I have to say I am impressed with your storage conditions to have these wines taste so good a decade and a half later. Sure, they are meant to go for some sort of distance, but when is a wines's peak anyway? Often you read reviews about the timing of this sort of stuff, but even winemakers are sometimes clueless. I know that Greg the Churchview winemaker has a generalised view of the aging process at best. Essentially doc, we don't want to wait a long time only to have a wine being almost non drinkable.
Past it's peak, sure we all read about this even in aff threads, we all have tasted this aspect compared to the more obvious 'faults' issues, and considering our experiences thru decades, we all know this is easy to discern. But there must be a bloody good window of opportunity with the likes of the classics, Wynns, Cullen, you know them.
Does it depend on what wine characteristics you are wanting to taste in the future ? I like the fruitiness, the plums, the young berries, the older berries, all of that aspect , then the barrel treatment second. I infer an obvious integration so we get a very nice balance. Others may prefer an earthier style, but you know what you like because you have had prior vintages. Do we hope our wine matures into something that has changed ten to fifteen percent from the initial new purchase? I dunno, but I could open a bloody big can of worms here talking about this issue? Does the romance of opening up a label with 16years on it make for a better wine drinking experience? I dunno. Does drinking it in a café latte glass make it taste inferior to a Riedel? I had to add that for Burmans!! Over and out.
