What happens when a wine ages

Many people think that a wine is finished after bottling – and will always remain as it is. But that's not true. Because chemical processes continue in wine even after bottling. The various acids, for example, soften, while tannins become rounder. The latter also tend to precipitate if they are present in increased amounts. These then combine with flocculating colour pigments to form the so-called sediment that collects at the bottom of the bottle in many aged wines. Incidentally, this is precisely the main reason why aged wines are decanted before consumption. But that is only a side note.

These chemical processes may sound rather sober and uninspiring, but they are the processes that ultimately make our hearts beat faster as wine lovers. As a great wine matures, it becomes more harmonious and balanced from year to year. Instead of fighting each other, acidity and tannins eventually go hand in hand, creating a wonderfully silky feel on the palate. The fruit aromas, which are often intrusive at first, develop into hints of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in white wines, or tobacco, leather and undergrowth in reds. The structure of the wine becomes finer and silkier. All of this promises maximum enjoyment.

Unfortunately, only a few wines are suitable for such a maturation. Since most wines are deliberately made for young enjoyment, these wines cannot age well. All the chemical processes mentioned do take place in them, but only at a much, much faster pace. This means that the drinking window closes very quickly. If it is exceeded, the wine is no longer enjoyable to drink. But which wines have great aging potential?

These wines benefit from additional aging

For a wine to develop further during storage, it must have at least one of two very important characteristics: a lot of acidity or a lot of tannin. Sometimes it has both. For white wines that are to mature further, acidity is particularly important. If it is particularly high, the wine is usually only of limited enjoyment when young. However, with additional ageing, the acidity mellows and becomes more harmonious. Good examples of this are French Grands Crus such as Montrachet, Meursault, Chablis (all Chardonnays) or German Riesling-based Große Gewächse. In the case of sweet wines such as Sauternes, Trockenbeerenauslese or Eiswein, acidity is also the decisive factor in ensuring that the wines can age for several decades and still not reach their peak.

In red wine, on the other hand, tannin is the main factor. The more tannin a wine has, the better it can age. As a rule, these are wines made from grape varieties that have a lot of tannins due to their thick berry skins. Examples are Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre or Tannat. But that's not all. Many tannins also need a high acidity to keep the red wine in balance. Red wines that benefit greatly from longer maturation include, for example, high-quality Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignons from California. If the wines are then aged in new barriques, the tannins are intensified, which can prolong the maturation process. Here, too, Bordeaux wines are the best example.

Pinot Noir is a small exception in the world of red wine. The grape itself adds hardly any tannin to the wine, but it does have quite a lot of acidity. That is why Pinot Noirs can age excellently without a lot of tannins. The best examples of this are the wines from Burgundy, such as Échézeaux, Gevrey Chambertin, Musigny or Clos de Tart. Or from California or Oregon. And the great German wines made from Spätburgender, as the grape is called there, can also age for a small eternity.

Should every vintage age for the same length of time?

Grape variety and vinification are two important indicators when it comes to allowing a wine to age in the bottle. But the vintage itself is also a very important factor. In warm countries such as Spain, Australia or California, the vegetation cycles are quite the same from year to year due to very stable weather. Here, the vintage plays a less important role than in France or Germany, for example, where the weather varies greatly from year to year. This is precisely why there can be very good vintages or ‘classic’ (as traders say, for not so good) vintages. 1961, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2015, for example, were magnificent Bordeaux vintages.

In general, 2015 was an excellent vintage worldwide. All wine critics immediately agreed on this. But this is rarely the case. Opinions often differ greatly. The best-known example is probably the 1982 Bordeaux vintage. All the critics wrote this vintage down. Too low in acidity, no potential. All critics? Well, one didn't. Robert Parker, who, admittedly, was hardly known at the time. Parker promised a great future for the 1982 vintage – and he was proved right. This catapulted the American to the top of international wine criticism.

As you can see, advance assessments of wine vintages do not always turn out to be correct. In addition, excellent producers can also make fantastic wines in difficult years. So if you are consciously looking for wines to age for a long time, please feel free to contact us. We will help you find wines that can age for a small eternity.

When has a mature wine reached its ideal drinking window?

The ideal drinking window for each wine is as unique as the parameters for a long maturation are individual. This is the point in time when a wine provides the greatest pleasure because it is at its absolute peak. As a wine lover, you can develop your own feeling for this quite well. If you know a wine very well – and have several bottles of it. After a certain period of maturation, you can simply open the first bottle and taste it. It's best to take notes – and then repeat the process two years later. This is the best way to understand how the wine develops. If this is too uncertain for you, or if you like to treat yourself to high-priced wines that only find their way into your wine cellar in single bottles, then tasting is of course not possible.

That's why it can happen that you open a bottle a little too early. In this case, we recommend that you simply decant the wine into a large decanter. The oxygen that is added in this way mimics a quick maturation process. The more air gets to the wine, the faster this process takes place. After three to five hours in the decanter, the tannins, for example, soften significantly and the wine becomes rounder and more harmonious. However, this is really only a stopgap. Only a slowly matured wine will actually have the perfect balance. So please email or call us if you are ever unsure. We will be very happy to advise you on the maturation time and the likely drinking window for all the wines in our portfolio. Just contact us – for even more enjoyment of your favourite wine.

Do great wines always have to mature for a very long time?

Ten years ago, we would probably have answered this question with a very vehement ‘Yes!’ But now our answer is as follows: ‘It depends.’ Namely, on the philosophy of the winery. More and more winemakers are working to ensure that their great wines reach their ideal drinking window earlier. So that wine lovers don't have to wait that long. By using different sizes of wooden barrels and deciding how much new wood is needed, you can significantly influence the ageing time of a wine – while still maintaining exceptional quality. The Best of Wines team will be happy to advise you on this if you are looking for wines like this.