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Breathing and Decanting
It
is sometimes thought that opening a bottle and letting it stand
for a few hours to “breathe” will somehow be beneficial to
the wine.
The
fact is, however, that the surface area of the wine in the neck
of the bottle that comes into contact with air is so small that
almost nothing occurs.
So there is almost no point in doing this.
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If
you are going to let a wine breathe, then the best way
to do it is to pour it into a decanter.
There
is, however, also the question of whether
‘breathing” is desirable at all.
Certainly in winemaking, we spend a lot of time
making sure that wine does not come into contact with
air—so why would aerating it prior to serving be a
good thing?
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Indeed,
the eminent wine authority Emil Penaud argues that the
longer a wine is exposed to oxygen, the more diffuse its
aroma becomes and the more likely that sensory
impressions will be lost.
It
is true that older wines (say, 15-25 years old) can be
quite fragile and can therefore only withstand exposure
to air for a few minutes before becoming oxidised.
For this reason, letting an older wine breathe in
a decanter for a few hours might not be at all a good
thing.
There
are, however, powerful arguments for decanting wines
prior to serving.
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Young
Wines
One
reason to decant is to aerate a younger
wine so that it
shows its full aroma or flavour characteristics.
Pouring wine into a decanter pushes air into the
wine and releases esters
that provide the sensations of
smell and flavour.
Older
Wines
Another
reason to decant is to dissipate any odours in the wine
that may have accumulated during bottle ageing.
How
Long Before Serving Should the Wine Be Decanted?
This
is the most controversial question of all.
Generally the answer is, “just
prior to serving the wine.”
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“I
prefer to decant wines, both young and old. It is a sign
of respect for old wines and a sign of confidence in
young wines.
Decanting old wines, just a few moments before they are
served, helps to ensure that the wines’ clarity and
brilliance are not obscured by any deposit that may have
developed over time.
Decanting young wines several hours before they are
served gives the wine a chance to bloom and attain a
stage of development that normally requires years of
aging.” (thoughts on
decanting by Christian Moueix)
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This
is true for older wines—the decanting will reduce any
undesirable bottle characteristics and open up the wine.
The wine, however, should poured into the glass
fairly soon.
We know that the 1989 Killerby Cabernet
Sauvignon, for example, is becoming a little delicate
and so we decant that wine and pour it into the glass
within five minutes.
Younger
wines, as a general rule, should be decanted just prior
to serving—except if you know from experience that a
particular wine benefits from longer breathing time.
The
Killerby reds that are less than five years old, for
example, all benefit from decanting for an hour prior to
serving.
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Zerrutti Duck Decanter
Learn more...
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