Does this need air? I am afraid of giving a twenty year old wine much aeration, but as this is the current release; I am guessing this wine is merely at the begining of a long stage of maturity rather then the end. How much air can I give this bottle without fatiguing the wine before I finish drinking it over the course of 3-4 hours?
Was at a tasting with Maria Lopez de Heredia earlier this year, and I know she mentioned that she recommends never decanting ANY of her wines. Forget the exact reasoning, but something along the lines of the wines are so old and deprived of air, giving them too much at one time could be detrimental.
Hi Scott,
With all due respect to the lovely ladies at Lopez de Heredia, I would certainly decant the 1991 Tondonia Reserva Blanco for at least an hour- it will only be beginning to blossom at that point in time. The 1991 Blanco is not a mature wine, but a young wine that will still be tight and snappy- the '64 is at its zenith of peak maturity right now and the 1991 is still a puppy by comparison. It is a great wine, but do not hesitate to give it plenty of air to allow it to fully blossom in the glass.
All the Best,
John
Thank you! I can’t wait to try it!
I agree with John, but I would give it only an hour and at cellar temp. I believe the wine is Viura/Malvasia and there is a lot going on with the nose and too much air and too cold will rob you of some killer aromatics.
I think an hour is probably good. I would definitely decant anyway, for sediment, etc. Just had this about a month ago and it was in a pretty good place. Showed its best after being open 2+ hours in.
1 hour it is! Thanks everybody!
I can’t believe I have never tried these wines before, especially with my addiction to Spanish foods.
Scott - for my 2 cents, here’s another take.
If you drink the wines with the owners, they don’t decant the wines. You sit there and drink them over a few hours maybe, and the wines change, but you see the changes yourself, first hand. I’m a fan of that approach. I never decant a wine unless I’ve had it myself numerous times and know for a fact that it merits a decanting.
If you don’t know the wine, don’t you want to learn for yourself? Open the bottle, pour a glass, sit with it for a while, and see what you have. In some cases, like trying to fly by flapping your arms after jumping off a cliff, we profit from the mistakes of others. But this is wine. We won’t crash and die if we make a mistake. And “mistake” is relative - you may find that you like the wine a lot fresh out of the chute.
So I’m not denigrating the suggestions of anyone else here. And I know you asked for opinions in your first post. But their experience isn’t yours. In a way, it’s like serving a wine you never tried but telling someone that it’s really good because it got a high score from someone. You may want to find out firsthand whether or not you think the LdH or any other wine needs decanting. If you don’t find out for yourself, you never really know.
Cheers!
I enjoyed the 1990 last week at Bayona in NOLA. Mature aromas and flavors combined with with youthful energy and verve to make it enjoyable right out of the bottle.
What he said, although I often do as Greg suggested as well. The wine is still getting the air in both cases, but going through the changes with wines that you are certain will open in several hours can be great fun. I am still hanging onto a 1964 Gran Reserva Blanco. I think John’s recommended drinking window on that one is 2020-2070!
Nothing wrong with that approach. Indeed, it can be fun and illuminating to watch a wine evolve in the glass. In general though, I am much more about the destination then the journey. If a wine is going to improve with aeration, I would much rather drink it after it has had the opportunity to blossom then discover it’s brilliance only after I have polished off most of the bottle. An experience I have had far too many times. If I have the time, I generally decant all my wines. If the wine isn’t too old to handle it, I figure the upside is huge and the downside is virtually non-existent.
Hi, the current release reserva blanco is the '92 as far as I know.
Best,
N
Though I don’t know this wine…used to love their wines, but lost touch…I’d make sure to taste at that hour’s end, because, if it isn’t showing its stuff, you might want to add quite a bit more…so, hopefully, you’ll start well enough ahead of planned drinking.
To each their own, but I definitely think that this is a “journey” wine and not a “destination” wine. It’s not that the wine is simply closed down when poured, and then improves over the next hour or so…it’s more complex than that, in my opinion. The '89 that I enjoyed last dramatically changed profiles over the course of a couple of hours, but was quite enjoyable right out of the bottle. You won’t go wrong having this decanted for an hour or so, but I think you’ll miss out on seeing how it transforms.
I’ve had the 1990 several times, and it’s always improved with considerable air. It puts on weight and a wonderful waxy/oily texture. I also thing this wine serves better colder than I typically enjoy my rich whites.
Although I wouldn’t decant, just open it in advance. Or if you’re that kind of person, leave it in the fridge for the night and try it on the second day, the oxidative notes are beautiful on the second day. By the third day they’re always dead.
This definitely benefits from a few hours of air. I tried it straight out of the bottle (OK), through the next two hours (getting better), then the next night (singing beautifully).
I quite agree. But that’s most likely because I’m more a “journey” than “destination” wine drinker.