Ask Decanter

Each month our experts answer your burning wine questions. Email your questions to editor@decanter.com

CONCRETE & WINE

How does the use of concrete in winemaking affect the taste of the wine? Does its contact with the wine give aromas and flavours of stone dust or wet gravel? [As the use of oak can bestow a toasty oak character.]

Mats Wedel, Gamleby, Sweden Decanter contributing editor Andy Howard MW replies: Today, there are so many materials available for the storage and maturation that it can be confusing to see what each brings. Wine can be matured in stainless steel, clay amphorae, oak barrels or foudres, or even larger wooden vessels, glass and concrete.

The latter is very interesting as it was widely used as a material for storage and maturation of wine before becoming unfashionable in the 1980s and ’90s. Today, concrete is back in a big way, so your question is a very valid one.

Concrete, unlike steel and glass, allows for micro-oxidation of the wine – a process similar to that which takes place with wooden or clay vessels. Unlike wood, however, concrete is essentially a neutral material which doesn’t contribute extra tannins to a wine, although some winemakers feel it adds a specific, mineral flavour.

Complex reactions certainly take place in wine matured in concrete tanks – the pH of concrete is about 13 when new, whereas wine will be between 2.9 and 3.6. Maturation in concrete seems to add a sensation of wet stone/pebble, although to me this is more of a textural change than a modification of flavour.

This may be due to a different balance of acidity in a wine which has been matured in concrete. The absence of oak/wood characters also helps to emphasise the fruit character and structural elements of the wine, adding to a sensation of purity, mid-palate concentration and freshness.

AGEING VINTAGE FIZZ

Do certain vintage Champagne styles age better than others? For example, will a blanc de blancs age better than a blanc de noirs? What about rosé? Deep Mitra, London Simon Field MW, DWWA Regional

Chair for Champagne, replies: Vintage Champagne, on release, has already enjoyed extensive ageing in bottle and on its lees (dead yeasts), gaining richness, in many cases for far longer than the minimum of three years set out in the appellation rules.

Complexity is guaranteed; that’s part of the deal and underwrites stylistic and qualitative features rarely found in other sparkling wines.

The debate gets more intriguing when one assesses the categories of vintage Champagne. There are no rules of thumb, but generally the Chardonnay blanc de blancs are slowest to show their true colours; the best are cerebral, linear and unremittingly complex. Blanc de noirs tend to be more expressive earlier on, with red fruits ceding to more savoury notes. Rosés can be enigmatic, as often released earliest, yet a happy few can last for decades. Finally the blends, which account for the lion’s share are, in a sense, the most unpredictable, excitingly so as long as one knows the producer and reputation of the vintage in question.

BOOZE RUN PLANNING

Is the personal duty free allowance per person or per car when travelling into to the UK from abroad?

Stepan Pasicznyk, by email Amy Wislocki, Decanter magazine editor, replies: Travellers are allowed to bring into the UK: 42 litres of beer, plus 18 litres (24x75cl bottles) of still wine. You can also bring in 4 litres of spirits OR 9 litres (12x75cl bottles) of sparkling wine, fortified wine or any alcoholic drink less than 22% abv. These allowances apply per passenger aged 18 or over.