Drinking maturity: a state, not a moment

The standard

A determined drinking maturity rests on the tasting of the vintage in question, not on an inference from age, grape variety or reputation.

Criteria

• No component steps singly out of the whole
• The state is examined on the opened wine, not calculated
• The determination applies to a vintage, not to a cuvée
• It remains revocable if a later tasting turns out otherwise

Distinction

Drinking maturity ≠ drinking window: the drinking window is the forecast, drinking maturity the state that has arrived. Drinking maturity ≠ ageing potential: a wine remains keepable even when a determined drinking maturity is still outstanding.