BUYING OLD VINTAGES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Ullage is the word used to describe the air space above the wine and under the cork or screw cap. The word comes ultimately from the Latin oculus, "eye", which was used in a figurative sense by the Romans for the bung hole of a barrel. This was taken into French in the medieval period as oeil, from which a verb ouiller was created, to fill a barrel up to the bung hole. (When wine ferments in the barrel, there's a slow loss of liquid due to evaporation through the wood. It's very important to keep the barrels full, as otherwise unwanted bacteria and yeasts can get in and cause nasty side fermentations.)
In turn, a noun ouillage was created, which was the immediate source of our word, first recorded in Norman English about 1300, at first in the sense of the amount of liquid needed to fill a barrel up to the bung hole. By an obvious extension, ullage came to refer to any amount by which a barrel is unfilled, perhaps because some of the contents have been used. And it is also applied to the unfilled air space at the top of a bottle of wine, which in this case is essential to allow for expansion of the contents as the temperature changes.High fill or Normal fill - Level of young wines. Exceptionally good in wines over 10 years old.
Into neck - Perfectly good for any age of wine. Outstandingly good for a wine of 10 years in bottle.
Mid neck fill - Indicates exceptional storage for any wine. In bottles over 10 years of age, indicates especially good storage conditions. For those over 40 years of age, may indicate a recorked/ reconditioned bottle.
Base neck fill - The fill is at about the bottom of the neck. Indicates excellent storage for any wine. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates exceptional storage conditions. Many producers fill bottles at base neck or lower.
Top shoulder - Fill just down below base neck. A standard fill for wines over 10 years of age. Normal level for any claret 15 years old or older. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates excellent storage conditions.
Upper or high shoulder - A fill just above the midpoint (as measured by volume) of the shoulder of the bottle. Acceptable for any wine over 20 years old. For wines less than this age, may indicate problems with storage conditions. Common for wines over 40 years of age. Exceptional for pre-1940 wines.
Mid shoulder - Not unusual for wines over 40 years of age, but may suggest poor storage condition or early signs of cork failure. Can be at significant risk of being undrinkable and estimates for the value of the wine usually take this into account.
Lower shoulder - Some risk. Low estimates on wine value, usually no reserve at auction.
Low shoulder - This can often be an indicator of poor storage conditions and/or an undrinkable wine. Not normally recommended for consumption. Risky and usually only accepted for sale if wine or label exceptionally rare or interesting. Always offered without reserve and low estimate.
Below low shoulder - Rarely seen. Not acceptable for sale unless a rare sort of bottle. Wine will usually be undrinkable.
Source: worldwidewords.org and others
* Reproduced with permission from Peter Svans at The Gurdies Winer
USEFUL TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviated names of wine critics and wine publications which often accompany a wine name along with their ratings:
In turn, a noun ouillage was created, which was the immediate source of our word, first recorded in Norman English about 1300, at first in the sense of the amount of liquid needed to fill a barrel up to the bung hole. By an obvious extension, ullage came to refer to any amount by which a barrel is unfilled, perhaps because some of the contents have been used. And it is also applied to the unfilled air space at the top of a bottle of wine, which in this case is essential to allow for expansion of the contents as the temperature changes.High fill or Normal fill - Level of young wines. Exceptionally good in wines over 10 years old.
Into neck - Perfectly good for any age of wine. Outstandingly good for a wine of 10 years in bottle.
Mid neck fill - Indicates exceptional storage for any wine. In bottles over 10 years of age, indicates especially good storage conditions. For those over 40 years of age, may indicate a recorked/ reconditioned bottle.
Base neck fill - The fill is at about the bottom of the neck. Indicates excellent storage for any wine. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates exceptional storage conditions. Many producers fill bottles at base neck or lower.
Top shoulder - Fill just down below base neck. A standard fill for wines over 10 years of age. Normal level for any claret 15 years old or older. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates excellent storage conditions.
Upper or high shoulder - A fill just above the midpoint (as measured by volume) of the shoulder of the bottle. Acceptable for any wine over 20 years old. For wines less than this age, may indicate problems with storage conditions. Common for wines over 40 years of age. Exceptional for pre-1940 wines.
Mid shoulder - Not unusual for wines over 40 years of age, but may suggest poor storage condition or early signs of cork failure. Can be at significant risk of being undrinkable and estimates for the value of the wine usually take this into account.
Lower shoulder - Some risk. Low estimates on wine value, usually no reserve at auction.
Low shoulder - This can often be an indicator of poor storage conditions and/or an undrinkable wine. Not normally recommended for consumption. Risky and usually only accepted for sale if wine or label exceptionally rare or interesting. Always offered without reserve and low estimate.
Below low shoulder - Rarely seen. Not acceptable for sale unless a rare sort of bottle. Wine will usually be undrinkable.
Source: worldwidewords.org and others
* Reproduced with permission from Peter Svans at The Gurdies Winer
USEFUL TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
- BP or Buyer's Premium – the charge or fee paid by the buyer to the auction house
- DDP – 'Delivered Duty Paid'. Signifies that the price quoted includes all the charges, including shipping, and any taxes as applicable up to the destination named by the buyer.
- DP – 'Duty Paid'
- En Primeur – French for 'Futures'
- Futures – simply means to buy/sell wine after it is made, but before it is bottled and/or released into the market. Some common examples of wines sold using this method include Bordeaux Classed Growths, top Burgundy and Rhone Valley wines, and port wines, among others. Please see our wine futures page for more details. Here you will find up-to-date information on Bordeaux Futures campaigns going back to 2004.
- HT – 'Hors-Taxe'. French for 'excluding tax'. Another way of specifying this is to say 'plus applicable taxes'.
- IB or I/B – 'In Bond'. Refers to wines stored in bonded warehouses or storage facilities, which are exempt from sales or excise taxes. These also do not incur any taxes if bought or sold while still in bond. Another important feature of 'in bond' pricing is that if someone chooses to have the wine delivered at a later date, the sales tax is payable on the original sale price of the wine and not the current market value.
- Lot # – 'Lot Number'. An identification number allotted to a set of wines to be sold as a lot.
- Per Unit – indicates that the wine is only sold as a unit, be it a bottle, case or OWC (original wooden case)
- PPU – 'Price Per Unit'
- Pre-arrival – wine sold as 'futures' or 'en primeur'
- TC – 'Tout Compris'. French term for 'all inclusive'. May also be referred as 'TTC' or 'Tarifs Tout Compris', meaning 'all-inclusive price'.
- VAT – 'Value Added Tax'. Similar to GST (Goods and Services Tax) and basically means tax levied on value added to the wine during different stages of production and selling.
- Vendu à l'unité – French term meaning 'sold as a unit'. You may come across this term on our French merchants' wine lists.
- WET – 'Wine Equilisation Tax'. A form of VAT that you may come across on wine lists from our Australian merchants.
- IS – 'In Stock'
- LI – 'Limited Inventory'
- Limited Release – a marketing tool used to indicate a wine of higher quality because of lower production; it has no legal significance.
- LS – 'Limited Stock or Low Stock'
- OS – 'Out of Stock'.
- EB – 'Estate Bottled'
- MC – 'Mise en Bouteille au Château'. Estate bottled or bottled by the wine producer within the estate. Used on quality wine labels from Bordeaux in particular.
- Mise en bouteille à la propriété – French term meaning bottled at the property
- Mise en Bouteille au Domaine – Estate bottled. Mostly seen on Burgundy wine labels.
- Mis en Bouteille dans nos Caves or Mis en Bouteille dans nos Chais – Bottled in our cellars.
- IB or I/B – a wine stored 'in bond'. Apart from the pricing as described above, 'in bond' also theoretically signifies professional storage to maintain a wine's provenance.
- OC – 'Original Case'
- OHK – stands for 'Originalholzkiste', the German for OWC
- OWC – 'Original Wooden Case'. Normally indicates wines that come in wooden cases and bear some form of identification of the estate or the producer. Quite a common practice for premium wines.
- 1 Cru or 1er Cru – Premier Cru
- AOC (AOP) – Appellation d'Origin Contrôlée (the EU equivalent is Appellation d'Origin Protegée). You can find more about AOC on ourFrench wine label page.
- AVA – American Viticultural Area. This abbreviation may follow a region's name, as in 'Columbia Valley AVA'. See our US wine labelpage.
- Bordeaux first growths – 1er GCC (Premier Grand Cru Classé), 1er CC (Premier Cru Classé), PGC (Premier Grand Cru) and 1er GCC 'A' or 'B' (classifications for wines from the Bordeaux right bank region of Saint-Emilion).
- DO – Denominación de Origen. A Spanish term denoting quality wine from a designated area.
- DOC – Denominazione di Origine Controllata. Below DOCG and equivalent to the French AOC.
- DOCa – Denominación de Origen Calificada. Highest quality of Spanish wines from Rioja, Priorato and Ribera del Duero.
- DOCG – Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Highest classification for quality Italian wines. For more on Italian wine and labeling laws, see our Italian wine label page.
- GC – 'Grand Cru'. Please take a look at our Burgundy wine label page for more on Grand Crus and Premier Crus.
- GCC – 'Grand Cru Classé'. Seen on Bordeaux classed-growth labels. See our Bordeaux wine label page.
- IGP (VDP) – Indication Géographique Protégée, the EU term for VDP (Vin de Pays). A French country wine which comes from a broad designated area and is of lower quality than AOC wines.
- IGT – Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Denotes wine from a specific region within Italy. Many of the finest wines in Italy may be labeled IGT to avoid DOC or DOCG regulations.
- QbA – Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete. This is the second-level German classification for quality wines within a designated region.
- QmP – Qualitätswein mit Prädikat. A term applied to top German wines which literally means 'quality wine with special characteristics'. To qualify for this level, the grapes must meet minimum ripeness levels which are explained on our German wine label page. Please note that the QmP level has been changed to Prädikatswein since the 2006 vintage.
- VDT – Vin de Table and also Vino da Tavola. Basic table wine.
Abbreviated names of wine critics and wine publications which often accompany a wine name along with their ratings:
- RP – Robert Parker. Here is an example from our database: 1998 Château Lafite Rothschild 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac (98/100 RP) . You may also be interested in Robert Parker's 100-point wines.
- WS – Wine Spectator. Example: 2004 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline, Rhone, France (95/100 WS). Here is a list of highly-rated wines byWine Spectator.
- ST – Stephen Tanzer. Example: 2000 Silvio Grasso 'Ciabot Manzoni' Barolo DOCG, Piedmont, Italy (ST 91). Here is a list of Stephen Tanzer's highly-rated wines.
- WA – Wine Advocate. Example: 2005 Petrus, Pomerol (WA 96 Points).
- JR – Jancis Robinson. Example: 2008 Chateau Margaux 1st Cru Classe, Margaux (JR 17.5+). See highly-rated wines by Jancis Robinson.
- JH – James Halliday. Example: 2007 Yalumba Shiraz - Viognier, Barossa, Australia (JH 92 points). See ratings from the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion.
- Label Conditions:
- STL – 'Stained Label'
- LD-- 'Label Damaged'
- WISL – 'Wine Stained Label'
- WASL – 'Water Stained Label'
- BSL – 'Bin Soiled Label'
- GSL – 'Glue Stained Label'
- TSL – 'Tissue Stained Label'
- WL – 'Writing on Label'
- WRL – 'Wrinkled Label'
- TL – 'Torn Label'
- TAL – 'Tattered Label'
- LL – 'Loose Label'
- FL – 'Faded Label'
- SCL – 'Scuffed Label'
- NOL – 'No Label'
- Cork and Capsule Conditions:
- CC – 'Corroded Capsule'
- CRC – 'Cracked Capsule'
- CUC – Cut Capsule
- WC – 'Wrinkled Capsule'
- WXC – 'Waxed Capsule'
- NOC – 'NO Capsule'
- NC – 'Nicked Capsule'
- PC – 'Protruding Cork'
- SPC – 'Slightly Protruding Cork'
- SDC – 'Slightly Depressed Cork'
- DC – 'Depressed Cork'
- SOS – 'Signs of Seepage
- Reproduced with the kind permission of the sire winesearcher.com