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Are Decanters Really Worth It?

I can admit that I had some strange preconceptions about decanting.  I thought wines had to earn the right to be decanted.  They would have to be a big, bold and serious wines.  They would have to be from Bordeaux or be deep Cabernets or Syrahs.  Wine Spectator and sommeliers around the globe would have to recommend that the wine be stored to protect the investment.  Certainly, I thought, a wine would have to be at least $50 before it deserved to be decanted.  The very few special occasions I purchased a wine this expensive, I was always too curious and impatient after opening the bottle to wait a few hours before drinking it!

My wife and I decided it would be fun to learn about decanters as part of a wine club we’re in.  Every 2 months or so, we get together with a small group of friends to have some fun, get caught up with each other, eat some good food, and to sample and learn something about those wines.  It was our turn to host.  We decided we’d test if anyone could taste the difference between wines which had been decanted and those which had not.

We visited our local Bevmo.  A very friendly sommelier helped pick out three wines: 

• Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2004, $10.99

•  Chateau de Brandey Bordeaux 2006, $12.99

•  J Drouhin Chorey-Les-Beaune '05, $15.99

Each of the wines were wonderful recommendations, not too expensive, definitely not the heavy wines from my preconceptions!  We’ve had them again since.  

Here’s how we worked the tasting:  Each couple got 2 glasses of the same wine.  The wine in the first glass had been decanting for 30-40 minutes.  The wine in the second glass was poured immediately after the bottle was opened, about 2 minutes previously.  No one except the pourer got to see (and write down!) which glass had the decanted version.  Each couple had to then guess which glass had been decanted and which had just been opened.  We did this for each of the three wines over the stretch of the evening.  My wife and I took turns pouring so we could each guess as well

So like any experiment, we needed to have some background and some expected outcomes.  Why were we decanting in the first place and what results should we have expected?  There are three generally accepted reasons to decant:

1. to let any wine sediment sink to the bottom or to leave sediment in the bottle:  this is generally not an issue with young wines, as modern wines are thoroughly filtered by the winemakers and sediment won’t form in bottled red wines until they are 8-10 years old or older

2. to aerate the wine:  the act of allowing a large surface of the wine contact air alters the wine by softening its youthful tannin ‘bite’ and by encouraging the development of the more complex aromas that normally develop with years in the bottle.  This will often be referred to as the wine ‘opening’ or ‘breathing’

3. to add a more formal or pleasing mood to an occasion or dinner-table

Some people advocate pouring the wine into the decanter with energy or vigor to splash it more and to accelerate the aeration.  This of course isn’t a good idea if you’re trying to avoid pouring sediment!

Did our decanting make a difference?  Out of a possible twenty-four guesses from the entire evening (eight people each guessing at three different wines), there was only one incorrect identification of the decanted and non-decanted wine.  In ALL cases, we chose the decanted version of the wine as the better tasting.  We are what I’d describe as a recreational wine drinking group, we all like our wine but none of us would be mistaken as connoisseurs.  We took this as pretty impressive proof that the decanting made a big discernable difference!  The decanted wines were “fuller”, “more intense” and “more complex” than their non-decanted peer.  The initial tannin hit of the just-poured wines had subsided significantly.  Bottom line, the decanted wines tasted a LOT better!

My now-enlightened suggestion:  go ahead and try this for yourself.  I’m convinced you’ll be able taste the difference.  If you want to improve your enjoyment of any wine then a decanter will help enormously!