🍷 Rancio

Rancio is wine that has matured for years in air and warmth and has gained a nutty, spicy taste. The word rancio means old, oxidised. This taste appears when wine is in contact with oxygen for a long time, sometimes in the sun in barrels or large glass demijohns.

How does it come about? The wine, often fortified, stands for years in loosely closed vessels. Because of slow oxidation the colour darkens to amber or brown, and the taste changes: fresh fruit notes vanish, and notes of walnut, tobacco, caramel and spice appear. It is a deliberate style, not a fault.

Rancio is found in different countries. In France the name describes a style of some natural sweet wines (vins doux naturels), in Spain old fortified wines such as oloroso, and Fondillón. All of them rely on ageing with access to air.

Not everyone values this taste: it is sharp and unusual. But for connoisseurs it is a sign of a mature wine. As with any alcohol, it should be drunk in moderation.