Some things are worth waiting for! Just ask my pup Cooper as he patiently waits for me to throw the Frisbee as we walk the vineyard each morning. He never jumps or grabs just watches my every move and WAITS…..
I was reminded of the rewards of waiting as I opened a bottle of the Russian Hill “Top Block” Syrah the other day and thought a little treatise on aged wines might be worthwhile.
There are many things that have led to this point in history with wine sales. There is the subtle move to more fruit forward wines, which lend themselves to early drinking, wineries requiring cash flow and general accounting/tax changes, which ever reason you choose it has led to the consumer drinking younger wines on a regular basis and changes in the consumer palate.
But the joy of drinking a wine with bottle age should not be overlooked. The magic that happens in the bottle as a wine settles into its skin and develops, bottle age characteristics, rewards patience. We recently brought a 2007 Syrah from RH Wines into the room so we could share and talk with club members about this wonderful experience. Soft silky tannins co-mingle with ripe blackberry fruit flavours with a hint of black pepper in the finish. The wine is fully integrated in a way that young wine just can’t be and it proudly states its maturity in each sip.
A concern that has been raised by customers when sipping on this delicious wine in the room is how long can it be cellared. This is an excellent “teachable” moment, by showing off its rich garnet color with clarity out to the edges and tasting the backbone of acidity which is still on the finish, I can explain that this is a wine which will easily cellar for another 5-10 years, depending on the cellaring conditions. Now if only we can wait that long………