Young wine? (back)
cdevroe staff (2 years ago)
What are the basic characteristics of a young wine? And, how can I tell if a wine "still has potential to get better"? Thanks a lot!
nasv group admin (2 years ago)
good question, and I'm still learning about this as well.
To start, here's a good link that talks about what can make a wine ageworthy: http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2007/02/21/what-makes-a-wine-ageworthy/
The author mentions alcohol, tannins, acids, and sugar as key components that a wine must have to be able to survive and mature.
While I'm not too winemaker-experienced yet, my reading and interaction with other winemakers have insisted that patience is a key ingredient for successful winemaking and that all wines can soften and "rounden" with anywhere between 1 and 3 years aging (the more robust and structured wines, of course, can go beyond that).
So, directly to your questions - characteristics of a young wine? Maybe some imbalance, sharpness of acid, tannin, or alcohol? These traits might not always be clear but it might hint toward any potential toward successful aging. Perhaps a strong alcohol component post-fermentation will integrate better with the fruit? Tannins and acid will soften and other characteristics come forward?
I'm curious to what other say too, but the above would be my guess.
-Nico
