Chapter 1: Components
The Big Four
Acid: Critical for a wine's ability to age well. Age-worthy wines may, in fact, seem too acidic when young, but the acidity will reduce over time and the wine can come into balance as long as the other elements are there and the wine has plenty of fruit. However, a taster must be wary of wines that seem balanced, but in fact have just enough tannic astringency to cover residual sugar. The resulting texture mimics acidity, but the wine won't age well.
Alcohol: High alcohol (above 13.8 to 14%), will give a wine a certain hotness and it will taste slightly sweeter. Although not the death knell of a wine, high alcohol is a major concern. It is not intrusive as long as there is a lot of fruit to go with it. In evaluating young wines, we may come across and be impressed with a wine sporting 14.5% alcohol that seems to have enough fruit to age for 6-8 years. Ifwe are wrong, however, the fruit will diminish in a few years, but the alcohol will still be 14.5% and the wine will be out of balance. Moreover, is that initial hotness due to the alcohol or to an artificial boost in the acidity? It's not easy to tell. High alcohol wines often do not age well. Amarone is an exception.
Residual Sugar: Sugar may be fme in Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Chenin Blanc, but it is worrisome in Sauvignon Blanc and a danger signal in Chardonnay. Tasters may fmd a young wine among many that is "easy drinking." Residual sugar (r.s.) does that. But will such a wine offer much interest when the acidity has been tamed by 3-5 years in the bottle? The answer lies in the amount of acid, pH, and balance the wine has. Most experienced wine lovers agree that a heavily oaked wine with residual sugar will not age well, no matter how appealing it seems. Kendall-Jackson lovers beware! Such wines should be (and, in fact, are) consumed early.
Tannin: Tannin is the puckery, astringent sensation found in red wines. Tannins act as palate cleansers when paired with foods high in protein or oil. Tannin is derived primarily from grape skins, seeds and stems, but also from oak barrels. Tannin acts as a natural preservative that helps wine age and develop. You won't usually fmd much tannin in white wines, on the other hand, because whites are made from grape juice without the skins.
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