Old wines be able to the perfect example of the pleasure represent. But it’s not safe to say flatly that a wine gains at complexity and refinement with the age. The quality classification of the wine rather is with old wines of decisive significance for the ageing potential. Old wines are just very in demand at solemn occasions like birthdays, jubilees, weddings and taste to. These year wines always represent a terrific gift for the celebrator. It gives some old wines these are well suitable for a bottle storage. Straight balderdash from Bordeaux can improve their performance to potential with the old age. It has to be taken care here, though, that the old wines are classified well weighted balderdash. A Bordeaux Superior will profit from the storage for only a short time on the other hand maturing Lafite Rothschild or Chateau Petrus very well.
Another point for the storability is always the quality of the year. Old wines profit from bottle storage mainly how within very qualitative years like 1945, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1975, 1982, 1990 and 2005. Within weaker years the potential has limited itself for some few years. One can acquire further old wines from the Burgundy very well. Burgundies are probably definitely less delicate, straight in weaker vintage years. Today, so one still can drink old wines with pleasure from the 1940s years. Often there are burgundies from the time before the first World War, always rush about refinement and a complexity which hardly achieve young wines. Moreover, Riesling has a very important role in old wines.
The noble sweet plants from Germany have an enormous ageing potential. Old wines from the Rhine district, the Moselle or the Saar still can be a revelation also after 50 years. The quality step should at least selection (Auslese) however, improve wine of selected grapes (Beerenauslese), special wine of selected grapes (Trockenbeerenauslese) or Ice wine (Eiswein) amounting. Only these old wines are suitable for the basement storage and gain by the maturity process. Simply cabinet wines, drink better young and freshly with some exceptions. With end strokes a Spaetlese vintage of a good producer still can be drinkable after over 20 years well, too.
Further old wines very often come from Italy. Baralos, Barbarescos and Brunellos maturing very well. Here is also the producer and the year of the wine vitally important. The wine enthusiast should always administer the year quality of the old wines clear to himself at the sale decision first and watch for his decision after this. The years often vary very much on a European basis, so 1058 was a weak year in France, but in Italy were produced great Barolos especial in Piemont. In 1969 represents a thin, sour year in Bordeaux, against old wines from Burgundy are the refinement and the balance enormous of the ageing potential. However, there also are years like 1945, which produced terrific wines on the complete continent. A good counselling by the wine specialised trade is a quite important constituent at purchase of old wines.
Old wines must always have been stored properly and professionally in her history. This is accelerated if the temperature increases no more than 15 degrees centigrade and the air humidity approximately amounts to 70-75 per cent. Short-term strong fluctuations are more harmful than seasonal fluctuations in the summer or winter. Old wines can show a very high value. Old wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy from good years and well-known producers can cost more than 1000 euros. So about 210.000 euros goes to the owner Hardy Rodenstock, there were paid for a bottle of chateau Lafite Rothschild by the American publisher Forbes to 1787 at an auction of the house Christie in London in 1985, for example. The label carried the original initials of the U.S. president Thomas Jefferson ( 1743 – 1826). Today, this red wine bottle is still regarded as the most expensive red wine of all times.
