Though it is a hotbed of drama (and some would say fascism), the ebob board is nonetheless capable of some really fascinating posts, such as this one here. Loire/Alsace/Champagne/Burgundy/German/Austrian critic David Schildnecht has a way with the written word, especially as it pertains to the grape and all things wine (no surprise that someone who covers the coolest - climatically and stylistically - regions so well would have something interesting to say about how wine ages. I'll let you read it and check it out for yourselves.
As for what I think will age, I'm still working on it, and as DS says, so much of this sort of forecasting depends on experience, not only with multiple vintages of general regions but of specific producers. I'm only 28, dude. And I did not grow up with a serious wine cellar in the household. So there's lots of learning ahead. Fortunately this year has been a real education for me personally with regards to tasting fully mature, and maturing, wines of high quality. I've been lucky enough this year to have tasted mature wines such as'89 Luneau Papin Muscadet L d'Or, '76 Varoilles Charmes-Chambertin, '79 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Auslese, '81 Cronin PN (central coast CA PN that still tasted fresh, spicy and unbelievably good), '70 Latour, '89 Chasse-Spleen, '27 Domaine Bory Muscat de Rivesaltes and others. And I have also tasted excellent young wines that I think will age gracefully for years: '96 Salon, '96 Fleury, '99 Lopez Bosconia Reserva, '04 Langoa Barton, '02 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards PN, '04 de Montille Volnay 'Taillepieds,' '96 Pontet Canet, '04 Conn Valley Cab, '05 Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Herrenberg Spatlese, and many, many others. So what do I look for? In vague, highly subjective, layman's terms, I look for wines that are already very interesting, highly drinkable and balanced, but seem like they have more to show. So I look for what I view as balance, and then combine it slightly with theory and book smarts, and then go from there. And, I'm guessing, prepare myself to be humbled when I re-visit a wine in 5 years, one that I knew would be a 15yr+ wine, and find it to be over the hill. Most of the fun is in the drinking and experimentation, not in the satisfaction of being right. Though it's always gratifying to be right....
Wouldn't it be interesting to cellar a few 95 pt Spanish, Aussie and Napa wines which are predicted by some to age well for 10+ years and track their progress? If many wine consumers actually were to do this, I would suspect that lots of subscriptions to certain wine publications would be canceled....
