Can organic vineyards produce wines for laying down? Very good question my dear Watson. To begin the investigation, I suggest that we look together at what is a wine for laying down .
What is a wine for laying down?
A guard dog is very practical for monitoring the house and dissuading any malicious person from infiltrating your home. On the other hand, do not count on a wine for laying down to protect your cellar and the secrets it contains. Quite the contrary, moreover, the wine for laying down is often the last to come out because it has a very high storage capacity , so it is left to lie dormant for years. A real sleeping beauty.
Yes, we are talking about a wine for laying down , because it keeps for a long time. I think you already knew that but a reminder never hurts. Let's see together why a wine can be kept longer.
First of all, know that there are several categories of wine for laying down:
Even with very long-lived wines, its shelf life is not infinite so be careful and open it in time or you risk turning your fine wines into vinegar . We will have warned you!
The secrets of a good wine for laying down
The elixir of youth is something that makes us all dream. Of course, we would like not to age and keep the freshness of our twenties, so sometimes we help ourselves a little with anti-wrinkle creams, hair coloring or simply sports to keep us in shape! Wine doesn't get primped in the morning, but there are plenty of tricks to keep it longer .
Sulfur
Sulfur is a very good preservative which inhibits certain yeasts and bacteria , and also limits oxidation . Sulfur is a natural element called trace element which is found on the skin of grapes so there is no wine without sulfur strictly speaking. The wines that contain the least are SAINS natural wines (Without Any Inputs Or Added Sulfites) , which are wines without added sulfites , simply containing the sulfur naturally present on the grapes.
To learn more about natural wine, it happens here
The winegrowers can also add it to the vinification to stabilize the wine . The doses of sulphites authorized are different depending on the wine. Conventional wines contain the most, then organic wines , then biodynamic wines and finally natural wines . In any case, that's what is written on the paper, because with us, the wines have sulphite levels closer to the biodynamic levels than the levels authorized by the organic labels . Between theory and practice, there is always a small difference!
Here is a picture of the sulfur content of our wines. A picture is sometimes better than words, don't you think?
You are therefore wondering how an organic wine , containing few sulphites , could last over time. Your question is completely legitimate and that is surely why you are on this article. Well know that it is not only sulfur that is important in the conservation of a wine .
The other secrets for a wine that lasts
Red wines can rely on polyphenols or phenolic compounds , especially tannins , to help the wine improve over time . The structure of the wine is very important for its conservation and a wine with a good tannic structure will have a better aging than a lighter wine . Pinot noir , Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are grape varieties offering a beautiful tannic structure to the wine and therefore with good aging potential. To produce a Grand Cru Classé that keeps for a very long time, you have to choose the right grape varieties.
Do you want to know everything about grape varieties like a real sommelier? So read this article
As for white wines , acid and sugar are the superheroes of conservation. We will spare you the scientific details, but these two elements allow the white wine to improve over time and it is therefore the sweet wines that have the best aging potential . For the culture point, the white wine for keeping was born a very long time ago thanks to the Greeks who made straw wine . A wine produced with overripe grapes that literally rest on straw before being pressed and then vinified . With a high concentration of sugar and acidity , these wines can be kept for a very long time and develop wonderful aromas .
Does it make you very excited? We tell you more about straw wines in this article !
Alcohol also acts as an elixir of youth for wine. Please note, this is not the case for us so do not take chartreuse for breakfast thinking of giving you a second youth, you would simply risk seeing blurry at lunchtime.
As you have understood, there are many physical and chemical elements that allow wine to last over time and to improve with age. Patrick Bruel said in a famous poker pub: “the most important thing is not your cards, it's what you do with them”. Well, to have a good wine for laying down, it's the same thing. The grape variety , the vintage , the terroir , the viticultural practices , the wine- growing region and the vinification are all cards that the winegrower must succeed in handling to perfection to produce a good wine for laying down .
Once the work of the winemaker is finished, the game continues and it's up to you. For a good wine to lay down to express its potential over the years, it must be pampered. Find it a nice place, sheltered from light, heat and humidity so that it can rest serenely, develop in the shade and surprise your taste buds when you taste it. Right here we give you our conservation advice, it's a gift treat yourself ! It would be a shame to spoil a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape simply because it was not kept in the right place, wouldn't it?
The taste of an organic wine for laying down
It is well known, it is often said that the only thing that gets better with time is wine, but then why do we say that?
We have just seen above the elements that allow a wine to be kept longer and to become a real wine for laying down. Remember, however, that wine for laying down is far from being the norm, it is even considered that 90% of wines are made to be drunk the year following production and 99% of wines to be consumed within 5 years .
In any case, for the lucky ones who are part of the 1%, the path is different from traditional wines, and the aromas are unique .
The vinification of a wine for laying down is special because the winemaker takes the time to let his wine rest and age for a long time before selling it. For young wines such as Beaujolais Nouveau , aging only lasts one to two months, whereas it can last up to five years, especially for “gran reserva” Spanish wines .
Young wines are generally aged in the cellar in concrete or stainless steel vats to preserve the primary aromas of fresh fruit , flowers and plants . On the other hand, for wines for laying down, we pull out all the stops and let this sweet beverage rest in oak barrels so that it soaks up new aromas . The wood reveals its secrets to the wine and it then develops wonderful tertiary and empyreumatic aromas (did you cough while saying it?). It is then a bouquet of aromatic notes of vanilla , tobacco , candied fruit , hay , game or even chocolate which the wine soaks up.
In this article, we give you all our advice to build your good organic cellar
For a successful tasting , bet on our good organic wines , all from organic viticulture and vinified with love by our Oé winegrowers . So, are you more into red wines , white wines or rosé wines ? Discover our Côtes-du-Rhône , our Languedoc , our Bordeaux , our Vaucluse and our Méditerranée de Provence .
