Wine101: Ageing Wines

Contrary to popular belief, most wines available on the market are made primarily for immediate consumption, and will not benefit from additional ageing. If you clean your house and find a 10 year old bottle of nice but simple wine (I don’t want to say cheap wine, but yes, one of those), there is a big chance that it is not good to drink anymore – but you will have to try it to be sure.

Whether or not wines require ageing depend on the fermentation and time spent in oak barrels. Most wines in the entry-level range spend time in stainless steel containers before bottling, and depending the varietals, have to be drunk within a few years (approximately 1 to 2 years for Sauvignon Blancs and other crisp whites, 2 to 4 years for reds and some drier whites).

Oak barrels are used to concentrate the tannins and aromas which help most wines to age longer. Barrels can few used a few times, but newer barrels will add much more complexity and oak flavors. older barrels will give off less complexity and oak flavors, while still helping on the development of aromas. However, using only new barrels is very costly, which is why wines aged in new barrels will be on a much more premium level (few hundreds or thousands of RM).

So to make it simple (not strictly the case 100% of the time, but most likely), the more expensive a wine is, the older it can age. To give you a ballpark, a few years for a RM100 bottle and up to 50 years for the most premium wines, like Bordeaux Grand Crus.