How many of you save bottles of wine to taste many years later? Some of us do this on purpose while others forget about a bottle in the back of a cabinet and discover it after the wine has aged many years. I do keep bottles to age on purpose. One bottle from the French Languedoc is Chateau Notre Dame du Quatourze Nautica 2011. I enjoyed and recommended this bottle when I tasted it in 2014 at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. I purchased a bottle and I saved it until a few days ago when I opened it. This wine has 15 years of bottle age. How did this wine age over that time? Let me tell you.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Chateau Notre Dame du Quatourze Nautica 2011
I don’t have information from the winery about the grapes for this vintage, but I think it is Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Carignan, based on more recent wines from the winery.
Appearance: A medium intensity, dull garnet colour with bricking. There were also tiny wine diamonds (tartaric acid crystals) formed on the bottom of the cork.
Nose: Medium intensity aged aromas of leather, dried red fruits, and spice.
Palate: This wine is dry, lighter bodied, with a smooth, soft mouthfeel. Medium acidity and light tannins. Leather, dried red fruits, and black pepper on the palate.
Finish: Medium plus length finishing with mouthwatering acidity, dried red fruits, leather, and pepperiness on the palate.
Rating: 
A delicious, aged wine. I really like the aged aromas with the leather and dried fruits which are also present on the palate. The wine now is lighter bodied and smooth with soft tannins. The wine is wonderful to sip on its own, but also still has enough body and flavours to enjoy with food. I had some assorted cheeses to sample together with the wine.
Don’t be afraid of aging your wines, specifically red wines, but also some white wines can age nicely. Red wines with stronger tannins, such as Cabernets and Syrahs, can age for many years. Some white grape varieties, like Chardonnay, Riesling, and Semillon, also gain in complexity as they age. The next time you purchase a bottle of wine you like, why not buy two or three bottles then try those wines after 4 or 8 or more years. The resulting aromas and flavours may surprise you.
