Decanting Guidelines With Mike Farmer

I am often asked my opinion on this. Older vintage wines certainly can benefit from a gentle decant and a short amount of time before drinking (30 minutes). Younger vintage wines in most cases will benefit from a vigorous decanting (swirl a bit in the decanter). One way to test your preference would be to decant just half the bottle, then taste side by side to see what you prefer. The decanting gives us a look into the future of the wine as it ages. It also allows us to enjoy the wine in its youth.

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Discussion of fermentation