Building up a cellar.

The art of aging wines

 

Building up a cellar is not an easy task, first of all you must have a decent place that fulfill the following requirements :

  • The right temperature and stable. (12ºC to 14ºC)

  • No light

  • No vibration

  • Right humidity (65% to 75%)

If your future or existing cellar already has the right temperature, somewhere around 12ºC to 14ºC, then you are lucky. It is common to control and adjust wine cellar temperature with electrical motor, especially to achieve stability.

It might sounds surprising to many, but it is widely recognized that light affect wine quality and it can spoil the quality of your wines, consequently avoid keep your wines in a bright room! As you have probably noticed a significant amount of great a wines are using dark glass bottle, and most of the top wines will be protected by some sort of some light protecting paper. Effectively, it may look elegant and sleek but it will will also avoid to damage the label and more importantly it will diminish the light intensity for the wine.

Thus, wines such as La Nieta, Los Yelsones de Cuentaviñas o Lalama de Dominio do Bibei will always carry this kind of protection!

 

Vibrations are also something to care about as they will harm your lovely bottles. And finally humidity is a parameter you want to keep a eye on! Absolutely, as you might expect we have entered in many cellars and there is nothing worse than a damp cellar, that generally develops mould and that specific smell. the relative humidity of you cellar should be around 65% to 75%. Dry conditions will dry corks, and damp/wet conditions will damage labels, boxes and surely the wines.

 

Now comes the exciting part : choosing your wines!

First of all, you don’t have to acquire only expensive wines. Bodegas y Viñedos Valderiz yields an extraordinay “joven” from Tempranillo/tinta del Pais. No oak treatment, just good quality grapes and a wine that cost less than 6 euros. Yes! I always keep a few bottles of this one . It is usually a bit rustic in its youth, but shows its best after after 2/3 years.

Another one many wouldn’t expect to age well is : Beaujolais. I admit “Morgon Vieilles Vignes” is not the conventional beaujolais, but for less than 20 euros this bottle will amaze you after 5/8 years. Jean Paul Brun is a great winemaker, that focuses on making great and fine wines.

One of Marcos Eguren Flagship wines from La Rioja, more specifically, San Vicente is a good keeper. The first noticeable changes will occur 5 years after the vintage, but they would keep easily up to 20 years!

Another tempranillo based wine is Neo, from Ribera del Duero. It is exclusively produced from old vines and it needs at least 8/10 years to be fully understood. It is actually one of my favorite.

Last but not the least, is Tokaji 5 Puttonyos from Chateau Pajzos. The 2016 is certainly highly enjoyable right now, but you can be sure to enjoy them in 30 years too! but you do not have to wait that long… A legendary wine, sweet but not cloying with a complexity that will blow your mind if you are capable of keeping them a few years.

 

If you are interested in building up a cellar, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help you.

Cheers,