Should High-Priced wine age well?

Is one of your prerequisites for buying high-priced wine (Expense being relative, let’s just say expensive in the respective category be it Bordeaux, German Riesling, California Chardonnay, Aussie Shiraz, White Rioja whatever) that it is capable of aging and improving for many years? I'm not asking if you prefer older wines or younger wines, just whether or not having the option of cellaring the wine is a purchase factor.

Thanks for playing,

Bill

Not in my case. But that's because I have such limited cellar space. So often the most expensive bottles I buy are wines that already have a bit of age on them.

I've also spent a good chunk of money on expensive bottles of young Austrian and German white wines that were deliciously approachable young.

I was going to answer no (philosophically) but then realized I couldn't think of any high priced (for its category) young wine that I bought without some expectation of ageability. So I voted yes.
That excludes wine already aged, obviously if I'm paying a premium for a wine I think is mature it's generally because I'm planning on drinking it.

I mostly echo Dale's comments I think.

My first thought was "not necessarily". Yet I realized that I couldn't think of a reason why I'd be paying a high price if the grapes weren't at least of a fair quality (capable of some maturing in the bottle).

Of course, that's not to say one can't buy a high-priced wine for reasons of enjoyment that have nothing to do with aging. For example, you're celebrating an anniversary and don't "care" that a recently released Dom vintage will age and improve. You are just buying it to enjoy now for a special ocassion etc.

Jeff

In general I'd say yes, but there certainly are exceptions:
- Museum release wines
- Colheita Ports which do their ageing in barrel
- Likewise the great Fortifieds (Muscat & Tokay) from Australia, but most notably the 100 yr old Para Port from Seppeltsfield.

Then there are some innovative wines like those from Cos in Sicily, where they can be very complex when young. They're hardly prestige priced, but they show it's not utterly clear cut.

Finally, some of the big, viscous wines favoured by some famous US critics are arguably at their best when the fruit is most youthful. Not my style and whilst some of the better balanced ones seem capable of ageing well, many lack the acidity for a long life & thus are likely to be at best on or near release.

For me, there's pleasure in filling out the cellar with interesting ageworthy wines, so in general unless I'm buying pre-cellared wines (as I often do) then I'm happily expecting to leave it to mature in the cellar.

Conversely I'd not support the corollary, that cheap wines shouldn't be expected to age well. There are still a great number of fine exceptions to that argument.

[James Roscoe]

The question reads "SHOULD High-Priced wines age well?" I guess on release ALL high-priced wines SHOULD age well. The fact that some don't is a matter of taste for those that prefer a certain style. Obviously if you buy wines that have already been aged and are therefore ready to drink the question is somewhat redundant.

I voted 'yes'. Whether aged by the vintner or by me, high priced wines should age well. Wine meant to age has to be made from the best grades, grown in the best location for that particular grape and have more attention paid to it by the vintner during vinification; i.e.: may be held in barrel or bottle longer before release. All that costs money. I don't know if all wines that age well have to be expensive, but surely most are, I'd guess.