Wine ageing in 7 keys

Wine ageing is a complex and fascinating process that can take several years to complete


Wine ageing is the process of maturing wine, which has repercussions on its body, aromatic composition, and personality

When we become adults, we know how decisive our parents’ upbringing was. During childhood and adulthood, we mature and define our personality. Something similar happens with wines. Wine ageing plays a vital role in determining a wine’s characteristics and directly affects such essential issues as complexity, structure, body, aromatic composition, and personality.

Although wine ageing is associated in the collective imagination with red wines, white wines also undergo a maturation phase in tanks made of various materials. In fact, more and more white wines undergo a complex, sophisticated, and time-consuming wine ageing process that can last several years.

In this article, we will discuss some of the key aspects of wine ageing and highlight its importance in enhancing the quality and complexity of the wine.

Phases of wine ageing

Unlike other winemaking processes, wine evolves. After alcoholic fermentation (and malolactic fermentation in some cases), the wine may present characteristics that are notably different from those it will have after ageing. Why? Wine’s ageing is critical in shaping its properties.

Traditionally, wine ageing has been divided into two main phases:

  • The oxidative phase. In this phase, the wine was stored in wooden barrels, subjecting it to slow oxygenation as the air entered the barrel. In addition, the wood gives the wines different flavours and aromas, and this phase gives the wines a greater smoothness.
  • The reductive phase. In this phase, wine ageing takes place without oxygen inside the bottle, affecting both colour and aromas.

Types of wines depending on the length of ageing time

How is it decided how long the wine should be aged for? When planning the ageing process, oenologists take many aspects into account:

  • The characteristics of the vineyards (age, terroir, climate…).
  • The particularities of the grape varieties used to make the wine.
  • The result to be achieved.

In the collective imagination, there is a false belief that the longer the wine is aged, the better its quality. However, it is vital to remember that a percentage of water and alcohol evaporates year after year during the ageing of wine in barrels.

Depending on the length of time the wine is aged, there are two main types of winemaking:

  • Young wines. Young wines are launched on the market the year after the grapes are harvested. The ageing times fluctuate. They often spend several months in barrels or stainless steel tanks and evolve in the bottle before wine lovers enjoy them. In these wines, varietal characteristics are predominant.
  • Ageing wines. Unlike young wines, these wines undergo a maturation process that can last many months or even years, and part of this time must be spent in barrels. In these elaborations, the ageing of the wine acquires greater importance, transforming its aromatic composition, colour, body and structure.
Wine ageing is a process that endows the wine with new properties

Where is the wine aged? Wood, steel, concrete…

Although many wines are still aged in wooden barrels (especially oak), scientific advances in recent decades have led winemaking teams to turn to tanks made from other materials.

For example, stainless steel tanks are now commonplace in wineries. Why? Unlike wood, this material does not modify the characteristics of the wine. In such a way that the varietal characteristics remain the absolute protagonists of the wines, and their fruity perfume is preserved. For this reason, stainless steel is a material that is widely used in the ageing of young white wines, such as Albariño. Moreover, it is crucial to remember that this type of tank facilitates incorporating technology that allows refrigeration tasks to be carried out.

On the other hand, tanks made of more innovative materials such as concrete or granite are also being implemented in many wineries because they achieve the objectives of the oenology teams who constantly strive to produce surprising wines of excellent quality. Concrete does not add properties to a winemaking process, which allows winemakers to achieve the essential flavours and aromas of the grape varieties.

We should also remember that after ageing in barrels, steel tanks, or concrete structures, wines are bottled, and many of them evolve in bottles for months before they leave the cellars. What does this mean? That glass is also material to consider when talking about wine ageing.

Ageing wine on the lees

In the past, once the fermentation process ended, the wine was racked before ageing began to eliminate the yeasts deposited at the bottom, known in the winemaking world as lees. However, nowadays, many wineries, such as Pazo Baión, choose to age their wines on the lees. Why?

Ageing wine on the lees gives it a fuller body in the mouth and more volume and density, optimises its structure, and increases its smoothness. It also impacts the aromatic composition of the wines.

This is achieved because dead yeasts, when decomposing, transfer polysaccharides (i.e. mannoproteins) to the wines due to a completely natural process known as autolysis.

Opting for this method of wine ageing means that the leaves must be continuously stirred. The leaves help to give the wines more body and prevent the formation of abnormal odours. This oenological technique is called batonnage.

Keys to a good evolution in the bottle

As we pointed out earlier, wine ageing ends in the bottle. For this reason, many wines, once bottled, are stored for months in optimal conditions to facilitate their evolution in the bottle.

What tips should be taken into account when ageing wine in the bottle to ensure that its evolution rounds off the final result of the elaborations?

  • Although it may seem obvious, the bottles must be made of glass and darkened.
  • The bottles should be stored horizontally, which helps to keep the corks moist and prevent them from cracking, which would hurt the quality of the wines as they would allow oxygen to enter.
  • The bottles should be kept away from sunlight.
  • It is important to control the ambient temperature, avoiding very low or very high temperatures and sudden temperature variations.

How long should the wines be left to evolve in their bottles? It depends. Some wines, such as Albariño, evolve very well in the bottle. Winemakers must precisely measure the duration of this phase to ensure that the wine’s virtues are enhanced and the wine is rounded.

Vides de Fontán is a mature Rías Baixas wine

Wine ageing and tertiary aromas

As we have pointed out throughout this article, ageing affects the wine’s body, smoothness, and flavour. Still, it also plays a critical role in its aromatic composition.

Wine aromas are divided into three main categories:

  • Primary aromas are related to the grape variety.
  • Secondary aromas linked to fermentation.
  • Tertiary aromas or bouquet, which depend on the ageing of the wine.

Within the tertiary aromas, we find three large families:

  • Empyreumatic aromas: toasted, chocolate, dried fruit…
  • Wood aromas appear in wines aged in barrels: cedar, liquorice…
  • Aromas of spices: pepper, vanilla, cinnamon…

These aromas are not usually present in young wines, whose maturation process is short. On the other hand, when the wine is aged for several years, these notes are typical and give the wine a fascinating aromatic complexity.

Vides de Fontán, an ageing that escapes from the norm

At the Pazo Baión winery, three Albariño wines are made with different characteristics and undergo a very different ageing process. However, all three wines have one thing in common: they are aged on lees.

Thus, Pazo Baión is a young white wine aged in stainless steel tanks on lees for six months. After clarification, stabilisation, and filtering, it is left to evolve in the bottle for another two months before the vintage is released.

This ageing process gives Pazo Baión an extraordinary structure and complexity for a young wine while enhancing the fruity and floral aromas typical of the Albariño grape. Thanks to this, the specialised media Vivir el vino awarded Pazo Baión the title of Best Young White Wine of Spain 2024.

At the same time, our winery produces a Rías Baixas aged for three years: Vides de Fontán, a mature Albariño that proves that white wines can also age in extraordinary ways.

How is Vides de Fontán aged? Pazo Baión’s oenology team carries out the following tasks:

  • 2/3 of the production is aged in French oak vats for one year.
  • The remaining part is matured in a stainless steel tank and placed in a concrete tank. Why? It is egg-shaped, which facilitates the wine’s mobility and natural batonnage.
  • After a year, all the parts are assembled, and the wine ages in stainless steel for another year.
  • Finally, the wine is bottled and aged in the bottle for another year.

The result is a balanced, unctuous, oily Albariño with a long development on the palate. The varietal aromas, such as white flowers, combine with the notes of the wine’s ageing (toasted and spicy).

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