February 28th, 2025

When it comes to racking now and tasting later, well-aged red wines require consistency.  Erratically produced wines, especially those that don’t come cheap, are no fun when consumed years down the road.

So, one way to improve your odds of success when you finally pop the cork, is to stick with a consistent producer that you have tasted before buying bottles destined for that long wait.

Then the question is, “Can I pick wines that will age well and consistently by tasting them?”  A good winemaker can explain it in detail as you taste, right along with; but learning this lesson is not as simple as it seems.  It requires practice to recognize the correct fruit, acid, and tannin levels that will take a wine through years on the rack.

Going the Distance - Choose Wisely

But alternatively, finding which producers are known to create age worthy wines year after year is a great place to start.  You may also have a friend who knows, see an article about it, or best of all, attend a “vertical tasting” and judge for yourself.

Not every winery features vertical tastings, so it’s best to find out before your visit and make an appointment.  These are not commonly featured is as standard part of tasting flights and often cost extra.  They’re special, and should be setup in advance.  But vertical tastings are well worth it, especially if you are looking for wines to add to your long-term rack.

One of the best vertical tastings in Napa Valley is at Freemark Abbey.  They refer to it as a “decades tasting” and it literally can go back 30 years into their library just to see how their product ages.  It’s quite an education for sure and gives you a chance to decide whether to even age wines at all!

Another great way to experience what aging has to offer is to attend a wine dinner sponsored by a winery with a long history in business.  For example, Joseph Phelps recently put on a wine dinner that featured 1990’s Insignia.  It was fantastic!  Their wines just age on and on, especially in large format bottles.

In fact, Joseph Phelps has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal as one of Napa’s most consistent producers.  The quality of aged wines like this is something to experience as they become earthy, the fruit morphs to floral, and the tannins soften.  Just another little something for the bucket list!

So, if you’re not sure about what to rack, go “vertical” first and don’t just buy based on what you hear from a bottle shop salesperson.