However, a lot of wine is sent to market without sufficient time to rest. Even inexpensive wines can need some time to come together, as winemakers say.
One of the worst problems with un-decanted wine takes place in restaurants. Only the finest, most expensive restaurants offer to decant wines for patrons. Occasionally, when Ive asked if I can get a wine decanted, either the reply is, Whats that? or I hear something about a lack of decanters.
And incidentally, the act of pulling the cork on a bottle of wine does almost nothing to allow the wine the aeration it needs to develop. The amount of air that gets into the neck of the bottle is so small as to be negligible. Decanting is the key.
Any top-rate restaurant should be prepared to decant any wine the diner requests. Its one reason youre paying such a premium for wine in restaurants: Why not have it in a manner in which it tastes its best?
Wine of the Week: 2007 Three Rivers Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley, Wash. ($19) -- Stylish and aromatic wine that really improves with aeration. The aroma when you first pull the cork is mild and almost mute, but after an hour in a decanter the aroma begins to show lovely nuances of lime, pepper and melon. The wine is dry and the aftertaste is like melon and quince.