The advantages of creating a wine cellar

Awine cellar sounds a grand thing; the preserve of country houses or those with deep pockets who burrow into their kitchen floors (courtesy of Spiral Cellars). But buying a few cases and ageing them should not just be the domain of committed, wealthy oenophiles. There are plenty of widely available, mid-priced bottles that taste better with time: generally years rather than decades.

This is particularly true of reds. I have tasted a raft of Côtes du Rhône 2015s recently, most retailing at around a tenner. It is a brilliant vintage, drinkable now, that will develop nuance over the next five years. You will, however, need to think about where to store them. Darkness is vital to avoid the damaging effect of UV, as is a constant temperature: between 10-15C is ideal, but you can get away with higher, as long as it’s consistent (friends have had treasured bottles ruined by a long stint on top of the fridge). If you don’t have a suitable space, buy a wine fridge – an investment that will more than pay itself back in added drinking pleasure. 2015 Bergerac Rouge, Château Tour des Gendres, France £7.95, The Wine Society While you can enjoy its smoky, brambly assertiveness now, I think this will be better once it has a calmed after a couple of years in bottle. 2015 Riesling, Tim Adams, Clare Valley, South Australia £9, Tesco A bottle for under £10 that will happily age gracefully for the next decade, intensifying in flavour and complexity. 2010 Rioja Reserva Imperial, CVNE, Spain £23 or £20 in a mixed six, Majestic Granted we are into fine-wine prices, but this is one of the finest young Imperials I have tried. Initially reticent, it had blossomed after a day open – a sure sign of the pleasures to come of the next 10 years.