Thank you both, Nils and Ian

--



"Ian Hoare" > wrote in message
...
> Salut/Hi Cygnus,
>
> le/on Sun, 27 Feb 2005 01:11:48 -0500, tu disais/you said:-
>
> >Hi Everyone,
> >
> >I don't think I've posted in this group before, but enjoying reading it
> >quite a bit. I was surprised to read the post below that a 30 year old
> >Riesling could not only be good, but in this case great. I thought white
> >wines were usually consumed young - is that true most of the time?
>
> Many more white wines can be drunk with some bottle age than you might
> think. It's a common truism that red wines need age and white wines don't.
> Like all truisms, there is a basis of fact.
>
> OK. As a general rule, sweet wines not only live a long time, but many,
> especially those whose sweetness comes from "Noble Rot" (aka botrytis),
> improve dramatically. No, let's be more precise. They _change_
dramatically,
> losing fresh fruitiness, and gaining depth and complexity. Young sweet
> botrytised wines are so delicious that it is unfair only to say that they
> _improve_.
>
> Sweet white wines whose sweetness comes about because the grapes are dried
> by letting them hang on the vine a long time, or because the wine maker
has
> stopped their fermentation by adding alcohol, are less imporoved by age,
in
> general. (In reds of that type, don't forget port).
>
> Amongst European dry whites, some demand aging, notably the classic whites
> made from Chardonnay in Burgundy, and the wines made from the Chenin Blanc
> on the Loire and the great Rhine, Mosel, Saar and Ruwer wines. Lesser
wines
> can take more aging than you might think, but may not necessarily be
> improved by it. I think it's true to say that Italian whites resist aging
> less well as they lose the fresh attractiveness they have when young,
> without gaining much complexity. But I'd suggest that even from Italy
there
> are VERY few wines which won't keep a couple of years.
>
> >Thanks for educating me =)
>
> Hope the above continues the process.
>
> --
> All the Best
> Ian Hoare
> http://www.souvigne.com
> mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website