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+--- Thread: When is the best time to drink? (/thread-18510.html)
- Bball - 12-07-1999
Hi I am new to this list and to wine collecting. The first bottle of wine I bought is a 1995 Romanee Saint Vivant. My question is when is the best time to open and drink or sell? I guess that I am looking for the maturation date. Any help that you could give would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks in advance.
Brenda
PS if I have posted this question in the wrong area please excuse me and point me in the right direction.
- tomstevenson - 12-09-1999
Sorry that no one has replied before now. If it's from a top grower (eg., Coufuron-Meunier, Hudelot-Noellat or, of course, Domaine Romanee Conti), then you should really give it at least 10 years (ie., 2005), if you have good storage (low, constant temperature) and want to get the best experience. The best Romanee St Vivant age gracefully for 25 years or so, but it is one of the lightest of Vosne Romanee's grands crus, so you could drink prior to the estimated 10 year peaking and still enjoy it. If it's from a negociant, it could peak earlier or might not even be that much of an experience! Look for the name of the producer and get back to us (please email me because I'm not that frequent a vistor here, even though it is the best wine forum in cyberspace!).
Tom
- Jerry D Mead - 12-09-1999
Tom...Thanks for the nice words about The Wine Board...I'm likely to quote you. JDM
- tomstevenson - 12-09-1999
I've just received an email already quoting me. That was quick off the mark!
Tom
- Randy Caparoso - 12-18-1999
I can't hold out. Let me add something, if you will. I've met many well-intentioned people who were told that this wine should be drunk "in 10 years," and this one "in 20." But very often, after a long wait, they're extremely disappointed. Why? Because when well-meaning experts (like the previous gentlemen) make maturation estimates, they're actually talking about a process of aging under ideal conditions -- which involves laying bottles down on their sides at temperatures consistently between 55 and 65 degrees Farenheit, with humidity levels somewhere between 45% and 75%. With just mild variation between seasons.
Over the years I have developed my own answer for people interested in enjoying wine crafted to be at their best with bottle age: For every 10 degrees above 55, you should expect your wine to mature twice as fast! This means that although your red Burgundy would probably be best drunk between 2010 and 2020, if the average temperature at which you're storing it is closer to 75 degrees (most people's normal "room temperature"), it would probably be best between 2002 and 2006. If you wait longer, there's a good chance that a lot of the intrinsic flavors, and sense of elegance and intensity, would "burn" off long before.
Of course, this is not a full proof system. I've been surprised many times in the past by the durability of wines aged under less than optimal conditions. But I've tasted far more wines which were disappointingly dismal, simply because someone waited too long (and often as the result of misconstrued advice). Especially if you have only one bottle -- it's better to be safe than sorry!