Aging Commercial Red Wines

[Raptor99]

Yesterday I found an old bottle of a cheap red blend dated 2015. I know that most commercial wines are designed to be drunk right after purchase, so I decided to open it and see if it was still any good. To my surprise, it was enjoyable. I stopped buying that brand because it wasn't very good, but this was better than I remembered it being. Today I am drinking some more from the bottle in the fridge, and it is even better. Not outstanding, but nice for a cheap wine.

So now I am rethinking aging of commercial reds. It seems to me that reds with a higher tannin level could benefit from 5-10 years of aging. The bottle I opened was stored upright under less than ideal conditions for 5 years, and then in my wine rack with better temperature control. So if I can store commercial reds properly, it seems to me that they might be much better after some aging. Apparently even cheap reds benefit from aging, if they have significant tannins. The SO2 level probably matters as well, and I have no way to know what that is.

What is your practice aging commercial reds? I usually avoid cabs because they have too much tannin for my taste, but now I am thinking that if I get a good deal, I could buy some and let them age for 5+ years.

 

[winemaker81]

I don't age commercial wines for more than a year or so, unless I know the vineyard.

IME you got lucky with that wine. Most will age out in 5 years or less. Many moons ago I was burned on a few wines I tried aging.

Generally speaking, wines with higher levels of alcohol, tannin, acid, and sugar have a greater likelihood of having a longer shelf life. If you buy a tannic CS, your chances for success are higher.

 

[sour_grapes]

Years ago, I did an experiment with aging cheap commercial wines, mostly Merlot and Cab, and were Columbia Crest, Cline, 7 Deadly Zins, and the like. My explict premise was to try to elevate $8 bottles of wine into $10 bottles of wine. I aged them for about 5 years, then drank them over the next 2 years.

The experiment was quite successful, IMHO. The resulting wines were mellow and delicious, and punched above their weight. I only stopped doing this because of the nuisance of keeping track. But I see no downside!

 

[Raptor99]

The experiment was quite successful, IMHO. The resulting wines were mellow and delicious, and punched above their weight. I only stopped doing this because of the nuisance of keeping track. But I see no downside!

It sounds like some experimentation is in order!

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have a four year old apple-crab which had high soft tannin. On year on the tannin balanced at 1.014 back sweetening. The tannins have gotten smoother and overall flavor is holding up. (would need to check acid numbers, seemed I added acid / tried to kill yeast, when taking it out of primary.)

 

[WineHombre]

Cellaring wine is a standard practice amoung wine drinkers/Collectors. Most commercial wines are bottled and sold younger than they really should be so they don't spoil on the store shelves. That is why decanting and aeration is recommended on many of them. There is no reason why you can't cellar and improve most commercial wines. Just want to do it at optimum temp (around 54 degrees) and optimum humidity (between 60 and 70%) to keep the cork from drying out.