Have you ever come across a bottle of wine that needs a week to open-up? Well I did. Prior to heading on vacation, I opened a bottle of Argiano Non Confunditur 2007. This wine is a Super Tuscan with a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 20% Syrah, and 20% Sangiovese. It was Wine Spectator's #80 for 2009.
On February 16th I opened the wine and it had some nice red fruit, plum and black currant aromas and flavors with an herbal backing. However, the tannins still seemed a bit powerful and the wine a little austere. My husband and I each had a glass and then re-corked it and put it in the fridge. Upon returning from vacation on February 25th we let the wine come to room temperature and then poured a glass. Voila! Now this was much better! The tannins softened, the fruit was more expressive and the acidity was in balance. There seemed to be a complex bottle age bouquet--the smells that come from gradual oxidation--versus just grape aromas. A smoky, cedar, earthiness developed in the wine as well as more refined fruit flavors.
In summary, sometimes you can speed the aging process of a young, tannic red wine by opening it, re-corking it and placing it in a cool, dry environment for a week. A fun and informative experiment is to taste a wine each night over a 5-7 day period and record notes on color, aromas, and flavors to see how the wine changes over time and with oxygen exposure. Pick up a bottle of the Argiano NC and see for yourself.
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