Something that I omitted to mention in the wrap-up of the 2010 Pinots was that several bottles had on the back label words to the effect of: 'Cellar for up to 5-7 years'. The winemakers saw no reason to age them excessively.
I have subscribed to Main Ridge Estate, the pioneer of the Mornington Peninsula GI, for many years. I recall being at the winery one day some years ago talking with Nat White, the founder, and I made some comment about aging the wines. Nat is a deep thinker of very quiet demeanour. His reaction was essentially a very understated: 'why?'.
It reminded me of being a callow student and standing in front of the Esteemed Prof and being asked - far less gently - to justify my question or comment.
Err, err - 'Because that's what everyone says is what ought to be done.' This was not going to cut the mustard with Nat (or the Prof for that matter. This was the days well before Snowflakes, I might add...).
Err, err - 'Nat, isn't the weather great today' (something remarkable for the Mornington - that bit's a joke peeps!
) was probably my erudite response as I cringed into my hole. He was the most subtle and incisive 'Prof' I think I've encountered. I simply had no answer for his (seemingly) very simple question. But it was the wry smile and gentle tone that sent JohnM into his (familiar
) C-student territory.
Sure, Pinot with its high acidity will last a long time. But is longevity the point? The wines will still be good, but do you want the vibrancy gone
? I don't. Nor, I think, do the winemakers when they suggest up to 5-7 year drinking windows.
All those 2010s were still absolutely sound because of their (noticeably) high acidity - but, as I said, they had lost distinctiveness. A blind tasting would have found a very flat field. Broadly speaking, while pleasure remained, any real excitement had gone. OK, maybe they had gone into the supposed 'dumb' stage and maybe 2010 was not considered a particularly good vintage (I haven't checked that) - but vintage variation in Aus/NZ is generally nothing like dodgy Europe.
Now, varieties with high phenolics (Cab Sauv, Shiraz), are a different matter. They take more time to soften and settle. However, modern winemaking techniques mean that you don't have to wait a substantial proportion of your lifetime to get them to a drinkable state.
Ducking for cover...
