Old Vintage Wine
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Old vintage wine refers to bottles aged a decade or more beyond harvest, drawn from regions including Bordeaux, the Loire Valley, Champagne, and beyond, where time in bottle transforms primary fruit into complex tertiary character. Bordeaux remains the backbone of aged wine culture, where Saint-Julien producers like Chateau Gloria and the Margaux second label Pavillon Rouge develop cedar, tobacco, and iron notes over decades. The Loire contributes through late-harvest Chenin Blanc, as in Chateau Soucherie's 1996 Coteaux du Layon, where residual sugar preserves wines across generations. Dom Perignon's P2 2002 undergoes extended second aging on lees before release, amplifying autolytic depth. Opus One 2003 represents the upper register of California-Bordeaux ambition at full maturity, contrasting with the rustic Tannat structure of Primo Palatum Madiran 1998.
![Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee Saint Vivant Grand Cru 1984 [Condition Note/Read Desc] - Flask Fine Wine & Whisky](http://flaskfinewines.com/cdn/shop/files/edssdwvie95kxqfmzent.jpg?v=1738463227&width=900)
Description
Old vintage wine refers to bottles aged a decade or more beyond harvest, drawn from regions including Bordeaux, the Loire Valley, Champagne, and beyond, where time in bottle transforms primary fruit into complex tertiary character. Bordeaux remains the backbone of aged wine culture, where Saint-Julien producers like Chateau Gloria and the Margaux second label Pavillon Rouge develop cedar, tobacco, and iron notes over decades. The Loire contributes through late-harvest Chenin Blanc, as in Chateau Soucherie's 1996 Coteaux du Layon, where residual sugar preserves wines across generations. Dom Perignon's P2 2002 undergoes extended second aging on lees before release, amplifying autolytic depth. Opus One 2003 represents the upper register of California-Bordeaux ambition at full maturity, contrasting with the rustic Tannat structure of Primo Palatum Madiran 1998.
