On May 22, 2:26*pm, wrote:
> Micheal,
>
> Racking is the best way to age a wine. The oxygen added when bottling
> obviously helped. You also may *of had CO2 that blew off on the
> racking. After 12 years of winemaking I have noticed that it's almost
> easier to suffocate a wine then to add to much oxygen. If you don't
> rack enough the wine will not degas and will not age correctly.
>
> On May 21, 9:14*am, michael > wrote:
>
> > Some of you may recall that I have been having problems with my 2006
> > Regent red wine.It seemed tannic and rather harsh after about 3.5
> > years in a 5 litre demijohn.However it has now been in a bottle for 3
> > months and on opening a bottle this lunchtime,I was very pleasantly
> > surprised how much smoother it had become.In fact my wife described it
> > now as being very good and smooth,whereas previously she described it
> > as harsh and tannic.
> > What happens to red wine when it is bottled? I always have assumed
> > that the wine in a 5l glass demijohn would taste the same as that in a
> > 70cl glass bottle.Is it the air one introduces when transferring,and
> > does that suggest that I should be racking my wines rather more than I
> > do?
> > Comments welcome.
> > Michael

I had a similar experience with an elderberry/blackberry 2 years
bulk / 3 months bottle. It' amazingly good compared to taste in
bulk...