Why did it take Voldemort thirteen years to figure out the resurrection potion?

Question

Voldemort's resurrection potion from Goblet of Fire reads:

‘Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!
Flesh – of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master.
Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.’
_{Goblet of Fire - pages 556-557 - Bloomsbury - Chapter thirty-two, Flesh, Blood and Bone}

It seems like a pretty simple spell and is ancient Dark Magic (According to Voldemort in Goblet of Fire in the chapter Blood, Bone and Flesh.). Dark Magic is Voldemort's specialty:

'You call it “greatness”, what you have been doing, do you?’ asked Dumbledore delicately.

'Certainly,’ said Voldemort, and his eyes seemed to burn red. ‘I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed –'
_{Half-Blood Prince - Page 415 - Bloomsbury - Chapter twenty, Lord Voldemort's Request}

Why did it take Voldemort thirteen years to figure out the components of the resurrection potion?

_{I'm looking for an answer grounded in canon (the 10 Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling interviews or quotes). A subjective answer in the spirit of canon is also very welcome. I am not looking for an answer from the HP Wikia.}

Answer 1

I think that the question is making an unwarranted assumption, that he didn't know of this spell earlier.

There's really no mention in canon that he didn't know the spell before (and pottermore seems utterly empty on the topic of "Resurrection Potion").

However, there's enough evidence to surmise that knowing the spell wouldn't have helped him until Year Four.

• First, he was a ghost in Albania, with no access to, or ability to use, the wand (thanks @alexwlchan for the quote):

  I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself… for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand (GoF)

  That takes care of all but 4 of those "thirteen" years you mentioned - he only met Quirrell the year before Harry was to attend Hogwarts.

• Then, he didn't have access to his father's bones

• Then after he met Quirrell, he may have had some means to get his father's bones... BUT, he got distracted by shiny Philosopher's Stone, which was clearly a far more superior pathway for him, being something that can grant immportality and not just new body. So, he lacked both "blood of the enemy" (or the means to obtain it, as Harry was under Dumbledore's protection) AND a chance to work on the body as he was too busy Quirrelling and trying to get the sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone.

• Then he lost his servant again (and with it any ability to do magic) - until Year Four, when Wormtail found him again.

Answer 2

Voldemort did not take 13 years to figure out the resurrection potion. Initially, he existed in spirit/ghost form in Albania, possessing any animals he could find, which would soon die off, making it impossible to get out of Albania. His return was facilitated by Quirrell's accidental meet up in the Albanian forests, returning him to the wizarding world.

His initial inclination was stealing the Philosopher's stone and gaining immortality. That failed, and in year 2, aided by Malfoy, he returned in the form of Marvolo's diary to try and restablish himself by killing people using the Basilisk. That too failed.

Somehow, after Scabbles (Peter Petigrew) feared being killed, he returned to Voldemort's safe haven, and together with Barty Crouch Jr., they facilitated his return by bringing in all the key ingredients. His greatest foe, the willing servant, and his father's remains. It was a matter of chance, not lack of knowledge.

Answer 3

The regeneration potion wasn´t invented by Voldemort; this potion is an old piece of magic

it is an old piece of dark magic, the potion that revived me tonight -"
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 33 (The Death Eaters)

Voldemort invented the dark potion he uses to have a rudimentary body. This potion needs a few dark curses created by Voldemort, so Voldemort must have invented this potion.

The potion also needed Unicorn blood and Nagini´s venom; also the other thing so horrible that JK cannot say like the horcruxes.

One of them is how Pettigrew brought Voldemort back into a rudimentary body. 'Cause I told my editor what I thought happened there, and she looked as though she was gonna vomit..

Voldemort didn´t need to use the potion until he lost his body, and when he had Quirrel, his plan was to uses the elixir of life to create a body, simpler than these potions.

Answer 4

It was always my thought that when Harry was holding the Stone at the end of the first movie, Voldemort picked something out of the Stone when he passed through Harry. Whatever Voldemort got from the Stone was used to create the rudimentary body that was thrown into the cauldron. Voldemort was going to use the Stone to create a new, properly functioning, body, but he did the best he could with what little he got from the Stone.