To Decant, Or Not To Decant?

Why decant?

I frequently get asked whether a wine should be decanted or not.  First, there are two main reasons to decant a wine:  to aerate the wine which releases flavors and aromas, and to remove the wine from its sediment.  So we typically decant young wines to help them “open up,” and older wines to remove the sediment.

Typically most bargain priced wines will not benefit from decanting, because they lack the structure and complexity to warrant it.  And believe it or not, some white wines should be decanted as well.  Many unfiltered white wines will develop tartrate crystals, often stuck to the cork.  These in no way harm the wine, in fact I like to see them.  It is a sign that the wine has been manipulated as little as possible by the winemaker.  However, it is nice to remove them from the wine so you can enjoy every last sip.  Some white wines are also complex enough to benefit from decanting.  Some examples include Viognier and Southern Rhone blends as well as Burgundian Chardonnay.

Decanting Tips

• If you are decanting a wine (red or white) in order to open it up, feel free to aggressively pour the wine into the decanter.  Swirling the filled decanter can also help open the wine.
• If you are decanting an older red wine, remove it from storage approximately 4 hours before you intend on serving it.  Handle the bottle carefully as you do not want to disturb the sediment.  Stand the bottle upright, and let it sit for several hours.  This will gradually bring the sediment down to the bottom of the bottle (also called the “punt”).  When decanting, slowly pour the wine, being careful not to disturb the sediment.  When you get towards the bottom of the bottle, pour extremely slow and stop once you almost reach the sediment.  One of the downfalls of serving old wine is you loose a small portion to the sediment.
• NEVER use a metal filter or cheesecloth while decanting.  Metal filters are not fine enough to remove the particulate, and cheesecloth can impart some funky flavors and cloudiness to the wine.  A steady hand and watchful eye can remove all sediment without the use of filters.
• Very young wines can benefit from spending several hours in the decanter.  Very old wines will often fade fast, so handle them with extra care and try not to disturb the older wines too much.  I recommend decanting the wine, and taking a small taste.  If it is too wound up and tight, let it decant longer, tasting the wine once per hour until it’s ready.