It may at times be misunderstood as snobbery, haughtiness or the hallmark of pretention, but the practice of decanting a bottle of wine really can be an important speed bump between cork removal and pouring a glass. Sure, it can be somewhat of an inconvenience to have to find the crystal vessel you inherited from grandma and spend half an hour searching the cupboards as you mutter under your breath about someone moving things around without telling you – but if you want your older wines to show themselves at their very best, I reckon it\u2019s a bother that\u2019s worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you ask the experts, the advantages of decanting are threefold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swirling the wine in a decanter can help to speed up exposure to oxygen, but it also stirs up the sediment which can be damaging to delicate wines like pinot noir or lighter reds. Sediment can dull or deaden the flavours and the expression of the wine\u2019s character, so mixing the sediment through the settled wine is suboptimal. If your old bottle of red has a lot of sediment, I\u2019d suggest decanting twice \u2013 the first time by slowly pouring the wine into a decanter while being careful not to pour in the sediment from the bottom of the bottle. If you then allow time to settle, the solids can later be slowly poured off into a second decanter to try and remove more sediment before any swirling takes place. I would only take this approach with robust reds as you can lose some of the aromatics and fruit if too aggressive with the swirling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s certainly no reason why white wines can\u2019t also be decanted, but care is required as the carbon dioxide can actually help to lift flavours. So too much oxygen contact can make it less aromatic and flavoursome. I wouldn\u2019t suggest decanting champagne as it can destroy the fine bead of the most elegant bottles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These days most wines are closed with screwcaps, so cork removal is less of a reason to decant. But if you plan on opening a special old bottle from the darkest and most cobwebbed corner of your under-staircase cellar, it would be a good idea to always allow it to stand upright for a day or two beforehand, so you are better able to remove sediment when decanting. It goes without saying that it wouldn\u2019t be a good idea to shake up an old sediment-laden bottle in the course of transport to your dinner party or BYO restaurant venue, as the idea is to minimise sediment contact and remove it to improve the wine\u2019s best features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But decanting is not limited to old red wines as young headstrong wines with intense tannins will also undoubtedly improve after an hour or two in a decanter. I\u2019d strongly recommend decanting youthful malbec, barolo, rioja, cabernet, shiraz or other reds based on the Nebbiolo grape \u2013 the astringency of the tannins will fall away remarkably and make for a softer, \u201csmoother\u201d and more palatable style of wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you\u2019ve decided to invest in a new crystal vessel; which ones are best? Well there\u2019s really no right answer as everyone will have a personal preference. The only thing that really matters is the width of the base. If you plan to decant a delicate pinot noir, Beaujolais or primativo, then a smaller vessel will do less damage to the fruit characters, while a highly tannic full-bodied wine like tempranillo or cabernet sauvignon will do better in a decanter with a wide base, as it allows for more oxygen contact. As for the style, just buy what strikes your fancy.
My personal preference is for the artisan works by Riedel that look as much like a glassblower\u2019s work of art as they do a wine storage vessel. They\u2019re not cheap but are sure to become a topic of conversation when they land on the dining room table. But don\u2019t forget that they need to be cleaned, and if they\u2019re too space-age and funky, that might become quite a challenge!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It may at times be misunderstood as snobbery, haughtiness or the hallmark of pretention, but the practice of decanting a bottle of wine really can be an important speed bump between cork removal and pouring a glass. Sure, it can be somewhat of an inconvenience to have to find the crystal vessel you inherited from…
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