Seven year rule for reds?

Okay, maybe I'm the last person on earth to hear about this, or else my friend was pulling my leg, but...
Last week we went down to Cabo San Lucas with some friends and my husband and I brought several nice wines to share with everyone. One of them was a 2000 Silver Oak (Alexander Valley). It was pretty awful, but it wasn't corked and I know for a fact it had been stored properly during its lifetime. I know 2000 was not a very good year in Sonoma, but this particular wine was rated decently (86-WS).
One of our friends took one look at the label and said, "But of course---it's a 2000." He further explained that red wines go through a chemical transformation every seven years, and you are never supposed to drink them in the year it's going through those changes. I had never heard of this. Is there any merit to the explanation or was it a bunch of malarky?

One of our friends took one look at the label and said, "But of course---it's a 2000." He further explained that red wines go through a chemical transformation every seven years, and you are never supposed to drink them in the year it's going through those changes. I had never heard of this. Is there any merit to the explanation or was it a bunch of malarky?

Malarky.
Sounds like he confused wine with middle age.
Best, Jim

[Robin Garr]

Is there any merit to the explanation or was it a bunch of malarky?

Carrie, I'm thinking maybe your friend has heard about the so-called "dumb stage" that <i>some</i> ageworthy wines go through. Basically, this is what happens when a wine with aging potential has lost much of its youthful fresh-fruit character after a few years, but has not yet begun to evolve the complex "tertiary" aromas and flavors that come with cellar time. It's sort of "in-between" and doesn't show much.

Historically, some Rhone reds - particularly Chateauneuf-du-Pape - and some Bordeaux just below the top tier (which require VERY long aging) do tend to close down roughly between the ages of five and eight. Seven years would be right in the middle of the dumb stage for a typical Chateauneuf, for instance.

But bear in mind that this phenomenon only occurs with certain wines, it's highly variable, and in modern times with a lot of hot vintages and bit, fruity wines, quite a few wines once known for showing a dumb period now start out with the fruit to ride right through it.

So, there's some limited truth to the notion that ageworthy reds don't show well at the age of seven (and thereabouts), but it's not really a very good general rule of thumb.

[Jenise]

Robin, I would add quality pinot noir to that list. It's so common that I make a habit of leaving them alone at five years old and not touching again until they're 8, and one Oregon wine I buy year in, year out routinely goes to sleep at about age 3. But yeah, there's no seven year rule. Also, wines can go in and out of dormant stages, there isn't neccessarily just one.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, I would add quality pinot noir to that list. It's so common that I make a habit of leaving them alone at five years old and not touching again until they're 8, and one Oregon wine I buy year in, year out routinely goes to sleep at about age 3. But yeah, there's no seven year rule. Also, wines can go in and out of dormant stages, there isn't neccessarily just one.

I sort of agree.

I'd add another variable, though: Pinot Noir is the one variety, in my opinion, that bounces back and forth from dumb to beautiful and back again without much predictability, although it sounds like you've found a pattern in Oregon Pinot.

I would have said, though, until you reported that, that Chateauneuf is pretty reliably "down" from five through eight, Bordeaux is predictable, but the timing and duration depend on the property, and that Burgundy/Pinot does it but with extreme unpredictability.

[David M. Bueker]

The seven year rule only applies to Marilyn Merlot.

Carrie,

I haven't had that exact vintage, but recently tried the 2002 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cab.

My reaction was similar to yours, the wine was undrinkable. Harsh resinous new American oak flavors coupled with lots of alcoholic heat just aren't my idea of fun. Someone who likes these wines told me they need a lot of time to absorb the new oak, but I have a hard time believing this wine will ever come around.

Best,
Marc

The seven year rule only applies to Marilyn Merlot.

OK, that had me laughing out loud. Surely the only absolutely hard and fast rule we can agree on.
Walt