How a Vertical Tasting Works
Wines are lined up from the same estate, same cuvée, across different years. For example:
- Château Margaux: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018
What You Learn
- Vintage variation — how weather affects ripeness, structure, and character
- Aging evolution — how a wine develops from youth through maturity
- Consistency — whether a producer maintains quality across different conditions
- Winemaker changes — shifts in style (e.g., new winemaker, organic conversion, different oak regime)
Tips for Organising a Vertical
- Choose a wine you can source across 5-10 vintages
- Taste from youngest to oldest (most common) or oldest to youngest
- Serve all wines at the same temperature
- Allow young wines more time to open (decant if needed)
- Take detailed notes to compare afterward
Vertical vs. Horizontal
While a vertical explores one wine across time, a horizontal tasting compares different wines from the same vintage — for example, six different 2019 Barolo producers. Both formats offer different insights.