Happy Holidays everyone! I’m new to the forum but have been drinking and collecting wine for about 20 years. I have a medium sized collection, consisting of about 45% Bordeaux, 30% Napa Cabernet, and the rest covers everything from Italian, Rhône, Burgundy, Australian, Port, Sauternes, and some other interesting stuff.
I have been reading information from this site for several years and, over that time, have gained a lot of knowledge from the people here. My question is directed toward the 2018 Bordeaux vintage. I have been collecting long enough that I have been exposed to the Bordeaux marketing machine (vintage of the decade, etc,). While some people question the ability for new vintages to age well, I am more concerned about the early part of the window. Understanding, everything is based on individual preference, when do you all think the 2018’s will be showing well enough that consuming them would be considered appropriate? My guess is 15-18 years from vintage, but would like to hear your opinions.
I have tried a few lesser 2018 cru bourgeois recently, and some of them are currently closing down, for instance a Barreyres a month or so ago. The bigger wines could therefore take longer to peak than expected. Some people have described them as barbecue claret, fruity but perhaps clumsy. So perhaps as with many things it will be a matter of personal preference, leaving them long enough to be open, but maybe drinking while the fruit is still dominant. 15 years could be within that window.
If you want to get a taste of what you’re cellaring I would be opening some now. Most are still good and haven’t closed down yet. After that happens (could be a year, could be a couple more), anyone who tells you how long they’ll need before reopening is BS’ing - but you can be confident it’ll be a long wait. So if you’re curious, drink some now.
Have you bought 2018s and asking about drinking windows? Or are you thinking of buying?
If the former, the lesser chateaux would start at ten years, and the top wines around twenty years. And for Palmer, I would add another ten.
If the latter, I am not sure it is a vintage I would buy over 2019 and especially 2016. Both now are around the same price, although 2016 is slowly getting more pricey.
I really like 2018 Bordeaux. Based on tasting more than 800 wines in bottle, I can safely say, there are stunning wines in every price category.
Many, if not most can be enjoyed in their youth. A few need serious aging. As for the wines not having the ability to age, I do not agree. What wines have not shown they cannot age that were previously known for aging?