As I was approaching my Big 5-0, I visited Argentina, hosted by a famous figure in the world of wine. At dinner one night, my host’s wife told me that her husband’s 70th birthday was just around the corner. I declared that I was also about to reach a major milestone, and she enquired if I was going to be 70, too. I consoled myself with the thought that the restaurant was absurdly dark. Adding insult to injury, on a visit to the cellars of Marqués de Riscal in Rioja with two fellow journalists, our hosts brought out 1964, the birth year of one of us, and 1961, the birth year of another. The next wine, whose neck required hot tongs, was 1928. Cue much amusement at my expense as I insisted, through gritted teeth, that no, I was not 82 years old.
Anniversary and birthday milestones should be celebrated with special bottles worthy of the occasion, but if the process of our own aging is often so difficult to ascertain, the same applies, all the more so, to wine. It’s all very well what Shakespeare wrote of Cleopatra – that ‘age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety’ – but no wine is fixed in timeless suspension. The complex processes at work in a bottle of wine make subtle changes over time, destroying the lesser and bringing welcome, new yet lived-in features to those with the magic ability to age well. How can we tell, if we want to give a special gift to commemorate a birthday or anniversary, that we’re giving a wine that has not just survived but prospered?
Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Decanter.
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Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Decanter.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A Resource for the World? - Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation's borders
Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation’s borders
Great Cabernets of South America
Other varieties may hog the limelight across South America, but the world’s most popular grape for red wines has played a critical role in the continent's wine heritage. We trace Cabernet Sauvignon’s story here, and recommend 16 benchmark wines to try
PROVENCE by train and bike
With rail links to Paris, Nice, Marseilles and beyond, a vast network of cycle paths and quiet roads, and a plethora of historic wine estates, Provence is an ideal destination for an eco-friendly, car-free and carefree) holiday
IN THE MIX
These days most of the world’s vineyards are planted to just a single variety, but what happens when multiple varieties are planted, harvested and blended together?
Malvasia A BUYER'S GUIDE
If ever a grape was hard to pin down, it'd be Malvasia. Indeed it’s not even a single grape variety. In all of its many varied, and often completely unrelated guises, it has been the mainstay of popular wine styles across the centuries. Our expert takes a closer look...
RIBERA ADOPTS THE NEW OLD WAYS
It’s not so much a new direction for winemakers in Ribera del Duero, but a growing recognition that traditional methods and wine styles set aside by the previous generation can now provide a way ahead to revitalise the region
Roussanne around the world
Up for a challenge? For winemakers as much as wine drinkers, getting a handle on a mercurial grape such as Roussanne isn't easy. But wherever it's grown, when the balance is right, it truly repays the effort
Napa Cabernet 2021
There's a lot of excitement about this vintage, in which conditions were relatively calm and temperatures stable through summer. Ongoing drought reduced yields but intensified flavours, but it means quantities are down and you may need to act fast to secure top wines. Our Napa correspondent selects 60 great wines from more than 500 that he tasted, with many very high scores
10 reason to discover Uruguay
Squeezed between Brazil and Argentina on the Atlantic coast, Uruguay has mostly flown under the tourist radar - until now. Once dubbed 'the Switzerland of the Americas', it's a welcoming country that has much to offer the travelling wine lover
Leo Erazo
The old vines and special terroir of Itata, southern Chile, have beena source of inspiration for this intrepid winemaker. The 2023 fires were a setback, but his commitment to this ancient wine land is undiminished
