The fill level of wine - but why is it important?

In general, we can say that the amount of air in the wine bottle influences the wine. The more air there is in the bottle, the higher the risk of oxidation. Oxidation of wine, in turn, affects the quality. But there is no need to panic! Especially with strong vintages or great wines, a low filling level can also have a positive effect on the taste. However, this does not mean half-full wine bottles.

If you already collect wine, go to the wine cellar or look in your wine fridge and check the fill level of particularly old wine bottles. You will certainly notice that most 30 - 40 year old wines no longer have an into-neck fill level. No matter how perfectly you store your wine, the cork is a natural product and will wear out over the years.

If the fill level of one of your young wine bottles (10 years old) is already Mid Shoulder , then this wine is no longer suitable for collecting. Instead, drink the wine with friends! However, if you have a Château Mouton-Rothschild from 1945 with the fill level Mid Shoulder in your wine collection, then I envy you. It is common for such old wine to no longer be "full to the brim".

The filling level of Bordeaux wine

You may have already noticed that we use English terms to indicate the fill level of some of our wine bottles. This is common practice, especially for wine from Bordeaux and wine bottles in the shape of a Bordeaux. The terms allow us to tell you the exact condition of a wine bottle.

The fill level of Burgundy wine

For wine from Burgundy, it is common practice to indicate the distance between the cork and the current fill level in centimeters (cm). The English terms are therefore not used.

Champagne, Riesling & Co. also have filling levels

In addition to wine from Bordeaux and Burgundy, there are of course also champagne bottles. Riesling bottles also have a completely different shape. The same terms cannot be used for every bottle shape. Therefore, different descriptions for the fill level of wine have been established.

The English terms for the fill level of wine in the Bordeaux bottle

High Fill, Into Neck & Base Neck:

Here the wine has suffered no visible loss of liquid. You can also buy wine with the Base Neck condition without hesitation and add it to your wine collection. However, you will not be able to find a Château Lafite-Rothschild from 1899 with such a fill level. With High Fill , Into Neck and Base Neck , the wine level is still the same width as the bottle neck. Some wineries even fill their wine Base Neck .

Top Shoulder:

The wine is no longer in the neck of the bottle itself, but slightly below it. At the beginning of the shoulder of a Bordeaux wine bottle, the surface widens slightly. This is quite normal for 20-year-old wine.

Upper Mid Shoulder & High Mid Shoulder:

These two English terms have a very similar level of fill and only differ slightly. It is therefore irrelevant which of the two terms you want to use. But if you want to be precise, you can use the graphic to help you determine the fill level of wine correctly. Upper Mid Shoulder or High Mid Shoulder are located exactly between Top Shoulder and Mid Shoulder (see graphic). If your 30-year-old wine has this level of fill, this is completely normal. The risk of oxidation is rather low.

Mid Shoulder:

Now we are exactly in the middle of the shoulder of a Bordeaux bottle. This is the area where the shoulder slowly returns to the vertical position. A 40-year-old wine usually has this level of filling. The natural loss of filling capacity is due to the aging cork. There is a risk of oxidation, but it is manageable and proportionate.

Lower Mid Shoulder:

The area between the mid shoulder and the low shoulder is called the lower mid shoulder . Here, too, it is important for perfectionist wine collectors to know this fill level and to apply it to a wine bottle.

Low Shoulder:

The fill level has already reached the end of the shoulder. This level is not unusual for particularly old wines. The wine should certainly have been re-corked years ago, but this would have resulted in a loss in value. Wine collectors therefore avoid re-corking wine. Of course, at this level there is a high risk of oxidation. But as mentioned at the beginning, it could also give a strong vintage a special character. In any case, however, stay away from younger wine that already has a low shoulder level. There is little point in buying a 20-year-old wine and hoping that it is intact and will increase in value.