Museum Cellar Notes

These tasting notes are derived from our occasional indulgence in Stonecroft’s aged cellar stock. As and when these wines are opened, notes will be posted on this site.

Cellaring Instructions

Ideal cellar conditions would equate to a constant temperature of around 12 deg C. Temperatures warmer than this will accelerate the ageing process. There is a chemical relationship which equates to a doubling of reaction rates for each 10 deg C increase in temperature. So, in general, a wine cellared at a constant 20 deg will have half the cellar life of a wine aged at 10 deg.

Furthermore, 'cooking' your current vintage wine, or a warmly cellared wine, will not produce the same results of complexity and development as a carefully cellared wine. Under increased temperatures some reactions will proceed which would not otherwise occur in a cooler cellar, so the two results will not be comparable.

Wines (sealed with cork) should always be cellared lying down. This keeps a liquid seal at the cork interface, and prevents the cork drying out. Wines stored upright develop quicker. As the wines age, constant temperature becomes more important than the absolute temperature. It is important to avoid temperature fluctuations as these cause variable pressures in the bottle headspace - which leads to premature ingress of air via the cork - especially as the wine (cork) ages.

Of course, the latter is of less consequence with screw caps, but you must be careful not to knock the cap during handling. This may damage the seal.