Red wines: Taming tannins

Here are three nicely aged red wines that strike the right balance between tannin and fruity flavors.

A good red wine has just the right amount of tannins, said Dave McIntyre in The Washington Post. “Without tannins, red wines can be flabby and fragile.” But too many tannins make a wine taste bitter, like “a sucker punch to the mouth.” Tannins are contained mostly in the skins, stems, and seeds of a grape, and are most noticeable in such red wines as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Nebbiolo. Merlot and Pinot Noir tend to have fewer tannins. Here are three nicely aged red wines that strike the right balance between tannin and fruity flavors:

Christian Moueix St. Emilion 2005 (Bordeaux, $25) A Merlot-Cabernet blend that shows “classic Bordeaux styling” and earthy tannins.

Provenance Vineyards Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Napa Valley, $45) “Gorgeous, from first sniff to final sip.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Thorn-Clarke William Randell Shiraz 2005 (Australia, $54) A wine from the Barossa Valley with “jammy blackberry” flavors and “a long, rapturous finish.”

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us