It might be hard to call this one. Joe's "CW Quick Mead" is based on Chuck Wettergreen's basic approach to meadmaking, i.e., all natural, making good use of honey blends, etc. Something I noticed about Chuck's meads, especially the traditional, is that they were eminently drinkable right away, and didn't seem to improve greatly with aging. My guess was that his meads were intended to ferment relatively quickly, with little strain on the yeast, and that once they were finished out they were quite good, with not much more room for improvement.
I should mention a traditional mead Chuck had made which he dubbed "Odin's Own." It truly was. Chuck didn't tell me precisely how he had crafted this mead but oh, it was wonderfully complex, all kinds of notes of chocolate, vanilla, heather, ect., etc. He had also aged it two years, and apparently to great effect. I tried this mead at the 2001 International Mead Fest, and have never forgotten the experience. Oddly, Chuck entered this mead in the Mazer Cup and it was marked down as "too complex." ??? I can't figure that one out.
Some of the aging factors associated with wines are tannins and alcohol level (Oskaar may have some more clarifying comments here). A good mead will have neglible tannin levels, and if the alcohol level is moderate, about wine strength, and there are no off flavors to age out, there may not be much room for improvement in a basic traditional mead, assuming it fermented well from start to finish.
Oskaar has commented on choice of honey blends and how they can affect middle palate, finish, etc, and in this case, aging may play an important role, depending on the type of varietal honeys chosen for the blend.
Anyone else have any comments on this?