When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
The Maturity Case: Château Batailley
Our new three-bottle collection brings together the 2019, 2009 and 2000 vintages of Château Batailley. Listen along and learn with Barbara Drew MW who will lead an audio masterclass guiding you through these three vintages; this is a unique opportunity to taste across time, discovering what happens to the liquid in the bottle over the years. Made by one of Pauillac's oldest and best-known producers, this is a textbook Claret – brimming with rich, dark fruits when young, transforming into something more nuanced and savoury in old age. This special case will help you to understand your tastes so you can withdraw your wines at exactly the right moment.
This 3-bottle case includes a case insert with a unique link where you can access the audio masterclass.
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