Red Wines for Laying Down

Appears in
Le Cordon Bleu Matching Wine with Food
Le Cordon Bleu Matching Wine with Food

By Le Cordon Bleu

Published 2010

  • About
When fine reds are allowed to mature in the bottle, several remarkable changes take place that make the wines even more pleasurable to drink:
  • The colour will slowly change from a purple to a brick red. If you slightly tip a glass of aged wine and look at the colour of the edge of the wine, you will see how much browner it is than that of a young wine.
  • The aroma develops in complexity. The fruity smell the wine had when it was young gradually reduces, while other more subtle aromas come to the front.
  • The taste of the wine becomes less harsh as the tannins diminish.
  • The overall texture of the wine gradually becomes softer and smoother.
  • The wine develops more “length” (that is, the taste lingers for longer after you swallow it).
  • More sediment is likely to collect in the bottle.