Much has been made of the sharp about face we’ve seen over the past 20 years from the over-ripe, alcoholic fruit bombs in fashion at the turn of the century to the more elegant, fresh, lower alcohol wines now favored by wine writers and industry insiders. I suspect that pendulum is about to shift back towards more ripeness. Just as the producers of alcoholic fruit bombs eventually went too far, some of today’s paeans to “freshness” are just too lean. They’re interesting but a bit short on pleasure.
But while that dynamic plays out, another development has gotten less attention but may be more consequential. It has been a while since I’ve tasted a wine with aggressive, bitter tannins. Today, even young wines from famously tannic varietals such as Sagrantino, Tannat, and Nebbiolo have a finer, silkier grain giving the wines more fruit expression without necessarily more concentration or, heaven forbid, excess residual sugar.
I recently opened a 2020 Sagrantino from Ser Winery (Santa Cruz) that was dense, long, and rich but with tannins so silky you could wear it around your neck. Likewise, the 2022 Tannat from the same winery.
Perhaps its picking to phenolic ripeness, warmer temperatures, canopy management, or the judicious use of micro-oxygenation in the winery—I’ll leave the technical explanation to others more knowledgeable about winemaking.
But I think tannin management is an under-reported story about advances in wine quality.
When the pendulum does swing back to more robust wines we may get the richness and fruit without the sweetness and stewed aromas.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 