a complete mess. Not bad, but dominated by tannin and fruit and oak, which come on sequentially, rather than as an integrated whole. When compared to #2 today, this wine loses the value contest. But in 20 more years, it's much harder to say which one I'd prefer. Lesson: Bordeaux red wine often requires age to really display what makes it so special. 
5. 2011 Vincent Paris "Granit 30" Cornas ($40): from the Northern Rhone in France, this syrah-based wine from a young upstart wine-maker shows that well-made wines (and wine-makers) don't need 20 years to mature. I thought this was excellent and drinking perfectly, only 8 years on, with smooth tannins and well-integrated fruit, also showing secondary characteristics. I'm buying a couple more. 
6. 2017 Vincent Paris "Granit 30" Cornas ($30): only six years younger, and still quite nice, but a great illustration of how even a few years can pull a wine together. But if you have the patience, you can save $10 by buying now and cellaring it for 6 years yourself! I might...
7. 2003 Turley "Pesenti" Paso Robles Zinfandel ($35): one of the early vineyards from the early champions of single-vineyard Zins from Paso Robles. Turley has a mixed reputation for aging well (and thus can over time fall, rather than rise, in price). But I thought this 2003 was lovely. Despite the 16% alcohol, this didn't come across as sweet or jammy, but instead had great depth, with lots of secondary leather and earthy notes. In fact, tasted blind, I would not have guessed this was a Zin at all. Great value at this price, but this was the last one K&L had. 
8. 2017 Turley "Pesenti Vineyard" Paso Robles Zinfandel ($50): like its older sibling, this one was near 16% alcohol. But what a difference time (and a different wine-maker) can make! This one was all blackberry compote, with a rich, sweet mid-palate. I still liked it (as I like all Zins), but this was easy to spot as a big California Zin. Hard to know, but I'm guessing it's not going to mature like the 2003 has, probably thanks to the change in wine-makers altering things.