To Decant Or Not To Decant

Well known wine expert and writer Carolyn Evans Hammond gives a few excellent tips about decanting wines. Which wines should we decant?

"The short and probably surprising answer is, all red wines.  They’ll pretty much all improve and if they don’t, they’ll certainly not be any worse off.  And for good reason.

Decanting is quite simply pouring wine from the bottle to another vessel—be it a fancy decanter, regular glass jug, or another clean wine bottle.  And it’s done to either (a) separate the liquid from the sediment of old reds, or (b) to expose it to oxygen to release more flavour.  Sediment free and nicely-aerated mean better wine."

And what about young wines?

"The other reason to decant is to aerate wine.  It’s generally accepted among wine professionals all young reds improve with decanting—cheap or expensive...

... But aeration is a good thing with red wines and the best way to achieve it through decanting. To see for yourself, taste any of the newly released, totally underpriced bottles listed below before and after decanting.  I think you’ll be surprised..."

While we are here, Carolyn also drops a few notes about the Catena's '08 Alamos Malbec. Always a best buy. A perennial favorite.

"Alamos Malbec 2008, Mendoza, Argentina (LCBO#0467951 $13.95) Here is a brilliant version of Malbec at an incredible price. With dense notes of plum purée, black licorice, black pepper, tar, leather, and roses on the nose and palate, it is complex and smooth with firm, ripe tannins on the finish. Served with roasted meat, it’s hard to beat—especially decanted. Full-bodied with 13.5% alc."

Link to the story here.