kylemittskus wrote:And the winemaker said previously they could be drunk now or held for a couple years so you're call
No reflection on the winemaker here, but to make a general observation, I have rarely seen a winemaker say any wine he or she is offering for sale is not 'ready to drink now.' The few exceptions are usually referring to classically styled Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines, but even there most winemakers won't go beyond 'can benefit from a decade or more of cellaring' (a Paul Draper comment which people took to mean "you're buying this one for your kids to enjoy").
I don't attribute this to dishonesty (for the most part) but to three salient economic facts of the wine business:
1) a winery produces a product every year -- the new vintage comes in like clockwork baring a complete harvest disaster.
2) storing wine for aging is expensive and significantly adds to the price. The current cycle of little storage in wineries resulted from the combination of (a) high post-Repeal demand for wine, (b) the old tax scheme that taxed wine in inventory every year, and (c) the price differential obtainable for aged wine is uncertain and variable based on vintage quality. Hence it has never been economic to build up stocks of fully aged wines as was done in the 19th and early 20th centuries (up to 10 years past vintage for the California Wine Association's 'Hillcrest' Cabernet). Much easier to sell now and let the buyer (or the trade) take the risk (and reap the reward) of how well a vintage will age. (I would note that in obviously great years, 1970 comes to mind, a number of wineries held back significant stocks of fine wine - a decision made easier by the rare combination that year of a large and outstanding crop)
3) very few wine drinkers actually cellar wines for any prolonged period of time.
Put this all together, and it's almost impossible for a winery not to have to be in a position to say a wine is 'ready to drink' on release.
And, for probably at least 85% of wine made (probably 90-95% of whites and 80-85% of reds) that's actually true: the wine is simply not made with long life in mind, rather it's made with being immediately enjoyable as a primary goal.
When discussing fine wine - that 10-15% of the wine made that could at least potentially be age-worthy, you need to parse what wineries and winemakers say carefully and ask about the winemaker's goals in making the wine. Take 'ready to drink' now with a large dose of salt, and concentrate on the 'could improve for' language.
Pinot Noir - despite the age-worthiness of very great Burgundies - typically is not as long-lived as Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. For all but the best Burgundies, 10-15 years is a very good run. MOST California Pinot is lucky to be good at 10, IMHO.
Further generalizations: Pinot Noir is a pretty good choice for traditional Thanksgiving fare of roast (farmed) turkey. Wild turkey would certainly stand up to a robust red, even a more robust red like Hermitage. Duck and Goose, usually fattier than turkey or chicken, usually want something more tannic and firmer in structure: hence the traditional pairings of Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds with them.
In Europe, reds are more common that whites with fowl generally, especially wild fowl.
If you want a white with your turkey, consider richer and bigger whites: Rhone varieties and bigger Chardonnay/white Burgundies. Some rieslings, both Alsatian and German, will work, but it's trickier and works best for the white meat.
