How to get perfectly aged wine without any of the work

The Dan Murphy’s Cellar Release program does all the hard work for you, with clever wine experts selecting bottles that are prime for the cellaring – wines that will thrive, evolve and only get better with age – and keeping them in optimal controlled conditions (cool, dark, quiet and a little bit humid). Then, rather than a set-and-forget system, the experts routinely check the wines to ensure they are ageing gracefully and make sure they catch them as they’re hitting their stride. For most, this is around three to five years (when they’re still fresh, but the tannins and oak have some presence), but some bottles can take decades to peak.

When that perfect time arrives, a booming voice from the heavens says, “Release the wine!” No, not really, but the wines are indeed released from the cellar. They make their way to the hallowed shelves of your local Dan’s where you can swan in, pick one up and get all the applause and praise for arriving at your evening’s event with something as special as a fine aged wine that tastes gosh-darn amazing. So thoughtful.

Aged wine has been enjoyed since ancient times. Partying with the early Romans meant popping decade-old reds. “And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good’”, is a line, not from a Wes Anderson film, but from the Bible. The Bible! Aged wine made its way into the realm of man’s greatest delights early in the game, and has stayed there. Why? It’s simple. Aged wine hits different. Not with every bottle (in fact, the vast majority are designed for early drinking), but when you pick the right style, ageing can take its sharpness away, integrate the flavours, and make it more complex, more interesting, and more delicious. 

Wines with a tonne of intense flavours, as well as high acidity and tannins, can really benefit from maturing. As small amounts of oxygen slowly infiltrate the bottle (a good thing, when done in a controlled way) and acids and alcohols react to form new compounds, the wine changes in taste, texture and colour. Fresh fruit notes evolve into rich dried fruit. Other flavours that were previously laying low now step to the front – like honey, caramel, stone and earth. Gritty tannins and sharp acid are mellowed, making the wine super silky and elegant. In short, it becomes a smoother ride. You might just find that a bottle that you once found too OTT becomes your new favourite – or perhaps your current fave is even better with a few years under its belt.

Now, it pays to know that cellaring wine isn’t anything new for Dan Murphy’s; the founder Daniel Francis Murphy established one of Australia’s significant wine cellars back in the ’60s. Today, there are – wait for it – more than three million cellared bottles slowly maturing in an aptly ginormous and perfectly temperate cellar in Laverton, Victoria. Bottles waiting for their time to shine… in your glass.

They say time is money, but is it? Cellared wines need years of attention, and seeking out a Cellar Release wine in your local Dan’s store can provide you with a bottle that’s had years of patient cellaring, often for just a fraction more cost than the wine’s current vintage. From the latest batch of perfectly aged wine to be released, these are the five we’d jump on if we were you.