Vintages, Wines & Cellaring

Should you drink it now or save it? Does the year on the label actually matter? And what on earth is cellaring?

Let’s keep this simple.

Vintage - the year the grapes were harvested. A great vintage means ideal growing conditions that year. A difficult vintage means the winemaker had to work harder.

Does vintage always matter? Honestly - for most wines you’ll drink day to day, not really. For serious reds and aged whites, it matters a lot.

Cellaring - storing wine intentionally to let it develop over time. Not all wines benefit from aging. Most whites and light reds are made to drink young.

Which wines age well? Big structured reds - Barossa Shiraz, Bordeaux blends, Rhône Grenache. These can develop beautifully over 10, 20, even 30 years.

The golden rule: if you’re not sure, drink it. A good wine enjoyed now beats a great wine left too long.

Your TCE boxes are curated to drink beautifully on arrival. But if you want to cellar a bottle or two from each region? We’ll always tell you which ones are worth the wait.