Older White Wines

Many whites develop such an amazing depth of character after a few extra years in a cellar that wine lovers cherish them.

There are almost no rules that consumers can rely on to determine which white wines will improve in the bottle and which will deteriorate rapidly. DenisMArt/Shutterstock

One of the greatest charms of white and rosé wines is that they taste fresh and fruity when they are young. The same is true of many young red wines, including Beaujolais, the delicate red from Burgundy, which we wrote about here recently.

Some red wines do, of course, improve with time in the bottle. Classic European red wines like red Bordeaux and rich reds from the Rhone Valley often are best with additional aging.