Many years ago, to talk about a wine’s drinkability you were likely discussing if the wine was within the suitable drinking window to pull out the cork. Today, drinkability means much more than simply “suitability for drinking.”

At JamesSuckling.com, drinkability is one of the measures we use for quality, and often it is one of the basic yet essential indicators for a wine scoring 90 points or above — a threshold for high quality. “A 90-point wine is a wine that you want to drink the whole glass right away,” James Suckling says. “95 points or more, you want to finish the bottle yourself.”

A “drinkable cabernet” in a tasting note needs to be interpreted within the context. Is the wine suitable for now? Are we euphemistically suggesting the wine has minimally worthy concentration? Or increasingly, are we saying the wine is an approachable, easy-to-drink bottle that arouses the desire to drink effortlessly? The latter is a way to show how much the drinker likes the wine in a plain way.

So there is no fixed definition of drinkability. Our aesthetic preferences and wine appreciation abilities change and fluctuate as we learn and taste, and so these definitions often evolve with experience, and often over a long period of time, say 10 or 20 years or more. As much as we are drawn to the democratic merits of the drink, we must be aware that wine is also an acquired taste, so not all comments are equal. Wine tastings are logical exercises through which we connect our olfactory and gustatory senses with our minds, to create a dialectical interaction.

Evaluating drinkability comes when we consider the essential function of a wine. Like two different piles of apples on a balance, if a taster highlights a wine’s drinkability, today that probably suggests that the taster is tilting away from the riper, softer, sweeter red apples and toward the fresher, crunchier green ones that make you salivate.

Above all, in a global warming context, ripeness is no longer something rare and precious. We know that most age-worthy fine wines that showcase class and pedigree are often made in a climate that is just warm enough to ripen the fruit. The climate preferably is also cool enough to inhibit the productivity of the vines so the flavors remain concentrated but in a subtle and fresh way.

As many critics and journalists advocate for the drinkability of wine, top producers are also scrupulously assessing the sugar-acid balance of the grapes before harvest as they try to maintain ripeness and freshness at the same time, while staying away from overripe, jammy fruit or over-extraction in the cellar. So the drinkability of wine is very much associated with descriptors like “fresh and pure fruit,” “bright acidity,” “bone-dry, palate”, “nuance or finesse,” “precision,” “harmony,” “elegance” and a “linear, mineral texture,” and most often are associated with wines that express character and a sense of place. 

Think high-quality Beaujolais cru, a fresh, well-made mencia, a succulent, racy Chianti Classico or a minerally dry riesling, Greco di Tufo and Chablis, or the great-value Picpoul de Pinet. These wines usually do not need lots of alcohol, viscosity or a great deal of complexity to be interesting and drinkable, but possess the vivacity, fluidity, and even some seemingly austere but composed edges. This reminds me of the piercing acidity in a bone-dry Champagne or the bold tannin in a muscular Serralunga Barolo that many find too demanding and austere at first, but which they eventually cling to. Similarly, alcohol, incomprehensible in our childhood (for most of us, I presume) but dangerously attractive when we become adults.

So, a wine’s drinkability today reflects a new and still evolving trend of wine styles that underlines the wisdom of “less could be more”. Whether driven by the trend or driving it, wine journalism is also adjusting, marking an aesthetic return to classicism. It turns the wheel to precision and balance again, even though “balance” itself is now a cliché term that is much too vague and inclusive. For simple wines, drinkability is almost a given. But for the more complex, ambitious bottles with a substantial concentration of flavors that aim to please and age, we can say it is a gift.

Below are six wines at different prices and in categories that I consider highly drinkable and sought-after. The full JamesSuckling.com tasting note is also appended below these (for subscribers). 

6 drinkable wines worth buying

Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard Malbec Mendoza Fortuna Terrae 2012 – JS100 
A deeply colored, rich Argentine malbec might not strike you as a go-to wine for a drinkable red, but Catena Zapata produces a range of wines that underscore this character, especially their top offerings. Many of their wines have a supple, ethereal character that unwind evenly on the palate.

William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2017 – JS98 
Chablis is probably one of the most underrated yet intellectual and drinkable white wines. The best are known for their full but linear, mineral texture with the nuanced and complex limy, chalky mixture of yellow and green fruit. This William Fevre Grand Cru Les Clos, among many names, is a must-buy for quality and great value.

Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py 2018 – JS96 
You don’t need to pay a high price for drinkability. In fact, simpler wines often have this characteristic, and it becomes a virtue in seriously complex wines. Beaujolais has a name for making lighter, cheerful and drinkable wines, and this Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py gives Bojo a serious, structured dimension at a great-value price point! And of course, drinkability is at its core.

Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Nahe Felseneck GG 2018 – JS99 
The top GG German rieslings have impeccable drinkability with zesty, lightly fragrant but subtle aromas. And there are still great value bottles almost everywhere. This 99-point Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Nahe Felseneck GG 2018 is a textbook example of a dry riesling with succulence, mineral purity and power.

Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2008 – JS99 
It’s almost redundant to mention the drinkability of a fine bubbly, especially those Blanc de Blancs and the fine zero dosage wines. This nervy, composed and highly drinkable Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2008 was released recently and can be drunk now or put away for a decade or two.

Gonzalez Byass Jerez Tio Pepe Fino Dos Palmas NV – JS95 
Still think fortified sherries are old-fashioned? Try this rich but fabulously creamy, briny and well-aged fino, probably one of the top and the best-value sherries made by sherry guru Gonzalez Byass. The austere yet complex flavors along with its unique flor characters deconstructs the common perception of drinkability — you don’t need high acidity to deliver that in a wine, not at least for sherries!

– Zekun Shuai, associate editor in Beijing