Library Reds

I have been asked this question many times in the last 25 years – “what is a library wine”?
Library wine refers to a wine that is being kept or cellared away, in perfect temperature and has become part of a collection due to its vintage year, terroir and perfect cliamatic conditions. Sometimes wineries and retailers will sell older vintages of their wines that they’ve kept in their temperature controlled cellars for a while, calling it a library wine. The term doesn’t refer to a specific age, but it does suggest that an age worthy wine has been and should be cellared before drinking. There is no hard and fast rule to drink these wines; it all depends how trained your pallet is and do you prefer to consume wines that have gained complexity ( a harmonious balance between fruit, acid and alcohol) or you like wines that are just released and have fruit forward, inky and jammy character.

I personally, and most of the seasoned wine connoisseurs prefer to consume wines upon their maturity – could be 5 to 30 plus years. Wineries and their winemakers regularly go back to cellars to taste their older wines to see how they’re aging or to get a sense of how a vineyard in general is also developing. At winemaker dinners and release events, often times wineries showcase their aged wines in verticals to their loyal customers. I highly recommend you to try a Library Wine, you will not be disappointed and Napa Valley Cabernets are made to age. I have written a book called “Wine and Dine in Style” – it is available for purchase at Amazon.com.