Natural wine can be aged, it has storage capacity. This is stated by the three interviewed for this article: Daniel Monsonís, from Eclèctic Vins, Luisa Chova, from Vinos Auténticos and José Luis Lavado, from Human Vins and Bar Salvatge.
“A great wine can be kept for 40 years, whether it is natural or not,” says Monsonís. “Wines with sufficient structure, whether made naturally or conventionally, can be aged,” explains Monsonís. The parameters that will allow this are the same for both: terroir, health of the plot, winemaking process, acidity, etc.
“There is no single answer and it is something that depends on each wine, but a good grape with a good structure, that is, good parameters of acidity, tannins and alcohol will be more conducive to making a wine for aging,” says Chova. And the same thing happens for both red and white wines. “Even if a white does not have tannin, great acidity will mean that it can be stored for many years.”
For Lavado, the important thing is not the wine, but the grapes. “The better the grape and the better it has been grown, the more quality and durability the wine will have over the years. Whether a wine evolves well or poorly has nothing to do with sulfites.” The distributor remembers that in the 1950s, much importance was given to the work of the so-called 'chemist', since at that time the oenology degree was not yet taught in Spain, and he performed the functions as such. “It was not worrying because at that time not many systemic phytosanitary products were used, but later they were religion, and a mistake. To achieve a good grape we must make it stronger and able to defend itself. We forget about agriculture and it is precisely the countryside that is the first thing we have to protect.”
The distributors mention some of the producers who have been making natural wines for years: Lukas Hamelmann, Alberto Nanclares, Flavio Rodolo, Barranco Oscuro, Patrick Meyer, Burulio, Alexandre Jouveaux and Maryse Chatelain, Jean Pierre Robinot, Pierre Beauger, Finca Parera or Carriel dels Vilars .
So why does it seem like there are only young natural wines on the market? “Many bars are committed to a profile called, in French, vin de soif, a ready-to-drink wine, conceived as young wines and to be consumed within 2 or 3 years at most,” explains Monsonís.
On the other hand, there is also an economic issue: “both in Spain and elsewhere, younger producers of natural wine are in a hurry or need to recover their investment,” says Chova. “Sometimes wines go on sale that are not completely finished and, by not saving them, they will not know how far their wines can go.” Having the wines immobilized involves costs: occupying space in the winery and not generating profits from their sale, which in some cases are necessary for the survival of both the winemaker and the winery itself.
Lavado reasons that if in Spain we see few aged natural wines it is because of the short history that natural wine has in our country. “In Spain they have been around for more than 50 years and it is possible to find great natural aging wines, like those from Overnoy.” In his opinion, we will begin to see older natural wines because producers who have been making and storing them for 10 years will have bottles to put on the market.
“That there is more young natural wine than old is a reflection of history. There are many more new producers than old ones, meaning there are few natural wine pioneers who can keep their wines in storage. I always tell new winemakers to save something, at least, to learn from their own wine.”
