How long can white wine age? 

Author: Jane Nisbet Huseby

When hosting wine courses, one of the most common questions I am asked is “How long can a white wine age?”  However, the answer is not quite so simple and there are many factors that we need to consider including: the grape variety, origin, quality of the grapes/wine, its current age and storage conditions.  

Are all varieties as ageworthy? 

Some grape varieties are particularly good for ageing including Riesling and Chenin Blanc, with some of the best examples potentially ageing or 40 – 50 years or more.  The main reason is that they all have a naturally high acidity which creates the backbone of the wine.  However, it´s not the only reason why some wines are ageable.  Semillion, the main white grape ithe sweet wine blends of Sauternes in Bordeaux, and Gewurztraminer the heady aromatic grape of Alsace can also age very well yet they don´t have a great deal of acidity, instead its their textural components and quality that is key for their development.

Does it matter where it comes from? 

The origin of a wine has a large impact on ageability.  Areas where grapes are allowed to develop their aromas and flavours slowly over a long, stable relatively warm growing season, are more likely to have more concentration and more complex flavours that will help them age better.  For this reason, the great white Burgundies from the Grand Cru´s of the Côte de Beaune are often referred to as the greatest and most ageable Chardonnay´s on earth.  Small Grand Cru plots between the villages of Puligny Montrachet and Chassagne Montrachet, and the Corton Hill, offer exquisite wines that will age well for 15 years or more.  On the other hand, more generic Chardonnay labelled purely as Bourgogne should be drunk within the first 3 to 5 years.

How much does the quality of the wine has to say?

Wines that are built to last are dependent on the quality of the grapes.  This refers to the quality of the grapes at picking, meaning the grapes were in perfect condition and the yields (or volume) of grapes per hectare was relatively low allowing for optimal flavour concentration.  Whilst it´s possible to make bad wines from good grapes, it´s impossible to make great wine from poor grapes!  High quality grapes transfer more complex aromas and flavours into the finished wine giving the wine an interesting array of flavours and a long finish.  Riesling grapes for examples from some of the best single vineyard sites (Grosses Gewäches) in the Mosel, Rheingau or Rheinhessen in Germany are capable of producing beautifully complex wines that will age well for decades. 

Tokaji Aszú and Sauternes.  However, it´s worth noting that some wines can age beautifully despite having a low to moderate acidity, for example high-quality wines made from Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer from Alsace. 

The current age is not to be ignored

The current age of the wine helps us understand where a wine is in its life-time cycle.  Young wines (usually the first 2 – 3 years of their life) are very fruity and packed with fresh fruit and floral aromas which is what we look for an aromatic white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, or Albariño.  More complex and concentrated wines however will start to reveal their true nature a little later, perhaps after 4 – 5 years when the different components in the wine have fully integrated, such as with a rich white Chateauneuf-du-Pape, or a beautifully subtle white Rioja. As white wines age in bottle, they start to develop more mellow, honeyed aromas and a richer texture which gives an extra dimension to the wine experience.

There are so many factors that influence how long we can store a white wine, including the grape variety, origin, quality of the grapes/wine, its current age and storage conditions.  Join us on one of our next wine courses at Oslo Wine School to learn more about which wines you should have in your cellar.