When it comes to buying wine price is a major consideration. Unless you’re fortunate to have Johnny Depp’s funds and can buy fine wines as the mood takes you, then you’re going to see how much it costs.
At Perfect Cellar, we’re often asked if fine wines are worth the extra money? Our answer is always a resounding, ‘Yes’, especially when it comes to wines between around £15 and £50 a bottle. These so-called ‘premium’ wines are the sweet spot when it comes to quality versus value. It allows a producer to invest time and effort to make a great wine, but they remain affordable to the many, not the few.
So, what are the factors that make these premium wines worth the extra money? In this article, we’ll look at the five elements that make premium wines such a joy to drink.
Reason 1: Authenticity
Premium producers are invariably passionate about their region’s wines and see themselves as proud upholders of a great tradition. Yes, they may innovate as Tenute Ca does, for example, but they’ll want their wines to be authentic. Authenticity isn’t something you can fake. It takes time, and passion, and doesn’t allow for shortcuts when making wine.
Reason 2: Character
Making a wine that tastes OK isn’t that hard. Take some half-decent grapes, micro-manage the winemaking process, throw in some cheap tricks of the trade such as oak chips, deacidification and higher residual sugar levels, and job done. Creating a wine with real character and depth takes concentrated, premium grapes, skill, and time. All this, alas, costs money, but the investment is so worthwhile. The result is a wine with real character. A wine that lives on in the memory just as the empty bottle lives on the dining room shelf.
Reason 3: Balance
Wine, like life, is all about balance. Achieving the right balance between fruit, acidity and structure takes real dedication especially when you’re looking to let the nature of the vintage shine through. Premium producers will go to great lengths to ensure that while years have different styles, the wines will always be as good as they can be.
Reason 4: Complexity and longevity
One of the great joys of premium and fine wine is seeing how their complexity develops and improves over time. Even white wines in the right hands can age for years. The elements required for this aren’t always found in lesser-priced wines as they are designed to be drunk within months of being bottled. Premium red and white wines from Rioja, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Australia can all age beautifully, and deliver different experiences as they do.
Reason 5: Rarity
Compared with the mass-produced wines made by the ‘industrialist’ wineries as Nicholas Belfrage Master of Wine calls them, premium wines are relatively rare. Our buyers are often frustrated that they can’t get more wine from our producers as they simply do have more to offer. Quantity and quality are rare finds in wine.
So, as you can see, when it comes to wine you get what you pay for.
Like to know more about wine?
We hope you’ve found this old world and new world wine guide useful. If you’d like to explore the world of wine, why not become a Perfect Cellar member? With our exclusive TastingBOXES, interactive tastings via Alexa, and an incredible range of fine wines, we have everything you need to enjoy finer wine. Perfect.
You may also be interested in reading our more in-depth red wine guide, white wine guide and sparkling wine guide.