Fine wine’s alchemical transformation with years of bottle aging is the thing which separates it from any other alcohol. Even single malt scotch, wine’s only rival in complexity department, fails on this point: once it’s in the bottle, it does not evolve.
Last week, I wrote about one of my own DIY cellaring projects. I realize that not everyone has this kind of patience (or the space). Thankfully, there are still a number of ways to skip the creeping process of maturing wine and move directly to the instant gratification involved in drinking it.
The best method is mooching off of a rich, elderly benefactor with an ancestral collection of fine wines. I am currently taking applications for this position: matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca.
The second best way (as I have mentioned before) is to join a fine wine club, like the Toronto Vintners Club or the Amici dell’ Enotria in Ottawa. These clubs do all the aging for you; all you have to do is show up. If you are not sure of how to find a wine club in your community, check out this website.
Last week, I attended an event at the Winetasters Society of Toronto dedicated to well-aged Australian Shiraz. I was eager for this tasting because I generally don’t like Aussie Shiraz — it comes on strong and has too much alcohol — but I wanted to see what five to ten years in the cellar would do.
It was a thrilling tasting. Although many of the wines were moderately priced, age had eased their extremes and drawn out the latent beauty of the grape. The highlight of the evening was tasting two different vintages of the same fantastic wine, the legendary Elderton Command Shiraz:
- Elderton 2004 Command Shiraz ($89.95, Australia, Vintages #716412)
At five years old, the 2004 vintage is just hitting its peak. The price may seem a little steep, but this is an Olympian god among wines made with 100-year-old low-yield vines. Rich, dense berry flavours shoot like a geyser out of the glass, accompanied by hints of violets, chocolate and some maple sap. This wine is so intense that it reminded me of a port; to drink it properly, you need a rare steak as a chaser. 94/100. - Elderton 1999 Command Shiraz (unavailable)
A world-class Shiraz like Elderton is supposed to be able to age for two decades or more, but many of the most experienced regulars at Winetasters judged this wine to be over the hill, even though it’s only ten years old. I disagreed, but even I admit that it’s so laid-back it that you can barely hear it breathing, and it shouldn’t be aged for much longer. Whereas the 2004 is full of sturm und drang, time has blessed the 1999 vintage with remarkable subtlety and complexity. It’s spicy and savoury quality is exactly what good Australian Shiraz should be. Hip-hip for well-aged wine! 92/100.
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column also appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca . Follow along on Twitter: @shortcellar.