A vaulted cellar, serried ranks of dusty bottles gaining in profundity, exclusivity and value with the passage of time, as the mysterious alchemy that is ageing transforms humble bottles into things of wonderment.
It's an image many hold dear, tied to the widely held belief that all wine will age: sadly, the opposite is more the case.
A small percentage of wines will cellar magnificently, the vast majority, however, the ones that fill the shelves of our major retailers, are intended to be enjoyed in their youth.
They are produced to be supple, fruit driven, approachable: appealing from the moment the cap comes off and all the better for it.
People can be wary of something that doesn't improve, but remember: a bottle of wine; even the finest, is 750ml of fermented grape juice.
It is a beverage meant to be enjoyed, rather than idolised.
Wine enthusiasts love potential and ''wine club'' selections are a case in point.
The accompanying notes for the youngest of wines are full of creative comments like ''drink 2015-16''.
They deftly couch immediacy in terms of potential but what they are really saying is ''DRINK NOW!''
In the past, many of the most age-worthy wines were punishingly hard to drink in their youth: tougher than old boots.
Sometimes: the passage of time showed that the boots had softened up, the wine never did.
Today, even the most age-worthy wines show remarkable drinkability in their youth, while hinting at their potential, dazzling complexity.
Many of us live in a time-poor world where instant gratification rules the day: perhaps Queen were remarkably prescient in 1989 when they sang ''I want it all, and I want it now''.
If that takes wine off a pedestal and puts it on the dinner table, then that's a good thing.
Price: RRP $17.99(but cheaper on special)
Rating: Very good
Clearly Chardonnay on the nose. Nectarine, some tropical fruit, a whisper of vanilla and hints of tutti frutti bubble gum with aeration.
An understated wine but with very good flavour persistence and length.
Creamy palate with tangy grapefruit on the finish.
A refreshing style: not for fans of the big oaky, buttery genre.
www.teawa.com/pages/left-field
Price: Around $25
Rating: Excellent
Lemon, lime and orange citrus fruits.
Vanillan oak with a touch of spice.
Fresh and bracing on opening but this opens up and develops fatness, with oatmeal biscuit coming through.
Citrus comes through again on the finish.
Quite a complex wine in a finer-boned style.
Price: RRP $32.99 (south of $30 on special)
Rating: Good
Toasty oak, smoky, grilled nuts with marked matchstick (sulphide) notes.
Still quite tight with stonefruit flavours: the fruit density doesn't quite match the power of the nose.
A nice carry of flavours, however, with a citrusy finish.
May need to integrate further: for now the sulphides tend to dominate the wine.
