&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been holding these wines for years,&rdquo; my dad tells me excitedly as we hurry toward the basement to grab some liquid goodies for our Christmas dinner. &ldquo;1995. French,&rdquo; he assures me. Sounds promising. Images of Burgundy Corton or Bordeaux Latour dance like sugar plums in my head. He reaches into the bar and pulls out a bottle. It&rsquo;s a 1995&hellip; Beaujolais. My heart sinks. I know it won&rsquo;t be good but I humor him hoping for a Christmas miracle. Instead, we got Christmas vinegar.

You may be asking yourself, &ldquo;Why? Don&rsquo;t all wines get better with age?&rdquo; The answer, alas, is no. Only one percent (yes I said it, only one percent!) of wines age. The rest are made to drink in the first 3-5 years. And as producers scramble more and more to cater to consumer tastes, because who has patience anymore these days, the number could become even less. Don&rsquo;t worry, you and my father are not the only ones who didn&rsquo;t know this. I didn&rsquo;t know it myself until I began studying for my sommelier exams, where it was one of the first things they taught us because so few people do. So how do you avoid your own wine disaster and vinegar puckered face in the scene I described above? Read the following tips.

&nbsp;

Red Wines that Age

The skins of grapes contain tannins. Tannins cause a dry, astringent quality that sucks all the moisture out of your mouth when you drink certain wines. They are also the reason red wine often pairs with fatty meats. The fat makes the tannins feel less harsh, and the tannins make the fat feel less greasy. Tannins also contain natural preservatives so wines with a very high level of tannin age longer.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a very small grape so the skin to fruit ratio is much higher than other varieties. Therefore, it&rsquo;s a great grape to age. Merlot, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, and Pinot Noir are other grapes that can age if (and this is a big IF) the winemakers choose to make the wine in a style of higher tannin. They can do this by picking the grapes earlier and letting the juice sit on the skins for prolonged periods.

The regions that usually have wines that age are: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Barolo, Chianti Classico, Super Tuscans, California Cabs from Napa, Sonoma, or Santa Cruz Mountains, and Australian Shiraz.

High end producers in these regions make wines that are extremely tight and tannic upon release. You do not want to drink them right away. If you taste a bunch of new release Bordeaux your tongue quickly feels like sand paper. Take my word for it, it is not a pleasant experience. These producers make wines specifically to age. The fascination is that only old wines develop tertiary notes of mushroom, cigar smoke, leather and deep earth. I know these may not sound intriguing on the page but in the glass an old Bordeaux is so beautiful it can make you cry. After tasting a 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, I literally did.

High end producers chase this experience of beauty in a bottle. To do this, they buy the best land, pick only the best grapes, and use the most expensive oak barrels. Oak also contains its own tannins that help wine age. All of these things are expensive, however, so a good rule of thumb if you&rsquo;re aging a wine is to first check the region, then the price. If the region is correct, but the price is $25, it&rsquo;s not going to age. Stick to wines that are $50 and up when it comes to purchasing to age. $100 is even better.

White Wines that Age

Much fewer white wines age. This is because the wines are pressed right away and have less skin contact with tannins. The most likely white grape to age is Chardonnay, and a lot of this has to do with the fact it&rsquo;s often aged in oak. White Burgundies and California Chards often age well, or wines from the Jura in France because they are made in an oxidative style. This means they are intentionally exposed to oxygen during fermentation, something that is usually a huge no-no. Oxygen gives wines a nutty flavor that can be interesting and, when made in this manner are able to withstand the oxygen encountered over years of aging. Roussanne and Marsanne from the Rhone in France are other possible aging contenders, or Greco de Tufo from Italy.

Usually, whites will not age as long as reds, however. On average, I wouldn&rsquo;t let a white age for more than 20 years. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule but it&rsquo;s a gamble. I once had a 1972 Greco de Tufo by Mastroberardino that blew my socks off, but it tasted more sherry-like and nutty so be prepared. A lot of people like to experiment with very old Chardonnays from the 1970&rsquo;s. This is always interesting because some wines are still kicking, but a lot are nearing the grave. Hold these wines at your own risk.

&nbsp;

Price Point

I&rsquo;m going to hit this one more time. Wines at the grocery store do not age. This is what happened in the story at the top with my father. Someone probably picked him up a decent Beaujolais for $25, and if they had drunk it that night it would&rsquo;ve been great. But it&rsquo;s made from the Gamay grape that has very little skin contact or oak and is fashioned to be drunk young. (They even make a category called Beaujolais Nouveau that is meant to drink immediately after harvest).

A $40 Bordeaux will not age, either. In this case, the producer made a choice to cater to the crowd that wants to drink now, and made a lighter fruitier style with less oak or skin contact. There is nothing wrong with drinking these wines, they just can&rsquo;t age.

Here is a list of producers I recommend for aging. This is not an all-inclusive list, just a few I recommend.

<ul>
	<li>Bordeaux: Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Calon Segur, Cos d&rsquo;Estournal, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Haut Brion, Phelan Segur, Leoville Las Cases, Lynch Bages</li>
	<li>Burgundy: Domaine de la Romanee Conti, l&rsquo;Enfant Jesus by Bouchard Pere &amp; Fils, Hospices de Beaune, Georges Latour</li>
	<li>Rhone: Jean-Louis Chave, E. Guigal, Jaboulet, Beaucastel</li>
	<li>Super Tuscans: Sassicaia, Tignanello, Brancaia, Ornellaia, Le Macchiole, Luce</li>
	<li>Cabs from California: Bond, Harlan Estate, Diamond Creek, Mount Eden, Ridge Montebello, Stag&rsquo;s Leap</li>
	<li>Cabernet from Lebanon: Chateau Musar (a personal favorite of mine)</li>
	<li>Australian Shiraz: Penfold&rsquo;s Grange, d&rsquo;Arenberg</li>
</ul>

Not all wines are meant to age. Deciding on when to enjoy a wine often comes down to the region, varietal and price point.

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Grace Hood

Et Voila

Et Voila

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where, in each episode,&nbsp;we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grace Hood, wine educator and certified sommelier. Hello Grace,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s great to have you!

GH: Bonjour Robert!

RT : Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules. We created CorkRules to demystify wine lists because we know from experience, that sometimes when we get that&nbsp; list handed to us, well&hellip; it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list. Alright Grace what are we chatting about today?

GH: Today we are deep diving into the wine list for a fabulous French Bistro here in San Diego &ndash; Et Voila!

RT: Et Voila! Love the name. You must have been excited to talk about this list, because I know you&rsquo;re a big French wine girl&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

GH: Hey it&rsquo;s in my blood Robert! I can&rsquo;t help but love French everything haha&nbsp;

RT: I know I kid I Kid. So what is their wine list concept?

GH: It&rsquo;s strictly French and American actually! But it&rsquo;s a nice m&eacute;dium sized list so lots of great options

RT:Shall we start with sparkling then?

GH: Absolutmont! Hahah for my fans of bubbles, they have some classic producers. I would go with either Chauvet Grand Cru Rose, or the Bosser Premi&egrave;re Cru Blanc de Blanc&nbsp; 

RT: Love trying those smaller boutique producers from champagne. Nice to see they have that representation on their list. Now what are you thinking for whites Grace?

GH: If you&rsquo;re looking for something light and aromatic, I would grab either the 2018 Schlumberger Pinot Gris from Alsace, or the 2019 Domaine Girault Sancerre from the Loire Valley.

RT: Oh those both sound right up your alley Grace hahah and I assume they have some killer chardonnays, being in California and all

GH: They absolutely do Robert -&nbsp; If you&rsquo;re wanting some French Chardonnay out of Burgundy I would go with the 2018 Olivier Le Flavie from the Cote de Beaune. And for my California Chardonnay drinkers the 2018 Antica from Napa valley 

RT: Love the sound of either of those. So how are they looking for red wines?

GH: Killer selection of reds! Starting with the light aromatic Styles aka pinot noir haha &ndash; you could do a 2012 Tawse Premier Cru Nuit St George, or if you wanted a california pinot, the 2016 Patz and Hall from Russian River Valley 

RT: Pinot fo sho hahaa what about something more medium bodied?

GH: This is where they really shine. Their selection of right Bordeauxs as well as cote du rhones are Mwah chef&rsquo;s kiss. You could do the 2012 Chateau Certan de May from Pomerol, or the 2013 J Vidal Fluerie Cote Rotie 

RT : Oh I know those styles are two of your favorites. Maybe we can get Et Voila to ship us two for our next content shoot hahah now if this is any indication of their quality, I can&rsquo;t wait to hear what they have for bigger bolder reds

GH: They did not disappoint in that &aacute;rea robert. They&rsquo;ve got a 2011 Chateau Guaraud Larose from St. Julien. And for my california cabernet drinkers &ndash; a 2018 Chimney Rock Stags Leap from Napa.

RT: Yup that&#39;ll do Grace that&#39;ll do hahah what are you picks for our friends who are looking to get some great wine but not break the bank?

&nbsp;

GH: Great thing is that a lot of the et voila wines are very affordable. But my choice for White would be the 2020 Picpoul from Bertrand Terroir, and my wallet friendly red would be the 2015 Chateau Mouton from Graves 

&nbsp;

RT: Love those two. And how about our friends who are celebrating an anniversary or want to impress some business associates?

GH: Oh man my go big or go home choices would have to be 2004 Pommery Cuvee Louise Champagne. And for a red, the 2013 Echeaxeaux Grand Cru Marchand from Cote de Nuit

RT: Merci beaucoup haha - Grace, thank you so much for helping us navigate the wine list at Et Voila.&nbsp; To our audience, Thank you all for Joining us here on CorkRules.&nbsp; If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">Info@</a><a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">CorkRules</a><a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.Com">.Com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists. Follow us on social media @CorkRules and @wineswithgrace

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

&nbsp;

Thank you.

&nbsp;

End

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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Personalized Wine Recommendations From Your Favorite Restaurants

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Dirty French Wines from Savoie

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