Wine Ageing
What really happens when wine ages? Do all wines get better with age? Today I am writing about this subject, which for many is something of a myth. We sometimes say that so-and-so is like wine, because they improve with age. But what is the basis for this popular saying?
It is rather curious, since more than 95% of wine is made to be drunk young, produced to be drunk that same year and with an ageing potential of 3 to 5 years. If that is so, what then is the effect of time on a wine? Knowing the answer to this question is essential in order to decide whether to let the wine you have just bought age, or to drink it today.
What Is Wine Ageing?
So what is wine ageing? Wines are the result of the alcoholic fermentation of grape must. It is when fermentation ends that a wine’s ageing begins. However, we winemakers prefer to divide the ageing of wine into two phases.
The first we call the maturation of the wine (estágio). It is the more oxidative phase, which takes place before bottling, and which can happen in oak barrels or simply in tank, whether stainless steel or concrete.
The second phase is the ageing that takes place once the wine is already in the bottle. It is ageing in a reductive environment, that is, in an environment where oxygen is scarce. And it is this type of ageing that I am writing about today.
Maturing or Ageing a Wine?
Maturing or ageing a wine is a decision that depends on knowing the ageing potential of the chosen wine. The problem is that we do not always know the wine inside the bottle well enough to make that decision with confidence. In the same way, we do not know for certain how long that wine can go on ageing in the bottle.
To reduce the risks, my first piece of advice is: always buy 12 bottles of a wine you want to age, because that way you can taste one bottle each year and see the path the wine is taking. Another piece of advice I want to leave you with: always taste one of the bottles straight away, to find out whether or not the wine has ageing potential.
What Characteristic Must a Wine Have in Order to Age?
Generally speaking, a wine with greater acidity and greater structure will always have a better capacity to age. If you think that more alcoholic wines have a greater capacity to age, think again. The best proof of this is the wines of Colares, from the Ramisco grape, which have demonstrably aged well for decades and have a low alcohol content.
“Bear in mind that these wines of great ageing potential are quite austere when young.”
And it is for this reason that some of the best wines in the world are only released onto the market after several years of ageing in the bottle. A good example in Portugal is Barca Velha. In Australia, Grange; in France, Romanée-Conti; and in California, Opus One. At Casca Wines, all our old-vine wines age for at least two years before their release.
And it is not only Barca Velha. Portugal has an unusual range of wines built to keep: Vintage Port and Madeira, capable of spanning decades — Madeira, centuries; Moscatel de Setúbal, which gains honey and dried fruit with the years; the Colares from Ramisco, austere and long-lived beside the sea; and, increasingly, high-altitude whites and sparkling wines that acidity makes last. It is a richness that few countries have.
The Wine Ageing Process
The wine ageing process is complex and depends on several factors, internal and external, such as the place of ageing or the type of closure used in the bottle. But one thing is certain: the ageing process is essentially an oxidation in a reductive environment.
Let us look at what happens inside the bottle:
The aromas originating in the grape are called primary and develop up to bottling. Then we have the secondary aromas, originating in fermentation. Once in the bottle, the tertiary aromas develop, as a result of ageing — honeyed, herbal and earthy aromas, or mushroom and dried fruit. This is due to the reactions that continue to take place between acids and alcohols.
The texture is also transformed. White wines gain viscosity. In red wines, the tannins — which are responsible for the structure — bond with other phenolic compounds and become larger and therefore heavier molecules, precipitating and creating the deposit common in aged wines. These processes transform the flavour of the wines, softening the sharp edges of youth and also changing the colours and shades.
Is Wine Ageing Physical or Chemical?
In the ageing of wines the processes are chemical, but also physical. From the moment wines are born, chemical processes bring about transformations that lead on to physical ones. Or, to put it another way, the precipitations that frequently occur during the maturation and ageing of wine are the result of physical processes that originate in compounds that are chemically interlinked.
To finish… do not let a wine grow old. If that wine is one for ageing, let it age and allow it to gain maturity and character with the years. Give time its time. And when the moment comes to enjoy it, do so on a special occasion. You will then see age and history turn into a moment of pleasure that will stay in the memory.
From the page to the glass
- 1808 Field Blend Beira Interior — An 80-year-old vineyard at 690 metres, 36 months in barrel, cellaring to 2062.
- Portie Vinho do Porto Vintage — A single-harvest 2010, foot-trodden in the stone lagares of the Douro.
- Monte Cascas Vinha das Lameiras — A 94-year-old Douro vineyard that yields one tonne. Lagar, 24 months in French oak.
