Why do Bordeaux wines age well?

Bordeaux wines are known to be able to age 20 to 30 years. I strongly recommend being careful with aging over 30 years, you might have to pour your wine in the sink… I’ve seen some first-class wines go down the drain because their time had come and passed…

But more to the point, why do Bordeaux wines age well?

Why do Bordeaux wines age well? Tannins of course!

Tannins are the most obvious answer when it comes to “Why do Bordeaux wines age well?”. Indeed, tannins are a natural preservative and mellow over time. They lose their astringency and soften and dissipate. They bring power and body to the wine making it silkier on the palate.

How is that? This is due, partly, to polymerization. Tiny molecules attach themselves to small molecules. This creates new and longer molecular structures.

Moreover, the size of tannins molecules change overtime, they increase or decrease.

Due to both reasons, the wine seems more mellow and can seem like velvet in the mouth.

Tannins, yes, but not only

Tannins, yes, are ONE of the ingredients to a wine well aging. But if tannins were the only reason, why would there be outstanding old Pinot Noir, a grape variety known to have low tannins?

Because, tannins are not the only compound in this equation. So what are the prerequisite for a wine to age well?

Well first, you’ll need high acidity. The acidity acts as a preservative and prevents bacteria to come and spoil the wine. For sweet wines, a high level of sugar is important (it will act like tannins for red wines).

Last, if you want to enjoy drinking your “old wine”, you’ll need it to have flavours. So in its youth, you’ll need a wine with sufficient concentration of flavors that can evolve in a positive way.

If we concentrate on red Bordeaux (which is most of the production), they are often a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Merlot has a medium acidity with medium tannins and offers different fruit characteristics according to its level of ripeness. It can deliver red fruit and herbaceous aromas and flavors to cooked black fruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a grape with thick skin which bring color and tannins to the wines. It has high acidity and herbaceous and black fruit aromas.

These two grapes are often blended because Merlot will help lower the tannins and acidity levels and make the wines more ready to drink at an early age. It will also add red fruit flavors to the blends.

Cabernet Sauvignon will balance a wine’s acidity and add tannins.

So with Bordeaux, you have all three (high acidity, high tannins and concentrated flavours) components : this is why Bordeaux wines age well.

How to know if a Bordeaux wine can age?

If a wine has mainly primary aromas, with low acidity and few tannins, it is not a wine to keep. If it gives the impression of having lost its fruit with light tannins or low acidity and that it has lost its freshness, it is because it is too old.

If, on the other hand, the wine has a firm tannic structure and good acidity, with concentrated aromas, aging will be beneficial. You have to consider how the wine should evolve, which takes experience. In general, the fruity aromas and primary flavors disappear to give way to tertiary notes and the tannins soften. Alcohol remains stable, as do sugar and acidity levels.

With this in mind, remember, all Bordeaux wines do not age well.

Wine is a living thing and depends so much on the vinegrowing and winemaking part, it is not obvious it will age well. So the best way, is to taste a young vintage, via a wineclub (like SomMailier) or go to the winerie (you can find an example of a Bordeaux tour here) and use the information above to know if the next bottle you buy should age or not.

Moreover, Merlot-dominated wines (ie the Right Bank wines) will age less than Cabernet-dominated wines. Why? Because they have fewer tannins and less acidity. So when a Cabernet-dominated wine can age up to 30 years, a Merlot-dominated wine will reach its peak a few years before.

All in all,  Bordeaux wines usually age well due to their high level of tannins and acidity and their concentrated flavors. But bear in mind, that wine is a living thing and not all Bordeaux wines age the same length of time and not all Bordeaux wines are for aging. Some producers like to make their Bordeaux wines “ready to drink” and it would be pointless to try to age them.