Decanting

Decanting serves two distinct and often conflated purposes. The first is physical: older wines — particularly aged red Bordeaux, Barolo, Burgundy, Vintage Port, and mature Rhône reds — throw tartrate crystals and polymerized pigment–tannin deposits that turn bitter and gritty in the glass. Slow pouring over a candle or light source while watching the wine's shoulder allows the winemaker to halt the pour before sediment crosses the neck, leaving the clear wine in the decanter and the lees in the bottle. The second purpose is chemical: exposing a young, closed wine to oxygen opens up suppressed aromatics, softens grippy tannins via polymerization, and drives off reductive sulfide notes that build during reductive winemaking and bottle aging. The amount of time and surface area matter: a broad-shouldered decanter with maximum surface area aerates quickly; a tall narrow carafe aerates more slowly. Young tannic wines may benefit from an hour or more of decanting; old fragile Burgundy or aged Nebbiolo can collapse within twenty minutes once exposed — experienced sommeliers decant them just before service. White wines and delicate old reds are typically poured directly into glass to preserve volatile aromatics, though wines from reductive élevage — certain white Burgundies, aged white Rioja — sometimes benefit from brief aeration.

“The sommelier decanted the 1998 Barolo two hours before service, letting the wine shed its youthful austerity and reveal the tar, rose, and dried cherry beneath.”

• ConceptOxidative vs. Reductive Winemaking
• ConceptNatural Wine & Orange Wine
• TechniqueAeration

1. 1.Wine Service — Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) Study Guide (2023 ed.)
2. 2.The Oxford Companion to Wine — Jancis Robinson, ed. (Oxford University Press, 4th ed., 2015)
3. 3.How to Love Wine — Eric Asimov (William Morrow, 2012)
4. 4.Windows on the World Complete Wine Course — Kevin Zraly (Sterling Epicure, annual ed.)

Confidence: high