Have you ever noticed that some wines taste better and... well, friendlier on day two of being open? 
If so, you're not alone and the experience of a wine seeming to improve is not confined to just one style of wine. An American actor called Will Rogers once famously said that we never get a second chance to make a first impression but I don't find that is always the case when it comes to wine, which can alter our past experiences when it has been open for a few hours or even days. Our first impressions come from our own experience of the world and it is possible to look at the same things in a new light, if new information comes to light. 

Young red wines are a great example because they can often taste a tad tight. It's a little like eating cold food. Heat can drastically alter flavour. Heat up cold food and flavours emerge that never seemed to be there before. Air can also be a friend to wine, opening up its flavours once the wine has a chance to 'breathe' outside of the tight confines of a bottle. I have to defer to those winemakers with strong science backgrounds to explain the exact science behind it but sensory perceptions have led me to the following good example of an exceptional day two wine.

Wine of the week  

18.5/20

2019 Brovia Barbera d'Alba Sori Del Drago RRP $45-ish

Concentration is king in this beautiful Barbera with its full body, dried fruit aromas and savoury deep flavours of earth and forest leaves. This Barbera stands out from the crowd in a big way but without any oak. Hand picked grapes from a vineyard called Fiasco within the Barolo DOC were all pressed into stainless steel tanks to ferment and then soften for 18 months before being bottled, without filtering. The simplicity accentuates the complexity of Barbera, which expresses its ripe, dark cherry, dried strawberry and dried plum flavours. 

Tastes good on day one, great on day two.