Decanting - Day 3
My Wine Page-a-Day Calendar poses this question for March 18th:

Q: Which two wines would most benefit from decanting?
A. a 4-year-old Australian shiraz
B. a 20-year-old tawny Port
C. a 2-year-old Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon
D. a 20-year-old vintage Port

A: C and D. Decanting is done for two reasons: to pour older wines off their sediment and to help tight and tannic young wines open up. Because a two-year-old Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon is sure to have a hefty dose of tannin, it will undoubtedly benefit from spending some time in a decanter. And vintage Port is a powerful fortified wine. It will have a fair amount of sediment and should certainly be decanted.

Hmmm, someone else who believes that aeration will reduce the perception of tannin in a wine. Interesting!