By Michael C. 

Do you like old wines over young wines? Have you ever tried buying a bottle of wine and storing it for years? And that came out to be not as good as expected? Well, here is some info about wine aging today. 

您喜歡舊酒勝過新酒嗎？有無試過購買一瓶葡萄酒並保存多年，結果卻不似預期？今日我們就分享一下咩酒可以擺。 

First of all, not all wines are suitable for aging or storing. There are some wines that have a better potential for aging. When we’re talking about red wines, tannins is one of the key potentials. What is tannins? Imagine eating grapes without peeling off the skin. You would get a kind of “rough” texture in your mouth, and that’s what we call tannins. Having a high level of tannins give the wine a greater potential to be aged. Take a La Locomotora, a 100% Spanish Tempranillo, as an example. It has a high level of tannins and strong spicy aromas. If you taste the same vintage after a few years, the tannins will actually be smoothened and the spiciness will be more subtle, which might appear to be more attractive to a lot of wine lovers. 

首先，並非所有葡萄酒都適合陳釀或儲存。有D葡萄酒有更好的陳釀潛力。講紅酒的話，單寧是主要潛力之一。咩係單寧？想像一下連皮食提子，口中會產生一種“粗糙”的質感，呢個就係我地所講的單寧。單寧高的葡萄酒具有更大的陳釀潛力，以La Locomotora（100％西班牙的Tempranillo）為例，佢有高單寧和強烈的辛辣香氣，擺放咗幾年後，你會發現單寧變得柔順，並且辣味會變得含蓄，令更多愛酒之人感興趣。 

Some wines are meant to be consumed young, especially unoaked or lightly oaked wines. Doudet Naudin Pinot Noir Vin de France is a great example. It is best to be consumed within 2 years or 3. If you store it for over 5 years, you’ll find it more acidic as it should be. Pinot Noir is quite tricky indeed. Doudet Naudin Corton-Marechaudes is another Pinot Noir from the same winery, which has a great potential for aging on the contrary, thanks to its 18-month maturation in oak barrels and more prestige terroir. 

有D葡萄酒係應該襯早飲，尤其浸好少或無浸橡木桶的葡萄酒。法國杜德·諾丁Doudet Naudin Pinot Noir Vin de France 就係一個好例子，最好在2－3年內飲用，如果擺放咗5年以上，就會開始變酸。Pinot Noir黑比諾其實好特別，Doudet Naudin Corton-Marechaudes 明明係同一個酒莊，同一款提子，但係就好有擺放潛力，正正就係因為佢係橡木桶浸左18個月，同埋風土夠靚。 

So, does it mean that only expensive wines should be aged? No! Beaulieu 2001 is just about the price of a table wine but it has so many good reviews from wine lovers! Being stored for almost 20 years, it has developed a surprisingly complex and smooth personality. 

咁係咪貴酒先可以擺？又唔係wor！Beaulieu 2001只係一般餐酒價錢，但係就好多紅酒之友話好飲！放咗成20年之後，支酒變得有複雜性同埋幼滑，絕對係加分！