Some how a half bottle of Luis Filipe Edwards lot 18 Merlot 2011 got left on its side and hiding in the dark. I retrieved it the other day when my wife said: "let's just drink a half bottle with our beef stew". Normally we would polish off a wine like this after at most 2 years rather than leave it 8 years.
The wine had a screw cap so there was no need to lay it on its side. I opened the wine and gave it a good sniff. I couldn't believe it, as it smelt fresh.
My wife enjoyed the wine with the beef. To me it tasted a bit flat. It had retained the spice and tannin but it lacked a fruit flavour. The wine had maintained its ruby red colour and for me there was no hint of oxidation. The lack of a fruit flavour was therefore due to a natural reduction of its fruit-tasting compounds. The wine was, however, drinkable with the food.
This wine is obviously not designed to be kept for a long time but after just 4 or 5 years of maturing in the bottle it would probably have retained its fruit flavour. It is a tribute to screw-caps that the wine had not oxidised during a 9 year period.
I have some good quality Australians wines, sealed with screw caps, which I am leaving to mature for a considerable time . I am expecting them to retain their fruit character and to taste very good. These wines, however, will not age in the same way as a cousin in a cork sealed bottle. With cork sealed bottles you run the risk of a putrefying cork tainting the taste of the wine. Cork sealed wines also eventually oxidise owing to the gradually diffusion of oxygen into the bottle.
I was quite surprised that our wine in question lasted for such a long time without deteriorating too much.
I can't remember how we came by this wine, as it was probably given to us: and how much it cost if we had bought it. Younger versions of this wine will probably be good value for money, they are worth a try, be sure to drink them with a wholesome meal rather than sloshing them back at a barbecue.
http://www.simplywinesdirect.uk/?product=luis-felipe-edwards-lot-18-merlot
