Not terribly familiar with how these wines behave. I’m more of a cab/Bordeaux guy. I have two average bottles from 2010. I plan on serving them on Saturday. How long beforehand should I open them? Do I decant at all?
Many thanks!
I would recommend pouring off a little bit into the glass and letting it aerate an hour or so in the bottle. Then let it open in the glass or on the table. If these are being poured with dinner, with little time to open in the glass, you could try double decanting back into the bottle an hour or two beforehand. I think serving temperature is more important, 62-64F, especially for the Gigondas.
Pop and pour!
IMO it depends on the wine. 2010 is a greatly structured vintage. I cellaring various bottles for a long time. Not just CdP.
Also depends on the blend. The higher the Mourvedre or Cinsault/Counoise content (and Syrah to an extent), the better it shows with some air. YMMV
What do you do with cab / Bordeaux of similar age? Suggest doing the same.
I would decant fwiw…
As a general rule, I don’t think young CdRs particularly need or benefit much from decanting, though it won’t hurt them. There are obvious exceptions. A young Chateau des Tours CdR does need considerable airing, though I prefer to follow the domaine’s advice of giving it 24 hours of slow ox. But even young Coudelet and young Charvin is fine fresh out of the bottle or with maybe an hour or two of slow ox.
I’d say the same for most Gigondas. But there have been exceptions. Generally, when I drink them there young, I taste and then if it seems like it could use an hour in the decanter, I decant it. Usually it is good to go, though.
Most grenache-based Cotes du Rhone are made to be quite accessible young, so they behave pretty differently from cabs, particularly from Bordeaux.