5 Concrete-Aged Wines to Buy Now

If great wine is a work of art, then you might consider the oak barrel in which it’s typically aged as the frame that shows off its best qualities. But just as an ornate setting can draw more attention than the painting, wood can overpower fruit and hide a wine’s true beauty. It’s why an increasing number of cellar masters are aging in concrete, an old-fashioned method that has never felt more current. The material’s neutral palette ensures that the terroir—and the effects of the season—shine through in your glass. 

“Our pursuit is not about creating the perfect wine, but about crafting a wine that tells the story and reflects the characteristics of the place where we live,” explains Sebastián Zuccardi, proprietor of Familia Zuccardi in Mendoza, Argentina. The nation’s winemakers had been using concrete for almost 300 years, until Italian influence made its way west in the late 19th century. “When you also look at the history of wine in our region, it is closely tied to concrete,” Zuccardi says. “For us, concrete is about going back to the future.” 

It’s also about meeting current demand. Heavy, overly tannic bottles are losing their appeal among wine lovers who have shifted toward lighter diets. Using concrete enables winemakers to offer vintages with fresher characteristics. This is possible thanks to the slow and steady oxygenation such barrels provide. “We use uncoated concrete, since its granularity can trap oxygen reserves,” says Michel Chapoutier, owner and winemaker at M. Chapoutier in France’s Rhône Valley. “This allows for a level of oxidation that is less pronounced than barrel aging but greater than what occurs in coated-concrete or stainless-steel tanks.” 

But don’t think oak is going by the wayside anytime soon. While some wines are aged entirely in concrete, there are still producers who combine methods. “The challenge with oak barrels is that the oxygenation is sometimes too powerful and can oxidize the grape aromas,” says Jérôme Ledit, estate manager and winemaker at Pym-Rae Tesseron Estate in Napa Valley. He favors concrete but keeps a small portion of some wines in oak for balance. 

Concrete’s other main benefit is limited temperature variation; whether egg-shaped or in a large rectangular tank form, the thicker walls “change and transmit temperature more slowly” than oak, Ledit says. It gives winemakers more control over the final product—and, when you taste one of the five bottles on the opposite page, you’ll know that’s a good thing.