Tonight is your first son’s 18th birthday. It’s finally time to open that bottle of Bordeaux you bought when he was born. But beware: just because a wine’s value has risen over time doesn’t mean it’s at its peak… It could be that the wine has become too old and has gone into decline. But how can you tell if the wine is past its prime?

Wine life cycle

Every wine has a different life cycle. Its lifespan depends on the vintage, the grape variety, the age of the vines, the winemaking process, the storage conditions once bottled… The wine’s life cycle can be broken down into four phases: youth, maturity, apogee and decline.

While some wines can be kept for decades before reaching their peak (“vins de garde”), there are also wines that should be drunk within 2/3 years of bottling (“vins jeunes”). The length of the cycle is often determined by the quality of the wine.

On the other hand, a wine with great organoleptic qualities, in addition to having a longer life cycle, will have a longer peak phase than a wine of lesser quality. As mentioned above, wine storage has an impact on this life cycle: a poorly stored wine will not have as long a peak.

The dress

Observing a wine’s color is the first step in determining whether it has passed into the decline phase and is too old.

First, for red wines, the purplish color changes from red to brown. For white wines, the color changes from pale greenish yellow to orange. As you can see, white and red wines tend towards the same hues over time. The brick hue is a sign of oxidation and is characteristic of mature wines. This color does not necessarily mean that the wine is too old, but it does indicate that it is of a certain age.

Secondly, by observing the wine’s brilliance and clarity, you can confirm or rule out the possibility that the wine is too old. A wine that has become too dull and no longer reflects light is synonymous with a wine in decline. A wine at maturity/apogee should be brilliant. On the other hand, a wine that has lost its clarity and is cloudy indicates an alteration in the wine. Beware, however: an old wine that is still good will have deposits, and decanting will purify it and restore its clearer color.

The nose

A young wine develops primary aromas of fresh fruit and fresh flowers. With age, it takes on more candied, ripe aromas. These are tertiary aromas, with notes of undergrowth, humus, game, dead leaves…

A wine that is too old and has reached a phase of decline will have lost its freshness, possessing, for example, tertiary aromas but having lost its primary aromas. A wine must retain its hints of fresh fruit, flowers and spices to reveal a nose that is still complex, the sign of a wine at its peak.

On the other hand, a wine with defects such as vinegar notes is probably too old. The taste of vinegar is often due to an acetic bite, an attack of acetic bacteria that renders the wine unfit for drinking but good for a good vinaigrette.

The mouth

The sensations felt in the mouth when tasting a wine can be grouped into three main areas: tannins (especially for red wines), acidity and smoothness. With time and maturation, these three sensations evolve for all wines.

In its youth, a wine has a lot of tannin, acidity and little smoothness. With maturation, the balance of power reverses. Simply put, acidity decreases with time and aging. Tannin levels also diminish with age, melting and softening. Creaminess remains stable over time, but the impression is that it is becoming fatter as acidity diminishes.

So, once you get beyond the stage where acidity falls below unctuosity (and even worse when tannins rise above unctuosity), the wine loses freshness and structure. It becomes soft and flat: a wine in decline.

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