Early drinking vs. Longer term aging of wines

What are the characteristics that differentiate between the two?

Is it ph, tannins, brix?

What is it that I should look for that will tell me to let a particular wine sit for 5+yrs or to just drink it at 1yr?

Mainly I'm talking about. Reds, but I. Know some whites like chardonnay and chenin blanc can age a little while too.

Brix is the measurement of sugar content in the fruit and the ph will not change "not to my knowledge anyway" feel free to correct me if I'm wrong anyone? But through the aging process - better mouthfeel and aroma and the tannin get more time to all come together

And of course if the alcohol content is low ya better drink up the abv usually determines if it's a quick drinking wine or one that will age properly

It is (mostly) all about the tannins, my friend and not so much about PH or Brix/ABV.

If your wine is tasting sharp or bitter (too tannic), then it would be a fine candidate for long term ageing.

Without getting too technical...tannins are a good thing in that they are antioxidants that are a big part of a healthy wine that does not oxidize.

Tannins bond to O2 that might be present in wine to form sediment that simply falls out of the wine in the form of potassium bitartrate (or cream of tartar). If you have ever noticed a dark crystalline sediment that seems to cling to the inside of a wine bottle, it is most likely potassium bitartrate.

When you long term age a wine in a corked bottle, a tiny,microscopic, amount of O2 will seep through the cork. This "Micro Oxidation" will then bond to the tannins, nulling them out, and make your wine taste softer and less bitter.

So, in short, long term aging will benefit a wine with a strong tannic structure. Without a strong tannic structure the improvement potential of a wine is sharply reduced.

Thanks for the replies!

What JohnT said, although I might add that I have read that wines with 14% ABV or higher can be too volatile for long-term storage. I have a couple of batches from last fall that will be good test cases, but too early to tell.