All Society wines come with recommended drink windows, based on vintage conditions, our buyers' expertise and our producers' understanding of how their wines evolve. Because domestic storage options range from deep cellars to the custom-made racks that some kitchen designers still insist on putting next to the oven (!), our drink dates tend to err on the safe side.

In optimum conditions of temperature control and humidity such as those prevailing in our Stevenage cellars, end dates can often be exceeded, and drink-from dates may occasionally jump the gun slightly. Occasionally, maturity will set in more quickly than predicted and reduce the expected lifespan of the wine. It is Society policy to bring any such discrepancy immediately to the attention of members who hold stocks of the wines concerned in our Reserves facility.

Click here for additional drink date information, including how to interpret The Society's drink date notes, ageing wines, and when to open wines with long drinking windows.

Don't hesitate to contact the Fine Wine advice team with any concerns you may have about drink dates.

More information on decanting and pouring fine wines can be found in our Serving Wine guide.

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