Wine conservation: Old wine vs young wine?

Introduction

The question has probably already crossed your mind: should I open this bottle or wait? Wine conservation is a cruel dilemma! What if the bottle you’ve just opened had been much better in 10 years’ time? Or conversely, the wine you’ve just drunk might have been much more enjoyable if you’d drunk it a few years earlier. Let’s take a closer look on Old wine vs young wine.

First of all, it’s important to know that most wines can’t be kept for more than 20 or 30 years. Of course, the vintage is important and can influence the wine’s ageing potential. But the idea that an old wine is better than a young one is completely false!

To know whether a wine has the potential to age, several criteria need to be checked. For example, the more tannic and acidic the wine, the greater its ageing potential.

But when should you drink your wine?

Wine conservation must follow the evolution of the liquid: after bottling, wine will evolve. It is preferable not to drink wine the following year, but this is far from a general rule! The wine’s progression curve is not linear, and varies from bottle to bottle so Old wine vs young wine.

What’s more, wines have an unfortunate tendency to “close up” during the first stage of their evolution in the bottle: they lose organoleptic capacity, but this phenomenon comes to an end… after an indeterminate length of time.
It is therefore important to taste the wine several times during its evolution, and therefore to own several bottles of the same cru.

Wikeeps wine preservation and service systems (Coffrets Essentiel and Grandioso) enable you to enjoy your bottles throughout their evolution for several weeks after opening.
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