The fact that wines improve with ageing is only reserved for certain types of wine (especially red wines) with appropriate ageing. But this is by far a minority. Another prerequisite is a tight seal without contact with oxygen. Such wines are characterised by an extremely long shelf life. In the course of bottle ageing, the optimum drinking maturity is reached at some point, but even this does not last forever.
This means that even long-lived wines will eventually pass their peak. Very old wines or vintages are a sought-after collector's item. They are often auctioned off at astronomical prices by auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's and are not necessarily purchased for the purpose of enjoyment. The oldest vintages are usually found among high-alcohol, fortified dessert wines such as Madeira, port and sherry.
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Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi