Wine lovers · cellar · Bordeaux
When to open this bottle? Too early, at its peak or declining
The wine, its rank, the vintage, the format and how it has been kept: the tool gives its window, when it will be at its best and where it stands today. For a bottle of Bordeaux, from Bordeaux Supérieur to premier grand cru classé.
Where your bottle stands
Consensus windows for a sound bottle. The quality of the year comes from our vintage chart; the rest from the wine's rank, the format and the storage. Every château has its own style: a softer wine opens earlier.
What moves the window
- The year. A great tannic year closes up a few years after bottling and needs patience; a light year drinks earlier and lasts less long.
- The wine's rank. A premier grand cru classé was made to last thirty or forty years; a Bordeaux Supérieur is at its best between three and eight years. The second wine of a great château opens several years before the grand vin.
- The colour and the bank. Médoc reds, rich in Cabernet Sauvignon, need more time than the Merlots of Saint-Émilion or Pomerol. A great dry white from Pessac-Léognan lives fifteen or twenty years; a Sauternes, much longer.
- The format. The more wine there is for the same pocket of air under the cork, the more slowly it evolves: a half bottle is ready before a bottle, a magnum after.
- Storage. A cellar at 12–14 °C, dark and free of vibration, keeps the whole window. In a heated flat, wine ages faster and less well: the end of the window comes closer.
Before opening an old bottle
Look at the level: a wine that has dropped below top shoulder has taken in air. The fill level page says what each level signals. Stand the bottle upright for a day or two so the sediment settles, then see whether you need to aerate or decant it. Serve a red between 16 and 18 °C, a white between 10 and 12 °C: temperatures are covered on the serving page.
Several bottles in the cellar? List them in my bottles to open this year: the tool ranks them from the most urgent to the one that can wait. And to choose a vintage ready to drink rather than for laying down, see the vintages to drink in 2026.
How do you know if a wine is at its peak?
A wine at its peak has softened its tannins, kept some fruit and developed aromas of forest floor, leather, tobacco or truffle, without losing its freshness. The tool's dates place that period for a well-kept bottle; only tasting confirms it. When you have several bottles of the same wine, open one at the start of the window to find out where the others stand.
Is a wine that is too old dangerous to drink?
No. A wine past its best is not dangerous, it is disappointing: fruit gone, brick-coloured, tasting of Madeira or vinegar. Taste before serving; if it is tired, it will end up in the kitchen.
Should a great wine be drunk young?
You can, decanting it for two or three hours, but you miss what it will become. A great ten-year-old Médoc is often closed: powerful, tannic, not very expressive. If you want a great wine to drink now, choose an older vintage or a softer year.
Does the tool work for wines from other regions?
It is set for Bordeaux. For another wine for laying down, take the family closest in style (a great northern Rhône behaves like a Médoc, a red Burgundy opens earlier) and treat the result as an order of magnitude.
What if my bottle is ready and I have no occasion?
Make one. A bottle opened on an ordinary evening at its best beats the same bottle, kept for a big day, two years past it. And if you are looking for something to replace it, ask us for wines that are ready to drink: a named selection, with prices.
Looking for bottles already mature? Request a selection: the wines, the vintages and the prices, within 48 working hours.