Will these drink well now?

kieran hynes

kieran hynes

Location
Bolton
I know that every year when we get a couple of nice days in the UK a thread is started on storage and safe temperature in general, but I'd be grateful if you'd indulge me and perhaps offer your thoughts specifically regarding a few wines.

My storage at home is an area between the hall and garage. It has no external walls and is permanently dark. I wanted to expand my collection and the garage seemed the obvious place. The sun only hits it early in the morning and again, it's dark and I thought quite cool. Just to be on the safe side I stuck a thermometer in there with the intention of leaving it for 7 or 8 months or so to monitor temps first. I checked it the other day and was surprised to find it had actually reached 27c, presumably on the one day a few weeks ago when it was really hot. I've checked since and it's at a much more reasonable 19c most of the time, but I've decided that not only is the garage not going to be suitable, but neither is the storage in the house, as this is likely to be even warmer.

The plan is to drink the 50 or so bottles I have before next summer. Most of what I have in there isn't expensive and I'm sure many on this forum would think of them as every day drinkers rather than bottles to lay down, but there are a few that are a little bit more expensive. Of these wines are there any that are either very robust or aren't approaching their drinking window yet that I really shouldn't touch?

The wines are

2007 C.V.N.E. Vina Real Gran Reserva
2010 Contino Reserve
2006 Muga Prado Enea
2010 Muga Seleccion Especial
2000 Chateau Musar
1998 Chateau Musar
2006 Vina Arana Reserva
2007 Vina Ardanza
2013 Terre Inconnue Bruyeres
2004 TWS Exhibition Gran Reserva

Thanks
 
Gareth Germain

Gareth Germain

Location
London
I wouldn't worry too much given the youth of most of the wines, though perhaps check one of the 06s to see. I would however invest in a wifi temperature gauge. You can get them for £30-50 and they'll give you an insight into what is actually going on every hour across every day and week. That could mean that you can see that only once or twice a year to temps reach the highs you describe or it could show that they do so more often than you hoped. Some insulation on the garage door could solve most of your problems assuming its a standard metal door.
 
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Dave Dewhurst

Dave Dewhurst

Location
Perth, Australia
I agree with the comments above in that I feel wine is a lot more robust that given credit for. While I have some temperature controlled storage here in Perth, I also have a bunch of defenders which sit on wine racks which until last year were uncontrolled during Perth summers, although we now have air con. Some bottles sit there for a couple of years and have been fine and there's always the odd surprise with something that got missed and reached seven or eight years with just the usual expected development noted.

In regard to your wines, I had the Prado Enea 2000 in the last couple of weeks and it is drinking beautifully with some room to go. The 05 was still a puppy a couple of years back and I got a sip of the 2010 last week which is positively embryonic (and gorgeous), so no need to worry there I suspect. I also had the Muga Seleccion Especial although again from a different vintage (2011) and that has miles to go still too.

Cheers

Dave
 
Mahmoud Ali

Mahmoud Ali

Location
Edmonton, Canada
The wines you've listed are likely to be robust enough to withstand your conditions at home. Riojas and Musars are long lasting wines and these ones are still in their adolescence, relatively speaking. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you.

Cheers ………………… Mahmoud.
 
kieran hynes

kieran hynes

Location
Bolton
Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm glad to hear these wines will be fine for a while as I wasn't planning to drink any of them except maybe the Musars for a good while yet, it was just the storage that had me worried and made me think I should maybe drink up to be on the safe side.

Most of the others in there is stuff like Wirra Wirra Church Block ( which I find changes a lot with a few years bottle age ), various Chateau Ollieux Romanis, who I'm a big fan of, a few Guigal Cotes du Rhone and various TWS exhibition wines, so most are only intended for medium term storage anyway.
 
Nick Templeton

Nick Templeton

Location
Lancashire
Kieran, I had a half-bottle of the Musar 1998, a few weeks ago, and it was superb, so no problems drinking it now, although it should be fine for a few more years. Byrne's, in Clitheroe, which is not too far from you, has a decent selection of Musars currently, as well as a huge selection of other wines. I've no connection to them, other then being a regular customer.
 
kieran hynes

kieran hynes

Location
Bolton
Nick Templeton said:
Kieran, I had a half-bottle of the Musar 1998, a few weeks ago, and it was superb, so no problems drinking it now, although it should be fine for a few more years. Byrne's, in Clitheroe, which is not too far from you, has a decent selection of Musars currently, as well as a huge selection of other wines. I've no connection to them, other then being a regular customer.
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My Musar's come from Byrne's actually. Every time I go they seem to have at least a few older vintages in. There seems to be an almost inexhaustible supply of back vintages available. I can't think why, but long may it continue.
 
Ray Queley

Ray Queley

Location
London
Kieran,
I wouldn't worry. For the time period you are aiming to drink within there's no issue.

The Contino 10 is lovely now and will age well. As will the Ardanza 07.
The Musars can be drunk now or kept.

The Prado Enea and the Muga SE need more time, particularly the Prado.
The TWS GR is CVNE I think so that will reward keeping as well and 04 is a vintage that will age very well.

I think your problem is that if you are posting here you will eventually start buying wines that need to be stored for longer.
Perhaps a wine fridge for the future. Save up a few birthday and Christmas vouchers and get one in a couple of years!
 
Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson

Location
Scotland
Ray Queley said:
The TWS GR is CVNE I think so that will reward keeping as well and 04 is a vintage that will age very well.
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I was thinking it may have been LRA as they used them for their Exhibition Rioja GR before, I think.

I've had both these vintages of Musar this year and theyw ere drinking well, but no big rush either. The Arana and Ardanza will be drinking well now as well, based on having more recent vintages.
 
Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson

Location
Scotland
Just had a look on TWS and it seems that the only red Rioja they do under the Exhibition label is a Reserva now, and its from LRA. 100% Tempranillo, 2001 vintage, and £15.50 a bottle. No sight of any Crianza or Gran Reserva under either Exhibition or Society's label.
 
Ray Queley

Ray Queley

Location
London
Paul Anderson said:
Just had a look on TWS and it seems that the only red Rioja they do under the Exhibition label is a Reserva now, and its from LRA. 100% Tempranillo, 2001 vintage, and £15.50 a bottle. No sight of any Crianza or Gran Reserva under either Exhibition or Society's label.
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Yep, that's the Alberdi.
The crianza isn't an exhibition wine just a TWS Rioja iirc.
That is from Palacios.
The most recent GR's were from CVNE.
 
Mahmoud Ali

Mahmoud Ali

Location
Edmonton, Canada
kieran hynes said:
Most of the others in there is stuff like Wirra Wirra Church Block ( which I find changes a lot with a few years bottle age ), various Chateau Ollieux Romanis, who I'm a big fan of, a few Guigal Cotes du Rhone and various TWS exhibition wines, so most are only intended for medium term storage anyway.
Click to expand...
Kieran,

I have a few '01 Church Blocks somewhere in the cellar and they probably do need looking into. As for Guigal's CdR, the 1990, which was a Decanter 4-star cellaring wine, was still alive and well a couple of years ago - it all depends on the vintage.
 
kieran hynes

kieran hynes

Location
Bolton
Ray Queley said:
Yep, that's the Alberdi.
The crianza isn't an exhibition wine just a TWS Rioja iirc.
That is from Palacios.
The most recent GR's were from CVNE.
Click to expand...

Yes, the 2004 GR is from C.V.N.E.

If I remember rightly, it's the exact same wine as their offering, just re-badged as Exhibition as they felt it was a great wine and more people would buy it if it was under their own label.
 
kieran hynes

kieran hynes

Location
Bolton
Mahmoud Ali said:
Kieran,

I have a few '01 Church Blocks somewhere in the cellar and they probably do need looking into. As for Guigal's CdR, the 1990, which was a Decanter 4-star cellaring wine, was still alive and well a couple of years ago - it all depends on the vintage.
Click to expand...

I've found the Church Block ages for a decade with no problem, but I'd have thought 01 would need drinking up wouldn't it?
 
Mark Temple

Mark Temple

Location
European Union
Don't worry about it. I've had tons of stuff stashed over 15 years in my house, occasionally passing 20 in the (rare!) warm spells and peaking a few times at about 23. Never had a damaged or obviously over-mature bottle, and only one or two that were more advanced than I expected. Which is kinda par for the course, I reckon!
 
Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson

Location
Scotland
Me too. Even 30 years in my 'cellar' (originally a cupboard under the stairs, then for the past 16 years a dedicated cupboard with floor to ceiling racks). Never found any need for temperature, or humidity, control. In hot summers the temperature has reached about 23°C and in the winter settles at about 16°C. Never any significant daily fluctuations. Can't actually think of an occasion when a bottle has been badly affected by my storage conditions, except perhaps accelerated maturity, but I'd have needed to compare the same wine and vintage from so-called 'perfect' storage conditions to judge.
Any duff bottles I've had have mainly been corked or poxed, which has nothing to do with my storage.
All this stuff about air conditioning and humidity control is nonsense to me, and more about wine-paranoia. Unless of course you live somewhere with more extreme weather conditions.
 
Chris Davies

Chris Davies

Location
Cheshire, uk
Slight thread drift but I'm thinking of building an extension and including a cellar. Nothing fancy, just a hole in the ground, tanked and with stairs or a ladder under a trap door. Like a spiral cellar but without the spiral or the high price.

Has anyone done something similar? Any advice in favour or against?
 
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