There is something magical about opening a birth-year wine, Mark Henderson writes.
The fluid inside is a time capsule, representing a snapshot of history.
As you pour a glass you can ponder the events that made the history books that year and spare a thought for the unknown hands that snipped the grape bunches off a vine, which became the liquid in your glass.
Not every year is a good one: the quality and (crucial to this discussion) cellaring potential can vary markedly from vintage to vintage so seek good advice and choose wisely.
Also; the majority of the wines in your local supermarket or bottle store are meant to be drunk early and are not contenders for long-term cellaring.
Age in itself does not bestow greatness. It is worth remembering that many of the most age-worthy wines will not be released until several years after the vintage. Many are likely to be relatively expensive.
The English had a tradition of ''laying down a pipe of port'' from a youngster's birth year, though with a pipe (from the Portugese word for barrel) of port being roughly 550 litres or 60 dozen this is beyond the budget and storage space of most of us.
Storing magnums (double-sized 1.5-litre bottles) is a great option for long-term cellaring and there are far more of them available nowadays.
There is less likelihood that you will accidentally open a magnum you had really planned to keep, and how often do you get to say that bigger really is better?
If you plan to keep a bottle for 18, 20, 21 or more years then it absolutely must be stored in a cool, dark and vibration-free environment; the wine rack above the fridge just isn't going to cut the mustard.
For the mythical 20-year-old, born in 1995, here are three wines from the cellar.
Purchase price: $39 (circa 2004 in Australia)
Current price: N/A as vineyard was sold
Rating: Very good
Spices, herbs, stewed apple and lemony citrus; perhaps custard apple.
Marked acidity at first.
Quite vinous rather than fruit-driven, with beeswax and a slightly medicinal note finishing with hints of damp straw.
This fleshes out with time become richer and the acidity softening developing nice persistence and length.
No website available
Purchase price: $35.35 (En Primeur in 1998)
Current price: Subsumed into its neighbour in 2009(around $80)
Rating: Very good
Relatively shy on the nose at first.
Remarkably rich and ripe palate for its age, with notes of leaf and chocolate and edging savoury rather than sweet.
Quite a bit of tannic grip here still.
Fine and elegant with a bright lift to the finish.
This develops some astringency with aeration.
Purchase price: $130(circa 2010)
Current price: N/A in NZ (current vintage £360 in the UK)
Rating: Very good
Sweet nose with a burnt touch.
Spicy and savoury with a little oxidative hint.
Lovely richness on the palate with an earthy/woodsy element and the spirit evident.
This is the epitome of mellow with that savoury/tangy undercurrent giving lift.
Not the greatest vintage port but wine to luxuriate in nevertheless.
