When to decant?

I recently had the "highly-rated" 2006 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva. I found it unexciting and listless (perhaps this is what people here refer to as 'tight'). Upon reading the label, it recommend a few hours of decanting. So I was going to buy another bottle and decant as suggested and evaluate (alas, the wine shop is now out, a minor problem).

So the question is: how do you determine whether to decant or not? And how long to decant?

Thanks,

David

how do you determine whether to decant or not? And how long to decant?

After a long debate over the subject on a wine board!

More seriously, one main reason is to clear the sediment. You'd need to know the history of the particular wine and whether it was likely to have sediment.

Another reason is to aerate. Once you know that you want to aerate the wine before serving, you can decide whether or not you want to decant by how much time you will have before serving and how quickly you will consume the wine (i.e. how quickly/slowly you want the aeration to proceed). It obviously proceeds more quickly in a decanter than in the bottle.

There may be some standard views on how much air various wines need, but nothing takes the place of actual experience.

In general, young reds tend to benefit from 60-90 minutes of air time - I like to use a carafe for its moderate surface area. The big bottom ones may be OK for very young wines or Ports, but too much air, too fast, can rob a wine of its vitality and compexity too, turning it into something too soft and rather bland.

In general again, reds that are more full bodied, tannic, etc., need more air time.

Certain types of wine also tend to need more air time. Chianti, Brunello, and Barolo are in this group. Red Bordeaux tends to need more time than red Burgundy, which is generally less tannic and full bodied. California wines tend to need less since they are generally riper due to the climate there, but the good ones do develop more depth and compexity after breathing.

For older wines I prefer not to decant at all, just pull the cork hours early, take out a small exploratory taste to enlarge the surface area a bit, and wait 4 -6 hours, then serve on the cool side, Adjust time and temperature according to the specific wine - you get a feel for it with experience! This allows the wine to develop depth and complexity and better preserves what vitality is left, whereas decanting can "blunt" the wine, dumb it down a bit. Try decanting half someday, saving half, then work on the decanted portion first (after 90 minutes) and later the non-decanted part. The non-decanted part may need more than 2 hours to really show well, it depends on the age and body of the wine, but the results are generally much better with non-decanting with older, more delicate reds, I think....

I almost always decant reds, David, but I do not stress out too much about how long. I worry more about decanting an older wine too long than a younger wine not long enough. Paul has made some good points. I like the idea of tasting the evolution of the wine over the decanting period. I also have a beautiful decanter that I'm proud to have on the table next to the empty bottle so people know what's in the decanter.

My decanter is a Pyrex measuring bowl. Much easier to clean and easy to pour the wine back into the bottle (it takes up less space on the table and looks nice). A 2-3 hour decant, or even longer, will not hurt a wine. I once had the manager of Chateau Cantemerle (Haut-Medoc) suggest that you decant your dinner wine in the morning and let i sit there all day. My Pyrex is a lot easier to clean than a typical decanter too. Back into the bottle and then an appropriate chill to proper serving temp depending on the wine.

I've decanted about twice in my life. Once when the top of the bottle broke, and once when I was sure there was a whole lot of sediment.
(I was wrong - very little sediment.)
Maybe one other time that I don't remember the circumstances.
I've had wines decanted by others about as often.
I guess I just don't see what all the hoorah is about. True, I've never had a 30 year old Bordeaux, but I've had plenty of 10 year old unfiltered, unfined DCV Zins. Many of them had sediment caked on the side of the bottle to the point where you could see it before opening.
If I think (mainly, hope) the wine will be special, I'll open it a couple of hours early. If the taste tells me it needs a chance to open up some, I'll just pour some glasses and hide them.
Or, just announce my opinion and let the slurpers go to it. After all, wine's a beverage, not a religion!

John

In general, young reds tend to benefit from 60-90 minutes of air time - I like to use a carafe for its moderate surface area. The big bottom ones may be OK for very young wines or Ports, but too much air, too fast, can rob a wine of its vitality and compexity too, turning it into something too soft and rather bland.

In general again, reds that are more full bodied, tannic, etc., need more air time.

Certain types of wine also tend to need more air time. Chianti, Brunello, and Barolo are in this group. Red Bordeaux tends to need more time than red Burgundy, which is generally less tannic and full bodied. California wines tend to need less since they are generally riper due to the climate there, but the good ones do develop more depth and compexity after breathing.

For older wines I prefer not to decant at all, just pull the cork hours early, take out a small exploratory taste to enlarge the surface area a bit, and wait 4 -6 hours, then serve on the cool side, Adjust time and temperature according to the specific wine - you get a feel for it with experience! This allows the wine to develop depth and complexity and better preserves what vitality is left, whereas decanting can "blunt" the wine, dumb it down a bit. Try decanting half someday, saving half, then work on the decanted portion first (after 90 minutes) and later the non-decanted part. The non-decanted part may need more than 2 hours to really show well, it depends on the age and body of the wine, but the results are generally much better with non-decanting with older, more delicate reds, I think....

IMO, that is an excellent exposition of when and how to decant but I have to confess that I by no means always follow it. For example, I wouldn't decant a young exuberantly fruity wine or some mature but not elderly wines which I know to be open, expressive and free from a lot of sediment; I hardly ever decant Burgundy. I particularly agree about the need for great caution about decanting elderly wines (>c.30 years old for Bdx and less in weaker vintages). However, in the case of a crumbly cork (quite common), it is often impossible to avoid it unless one filters the pour into each glass.

Quite a lot of white wines can also benefit from decanting. An importer here once advised me to decant Coulée de Serrant 24 hours before serving!!

Thanks for the information.

I did an experiment this weekend with 2006 Gabbiano Chianti Classico. I poured half the bottle in a large Pyrex measuring cup and let it aerate for about 30 minutes. It tasted like 'real' Chianti to me, quite good for $12/bottle. The next day, I poured the remainder in the measuring cup, let it sit for about an hour and then poured it back into the bottle and had it with dinner. The taste really dropped off from the previous day - it was dull and unexciting and lacked that Chianti tangy aftertaste. I think I'll experiment a bit and see what works.

I remember that the WSJ columnists John and Dottie were in "anti-decant" camp - let the wine evolve in the glass.

I did an experiment this weekend with 2006 Gabbiano Chianti Classico. I poured half the bottle in a large Pyrex measuring cup and let it aerate for about 30 minutes. It tasted like 'real' Chianti to me, quite good for $12/bottle. The next day, I poured the remainder in the measuring cup, let it sit for about an hour and then poured it back into the bottle and had it with dinner. The taste really dropped off from the previous day - it was dull and unexciting and lacked that Chianti tangy aftertaste. I think I'll experiment a bit and see what works..

I'm not sure what this experiment has to do with decanting? It seems like you mainly found that this 2006 Gabbiano tastes much better on the first as opposed to the second day. (Which one would expect). If you wanted to compare decanted vs non-decanted wine you would need two bottles of the same wine, opened at the same time, one decanted and one not.

I did an experiment this weekend with 2006 Gabbiano Chianti Classico. I poured half the bottle in a large Pyrex measuring cup and let it aerate for about 30 minutes. It tasted like 'real' Chianti to me, quite good for $12/bottle. The next day, I poured the remainder in the measuring cup, let it sit for about an hour and then poured it back into the bottle and had it with dinner. The taste really dropped off from the previous day - it was dull and unexciting and lacked that Chianti tangy aftertaste. I think I'll experiment a bit and see what works..

I'm not sure what this experiment has to do with decanting? It seems like you mainly found that this 2006 Gabbiano tastes much better on the first as opposed to the second day. (Which one would expect). If you wanted to compare decanted vs non-decanted wine you would need two bottles of the same wine, opened at the same time, one decanted and one not.

Rahsaan - you are correct in that to correctly do the experiment I should proceed as you indicated. But I did notice a big difference in taste as I described above, which could be the result of it being day-old wine, decanting, or both.

I really do not think that decanting on the 2nd day makes any difference? I will add though that at the end of day 1 putting remaining half bottle in a split and refrigerating can result in some excitement on day 2!!

I think how wines behave on Day 2, 3, etc. is a whole different thread.

I recently tried something I heard about. I took a young, fairly tannic wine which happened to be a Chianti, and which tasted somewhat flat out of the bottle. I then poured it back and forth between two containers about 10 times, then served it. The airing out improved the wine a lot, seemed to wake it up. I wouldn't do this to an older wine but it was intriguing enough to try it again with a young wine.

I did an experiment this weekend with 2006 Gabbiano Chianti Classico.

This is not a wine that I would consider to be a candidate for decanting.
1. It is not a substantial wine in the first place.
2. It has had a moderate (probably all it needs) amount of bottle aging.
3. And as previously mentioned, it should be consumed on the first night if it is decanted.
Usually with a sturdy wine, even after a decant, it will be better on the second day. But you need to know the wine and it's potential
And lastly, whatever works for you is what is best for you. To each his own. But I'll still bet you that I can clean my Pyrex in 1/10th the time it takes to clean a big decanter.