WONDERS OF TIME

Hey,

Hope you’re all good. This week, I want to talk about how just a few years of age can take wines from very good to stupidly good.

I’m very guilty of wanting to pop and pour every new release, often they’re already delicious (as they should be), but I always find myself wondering what just a bit more time in bottle would do…

Time does magical things to wine. It can smooth out the rough edges, coax out new flavours, and *some* believe it can even scare off the pest that is mouse taint. There’s no hard-and-fast rule for what age will do to any one wine, and that’s part of the thrill. Not everything is built to last (looking at you, Beaujolais Nouveau), but I firmly believe that even a couple of years can do wonders for most bottles.

Now, if there's one thing we all don’t have enough of, it’s time. So here are some wines where the hard work has already been done for you. Thank me l8r.

Firstly, a newbie on the shelves from a historic Jura producer dating back to the 18th century. Touraize is now fully biodynamic with a non-interventionist approach and this 2020 is absolutely singing. It’s seen extended time in both barrel and bottle. Plenty enough to let that juicy fruit mellow out and reveal a gorgeous salty-sweet interplay, all wrapped up in Jura’s signature minerality.

Savagnin’s naturally high acidity makes it practically indestructible. This ‘16 from the OGs at Pignier is also hitting a real sweet spot. Creamy, leesy, and driven by that unmistakable Jura twang slicing right down the palate. Pair it with Comté, another thing that only gets better with age, and thank me later.

This is a real time-warp bottle and a textbook example of what happens to Riesling when left to develop. Fruit from both ‘13 and ‘19 combine for a hedonistic, textured and tense expression with that classic petrol note. Where does that come from? It can be really sunkissed fruit, but often it’ll only rear its head after a bit of time.

If you think it sounds gross, just trust me when I say it’s delicious. This lovely wine from Nikau farm doubles down on that petroleum thing. It combines the glorious Aussie sun with a bit of bottle age and is so petrol-laden and electric. I’ve always loved this tiny-production wine, but after revisiting it recently, it’s too good not to share with you all. The citrus is still there, but now layered with smokey, flinty complexity. The reduction from its initial release has mellowed beautifully, and this is just so ON right now. Only a couple made it the UK, and with just a couple left, I wouldn’t hang about. No adds too, showing that sulphur isn’t a necessity for cellar-worthy bottles.

Off-dry with age works magic too! Transforming sharp, citrusy things into something golden, honeyed, and seductive. The 2015 Spätlese is stunning after a decade, and it’s still got plenty of runway. The 2020 Feinherb is just off-dry, so barely sweet, but five years of bottle age have brought through lovely smoky depth. Both are perfect with spicy food. Next time you order a wok-fried takeaway? Crack one of these. You’ll see.

Chenin too can defo go the distance and often priced very keenly. This ‘19 is from a single site on pure tuffeau (chalky Loire limestone) and is only produced in the best years. Razor-sharp acidity meets a wave of minerality, balanced by the power of a warm, dry vintage.

Jacky Blot is also a master of the Chenin craft and this ‘17 another steal. Time has integrated everything, the oak is now seamlessly dancin’ with that orchard fruit and things are starting to go all waxy, honeyed and lanolin-laced. It's drinking so well right now but could go on and on.

So could I, but I’ve rambled on quite a bit there and haven’t even gotten round to any reds. So a part two might be in order…

LY,

Fionn

xoxo