By Kurt Wieneke
One of the benefits of having a wine cellar is the chance to age a wine for 20+ years, and then drink it at its peak. Such was the case this past Christmas, when I pulled from the cellar a 1999 red burgundy – Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Damodes” and enjoyed it with roast leg of lamb dinner. It has taken quite a while for the much-heralded 1999 burgundy vintage to come around and finally reveal its greatness. As we savored and talked about this wine, I realized that I was describing all the hallmarks of great wines. Here are five qualities which I think elevate a wine from being very good, to being truly great:
Sense of Place – All great wines have what is called ‘terroir’, or in simple terms, a sense of place. This aspect can come from the subsoil and rock layers underneath the vineyard, or sometimes from the surrounding fauna or trees. When an experienced wine taster smells or tastes a great wine, it will reveal its place, region, appellation, or in some cases even the vineyard.
Vintage – The quality of vintage year is probably the biggest factor in what makes great wines. Sugar and acidity contribute most to a wine’s longevity, but when the annual weather conditions and harvest conditions are near perfect, you get the other vintage intangibles which take things to the next level, phenolic ripeness, concentration of flavors, and fine-grained tannins.
Balance – All great wines have that impeccable balance of all elements, wood, fruit, acidity, tannin, and texture. It is this perfect integration and seamlessness that draws you back for another sip of the great elixir in front of you.
Grip – This is basically another term for a ‘long finish’. Good wines have a lingering aftertaste. Great wines take it a step further, after swallowing, the back of your tongue becomes stricken with the wine’s aftertaste and this sensation lasts minutes, not seconds.
Indescribability – Great wines have an elusive quality, something beyond description.
As I said to my son while he admired the complexity of a great French pinot noir,
“You know it’s a great burgundy when it’s impossible to describe it.”
