A carefully chosen bottle can be ruined in a few weeks by a radiator, or closed up for the evening by five degrees too many. Storing and serving are not aesthetes' refinements: they are the two moments when a buyer can, without knowing it, undo several years of work in the vineyard.
Here are the guidelines that really matter, and those you can do without.
Storing: four enemies, one ally
Wine fears four things. Heat first: above twenty degrees, ageing speeds up and the aromas cook. Then temperature fluctuations, even more damaging than a slightly high average temperature: each warm-cold cycle works the cork and lets air in. Light, especially ultraviolet, which causes the well-known “light-struck” taste. Finally vibrations, which disturb the sediment and the development of wines for ageing.
The ally is stability. A cool, dark, quiet cupboard on the north side of a flat will keep a bottle better than a magnificent cellar whose door opens three times a day in summer.
Reference conditions
- Temperature: between 10 and 14°C, stable. A constant 16°C is better than swinging between 8 and 18°C.
- Humidity: around 70%. Too dry and the cork shrinks and lets air in; too humid and the labels go mouldy.
- Darkness: complete, or at least away from direct sunlight and neon lights.
- Position: lying down, to keep the cork moist. Screw-capped bottles can stay upright.
- Neighbours: avoid strong-smelling products nearby; cork breathes.
No cellar? What to do
Three solutions, in order of cost. The coolest, most stable cupboard in your home, away from south-facing walls and any heat source. A wine cabinet for ageing, which reproduces cellar conditions on a small scale. Or, for bottles to be drunk within the year, simply the bottom of a cupboard away from light: a wine meant to be drunk soon does not need cellar treatment.
Which wines keep, and for how long
Ageing potential is neither a quality nor a flaw: it is a choice of style, written into the wine from the vineyard. A red from old vines at very low yields, with a long maceration, has the tannic substance to evolve for years. An easy-drinking red vinified for fruit gives its best within two or three years.
In the Borie de Maurel range, two cuvées are explicitly identified as wines that wait. Belle de Nuit, pure Grenache from a high-altitude terroir of flint, limestone marl and siliceous clay, has an ageing potential of five to ten years. La Féline, the only cuvée from the La Livinière cru, is described as a wine for laying down whose complexity will grow with the years.
At the other end, Le Charivari, pure Grenache classified as Vin de France, is made for simple tables and the joy of being together: keeping it ten years would make no sense.
Discover Belle de Nuit, AOP Minervois · Discover La Féline, AOP La Livinière
Serving at the right temperature
This is the setting that most radically changes how a wine is perceived, and the one most often neglected. Too warm, a red seems alcoholic and flabby; too cold, it closes up and its tannins harden. Too cold, a white loses all its aromas; too warm, it becomes heavy.
| Type of wine | Serving temperature | In our range |
|---|---|---|
| Structured red, for ageing | 16 to 18°C | Maxime, La Féline |
| Balanced red blend | 15 to 17°C | Esprit d'Automne, Cuvée Sylla |
| Easy-drinking red, served cool | 12 to 14°C | Le Charivari |
| Full-bodied white, for food | 11 to 13°C | La Belle Aude |
| Taut, mineral white | 9 to 11°C | Gypse |
| Rosé | 10 to 12°C | Le Rouget |
A practical point: “room temperature” does not mean the temperature of your living room. The expression dates from a time when rooms were heated to sixteen degrees. Today, a red for ageing taken from a flat at twenty-two degrees benefits from thirty minutes in the fridge before serving. Conversely, a white taken from the fridge at four degrees deserves ten minutes on the table before pouring.
Opening, decanting, aerating
Three distinct gestures, often confused.
Opening in advance does almost nothing: the surface in contact with air, at the neck, is tiny. Uncorking a bottle two hours beforehand does not aerate it.
Decanting for air means pouring the wine into another vessel to oxygenate it. This benefits young, structured reds, whose tannins need air to soften. A long-macerated Mourvèdre like Maxime (twenty to forty-five days of maceration, old vines at very low yields) is the textbook case: an hour in a decanter transforms it.
Decanting for sediment, on the other hand, aims to separate the wine from its deposit, for an old vintage. Pour slowly, without shaking, and above all do not over-oxygenate a fragile wine: decant just before serving.
The glass matters too, more than the price of the bottle. A glass that is too small concentrates the alcohol; a wide glass, filled a third of the way, lets the aromas unfold.
Discover Maxime, AOP Minervois
An opened bottle
Oxidation starts as soon as the bottle is opened. A few habits extend the wine's life by two to four days depending on its style:
- Re-cork it and put it in the fridge, even a red: just take it out twenty minutes before serving again.
- Pour it into a clean half-bottle: less air in contact, less oxidation.
- Use a vacuum pump or an inert gas system if the bottle needs to last more than two days.
- Avoid leaving a half-full bottle standing on the worktop: it is the worst possible arrangement.
Structured reds generally cope better with waiting than taut whites, whose freshness fades quickly.
Frequently asked questions
At what temperature should wine be stored?
Between 10 and 14°C, with humidity around 70%, away from light and vibration. A stable temperature matters more than its exact value.
Should bottles be stored lying down?
Yes for natural corks, so that they stay moist and airtight. Screw-capped bottles can be stored upright.
How long can a red Minervois be kept?
It depends on the cuvée. Belle de Nuit has an ageing potential of five to ten years and La Féline is identified as a wine for laying down; an easy-drinking red like Le Charivari is drunk within two or three years.
Should a young wine be decanted?
A young, tannic red really benefits: allow about an hour. A wine that has already evolved needs at most a decanting just before serving to separate it from its deposit.
How long does an opened bottle keep?
Two to four days depending on the style, provided you re-cork it, put it in the fridge and, ideally, pour it into a smaller container or use a vacuum pump.
Also worth discovering
To choose a bottle to lay down, read Which wine to choose?. To understand what terroir brings to a wine's structure, our guide to the Minervois appellation. See all the estate's wines.