I am currently getting into starting a Riesling collection for current and future enjoyment. I have read that half bottles age more quickly than full bottles and especially magnums. I was wondering if anyone on the forums had experience about the difference in aging between the sizes. I know there will be no “scientific” or “perfect” answer to the question, but just wanted to hear some opinions from people who have experienced similar wines from half bottles and full bottles. For the specific wine I am talking about for reference it would be Joh Jos Prum WS Auslese Gold Kaspsel. Thanks for your thoughts and experience.
Others here have way more experience than I do, but I believe the consensus is that half-bottles are completely fine for Riesling Auslese and up. I’ve had several Auslesen and up out of half bottles from 15 - 40+ years old, and almost all of them have been really great. As long as you store them properly, I wouldn’t worry about half bottles of 2015 JJ Prum GKA going bad.
Certainly will age quicker. But with something like a Prum GK, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 750s of 2001 are still young and need time to shed some reduction. 375s are likely showing beautifully. If you want to hold some for 50-100 years, I’d recommend 750s or larger.
Thank you Jordan. I have read up a on the subject of half bottles vs full bottles in terms of aging, but honestly don’t have a ton of experience my self. There doesn’t seem to be a ton of consensus on the topic in terms of the amount of difference. Also most of the info I have read is based mostly on Cabernet based wines and/or Red blends. Not a ton of info on Rieslings so that info is super valuable. Thanks so much for your help.
Thanks Andrew. I assume it’s likely vintage based on the amount of difference between 375 and 750, but there is definitely a noticeable difference over a long period of time it seems. This makes sense. I was just wondering what the difference would be in terms of an equation or something like that. Something like 375 ages 1 additional year for every 3 years when compared to 750 or something similar to that. There are far to many variables to really come up with something like that, but it is an interesting topic to me when all other things are held constant (storage, vintage tannins/acid/etc). I am planning out my “drinking schedule” for something fun to do so I found this topic interesting.
Several thousand bottles of Riesling in my cellar, and several hundred in 375ml. In general I have no issue aging the half bottles. The one crazy variable is if the corks are too long (yes…too long) and get to the part of the half bottle where the neck starts to get wider. It’s not a big issue, but I have run into it with Trimbach. Not seen it with Germans.