Cellaring wine - not old, just mature Wine miniseries "Sip & Sparkle" - Episode 1

Mature wines

In the first episode of "Sip & Sparkle", our sommeliers talk about mature wines: Which wine varietals age well? When do you best drink wines?

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"We talk about cool wines that we like to drink." This is how H.S.H. Princess Marie von und zu Liechtenstein, sommelier at the Princely Winery in Austria, casually summarises the new four-episodes-miniseries "Sip & Sparkle" in one sentence. The Princess and wine consultant talks with sommelier Lisa Bader about all things sparkling, still, red, white, rosé and orange.

"Drinking wine has become more sociable over the last couple of years, so people talk more about wine - especially since the Covid pandemic", Lisa Bader observes, "At the same time, however, the wine vocabulary some wine lovers use can seem intimidating. We want to counteract this inhibition and talk about wine freely and spontaneously." 

This first episode is dedicated to mature wines and answers the following questions:

• How do you best store wines?
• Which wines and which wine varietals age well?
• When is the right moment to drink a wine?
• How do you describe the smell and taste of matured wines?

Mature wines discussed in this episode

Wine Nr. 1: Château Sociando-Mallet 2005

• Region: Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France
• Wine varietals: 55 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 % Merlot, 5 % Cabernet Franc
• Tasting profile: robust tannins, blackcurrant, blackberry, tobacco, rustic character
• Serving temperature: 15 C
• Drinking maturity: 8 to 25 years

Wine Nr. 2: Fontodi Chianti Classico 2015

• Region: Tuscany, Italy
• Wine varietals: Mainly Sangiovese
• Tasting profile: Red cherry, tomato, leather, earthy notes, medium-bodied, bright acidity, firm tannins
• Serving temperature: 16-18 C
• Drinking maturity: 3 to 15 years

Wine Nr. 3: Riesling Spätlese, Hofkellerei Liechtenstein, 1992

• Region: Riesling, Germany
• Wine varietals: 100 % Riesling
• Tasting profile: apricots, vibrant notes of lime, green apple, slate, delicate sweetness balanced with crisp acidity
• Serving temperature: 10 C
• Drinking maturity: 10 to 30 years