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Wines with Age

Wines with Age

Wines with Age

If you spend even a single day talking to an experienced wine enthusiast, the topic of vintages will come up. Every producer will create a slightly different mixture each year because the conditions change. Completely unpredictable weather scenarios can affect the yearly grape harvest and alter the taste and texture of the wine. As a result, every brand comes with recommended years or best vintages. In a way, it takes a miracle to create the best possible wine because many factors have to align. Sampling a vintage gives you an insight into the weather patterns and other natural conditions of that given year – it’s like receiving visions of the past, and can hold great sentimental value if the year is otherwise important to you.

Not every wine is made to last a century, which means you have to search very carefully. A truly great wine stands out instantly, as it’s complex and subtle enough to rival the most intricate paintings and classical compositions. The flavors develop and evolve over time, creating a colorful collage of scents that perfume your mouth and spirit, leaving an emotional, rich aftertaste. It becomes incredibly hard to stop at one glass, believe us.

Being able to pick out wines is a skill that requires years to fully develop, much like the wines themselves. Acidic wines, ones with residual sugar, and precisely tuned alcohol levels tend to mature much better than their ordinary counterparts. Good things come to those who wait, and there is no better example than finely-aged wine. Let us guide you through some choice picks, wines that will give your collection more longevity, so that you may one day tell stories to your children about life-defining moments that sprouted from these fertile elixirs.
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1996 ausone Bordeaux Red

I do not understand the critics of Alain Vautier, who now has sole control of Ausone and is taking the estate’s quality to a higher level. Moreover, the wine is consistent, with great depth and richness on the mid-palate, without sacrificing Ausone’s 40-50+ years of longevity. As I suspected, the 1996 is beginning to shut down. I left it in the glass for nearly 30 minutes and was impressed with the nuances that developed. The color is a dense ruby/black/purple. Reluctant aromas of blueberries, blackberries, minerals, flowers, truffles, and subtle new oak eventually emerge. Elegant on the attack, with sweet ripeness, and a delicate, concentrated richness, the hallmark of this wine is subtlety rather than flamboyance. A sweet mid-palate sets it apart from many of the uninspiring Ausones of the eighties and seventies. The wine is stylish, and presently understated, with tremendous aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2040.Robert Parker | 93 RPThe 1996 Ausone is a vintage that I have tasted on four or five occasions. This was similar to previous examples with a very floral and outgoing bouquet, those wilted violet petals infusing the boysenberry and blueberry fruit, quite glossy in style, one of the most modern of that decade. It certainly has more intensity than earlier vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet and ripe tannin, impressive acidity and weight although it does not revel in the complexity of other vintages, perhaps because the growing season did not favour the Right Bank. There is a touch of headiness on the finish that is a little otiose but otherwise this is a thoroughly enjoyable Ausone. Tasted at the Ausone vertical in London.Vinous Media | 92 VMComplex aromas of blackberry, coffee, cedar and lightly grilled meat. Full-bodied and very structured, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Slightly hollow center palate.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

94
RP
As low as $715.00
1995 ausone Bordeaux Red

Flower and berry character, with hints of clove and black pepper. Full-bodied and very rich, with decadent flavors. Oozes with ripe fruit. Goes on and on. Fabulous.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.Wine Spectator | 96 WSAusone’s extraordinary minerality is present in the 1995, yet there are more aromatics, a richer, more multidimensional palate impression, and a fuller texture - all with the terroir brilliantly expressed. The wine boasts a dense ruby/purple color and an emerging but tightly-knit nose of spring flowers, minerals, earth, and black fruits. Rich, with an opulent texture and surprising sexiness for a young vintage of Ausone, the medium-bodied 1995 displays exquisite balance between its acid, tannin, alcohol, and fruit. Although it is not yet seamless, all the elements are present for an extraordinary evolution in the bottle. This wine will age at a glacial pace for 30-40 years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2045. Last tasted, 3/01.Robert Parker | 93 RPDeep violet-tinged ruby. Lively cassis, black cherry, tobacco and smoky oak aromas. Lush and dense, though a bit shocked by the bottling. Combines the penetrating, juicy quality and class of previous vintages of this wine with the more opulent texture and suaver tannins craved by so many of today Bordeaux lovers. May well eventually merit a higher score, but will it surpass the ’96?Vinous Media | 92+ VM

96
WS
As low as $750.00

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