Bottle Aging

[Donz]

I have noticed some significant differences and improvements aging my wines in bottle for a significant amount of time after barrel aging. On a regular basis, I empty my barrels, bottle immediately and drink. This method produces a wine that still has very strong aromas and heavy nose. On the other hand, I have stored bottles in my cellar laying flat, bottle aging for a period of 3 months, 6 months, 1 year + etc. I have noticed that the bottle aging really has a nice affect on the wine making it more subtle, approachable and less aromatic.

Just thought I would share this with you guys as I feel that this is an important step in my process going forward. I would like all of my wines to get at least 3 to 9 months of bottle aging before consuming.

Have any of you had similar experiences?

 

[jumby]

Aging makes a huge difference in the taste of your wine. Especially reds! I age my reds for a minimum of 2 years. I have 100's of bottles of red that are 3-4 years old that I feel are just now hitting their stride.

 

[Ajmassa]

I reference this often but I’ll say it again. Winemaking has been a constant throughout my whole life- but the wines were always consumed before 1.5 yrs.
And then a few years back I found an unlabeled discarded bottle accidentally aged about 4 yrs. It was a simple CabSav juice pail- no frills. And I was blown away. Had no idea my wine could get that good. Learned a valuable lesson that day.

 

[cmason1957]

I always think to commercial wineries. What's the year on most of the bottles you see on the shelf right now?? might be some 2016's out there, but nothing less aged than that and very few of those, mostly I see 2015's or older. Theres a reason for that.