Tertiary Aromas / Bouquet: The Aromas of Maturation

Tertiary aromas, also called bouquet, are the aromas and flavours of maturation. Gerard Basset MW MS, quoted in Decanter, said: "Tertiary aroma (or its synonym ‘bouquet’) is used when the aromas are due to ageing." These characteristics have their origin in ageing processes, by two routes: an oxidative one, caused by the action of oxygen, for example during a long period in oak, and one protected from the action of oxygen, for example during a long period in bottle. The WSET Level 3 Wine-Lexicon places tertiary aromas alongside primary and secondary types, a grouping that WSET's Level 4 Diploma Candidate Assessment Guide (2018) uses to encourage tasters to think about how aromas coincide with different stages of a wine's development.

• Primary aromas: the aromas and flavours of the grape and alcoholic fermentation
• Secondary aromas: the aromas and flavours of post-fermentation winemaking, such as vanilla and toast from oak, creamy, buttery flavours from malolactic fermentation, and yeasty, biscuity notes from lees contact in sparkling wines
• Tertiary aromas: the aromas and flavours of maturation, such as leather, tobacco, dried fruit, honey and petrol
• Flexibility applies: a youthful wine may show a tar or kerosene character more commonly associated with the tertiary type, which could come from the grape variety, its origin or a winemaking technique rather than maturation

Aging is a story of loss and gain. "Some aromas fade as a result of bottle ageing," explains sensory analyst Sietze Wijma: compounds responsible for rose (geraniol) and banana (isoamyl acetate) slowly break down in the bottle to form flavourless material. At the same time, a tiny amount of oxygen finds its way into the wine, causing it to slowly oxidise and new tertiary aromas to develop. Notes of walnut and caramel develop from a reaction between flavourless compounds and oxygen; the primary compound held responsible is sotolon. Other aromas associated with oxygen exposure are almond (caused by benzaldehyde) and honey (caused by phenylacetaldehyde). Once a wine is bottled, its aromatics continue to change due in large part to exposure to oxygen, heat and light, and the fresh aromas of youth typically lose intensity over time. Petrol in Riesling is a special case: TDN (1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene) forms gradually from aroma precursors linked to carotenoids, which can break down during fermentation and ageing, and the note often intensifies with age.

• Loss: rose (geraniol) and banana (isoamyl acetate) aromas tend to disappear with bottle aging
• Gain through oxygen: walnut and caramel (sotolon is the primary compound held responsible), almond (caused by benzaldehyde) and honey (caused by phenylacetaldehyde)
• Structure changes too: mouth-drying tannins in reds taste softer and smoother due to polymerisation, and some whites develop a waxy or oily texture
• TDN, the petrol compound in Riesling, sits somewhere between a primary and a mature, tertiary aroma

The WSET Level 3 Wine-Lexicon splits tertiary aromas into clusters: deliberate oxidation (almond, marzipan, hazelnut, walnut, chocolate, coffee, toffee, caramel), fruit development in whites (dried apricot, marmalade, dried apple, dried banana) and reds (fig, prune, tar, dried blackberry, dried cranberry), bottle age in whites (petrol, kerosene, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, toast, nutty, mushroom, hay, honey) and bottle age in reds (leather, forest floor, earth, mushroom, game, tobacco, vegetal, wet leaves, savoury, meaty, farmyard). The WSET Level 2 Wine-Lexicon (Issue 2.1, 2026) lists red wine tertiary characteristics as dried fruit, leather, earth, mushroom, meat, tobacco, wet leaves, forest floor and caramel. Colour gives supporting clues: garnet is a red that shows noticeable orange or brown but is still more red than brown, and tawny and brown are usually seen only in very old wines or deliberately oxidised wines; in whites, amber or brown will generally be very old or deliberately oxidised wines. On the palate, tannins soften with age, while alcohol levels do not change and acid and sugar levels change very little.

• Nose (reds): leather, forest floor, earth, mushroom, game, tobacco and wet leaves in the WSET Level 3 bottle age (red) cluster
• Nose (whites): petrol, kerosene, toast, nutty, mushroom, hay and honey in the WSET Level 3 bottle age (white) cluster
• Colour: garnet and tawny in reds, amber and brown in whites; the browner end of each scale points to very old or deliberately oxidised wines
• Palate: softer tannins, with alcohol unchanged and acid and sugar changing very little

Ageing is important to the style of Vintage Champagne, Madeira, Age Indicated Tawny Port, Barolo, Tokaji Aszú, Vin Jaune and Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux. For some producers this aging is a choice and for others a legal requirement: under the DOCa Rioja product specification, red Gran Reserva wines must be aged at least 60 months in total in oak barrel and bottle, with at least 24 months in oak barrel followed by at least 24 months in bottle. WSET's Diploma guide uses a red Rioja Reserva as an example of a wine showing primary, secondary and tertiary aromas, with bottle age (red) descriptors such as leather, earth, mushroom and game in its marking key. In its example note for a mature Bordeaux, a medium garnet wine shows obvious tertiary aromas of earth, cedar and tobacco and is fully developed, showing a lot of tertiary cedar/earth character. In a dry Amontillado, the amber colour and tertiary characteristics indicate extended oxidative ageing after preliminary ageing under flor. Gerard Basset, quoted in Decanter, said top Cabernet Sauvignon wines with some bottle age often smell of tobacco, wet leaves and other complex aromas. Decanter also notes that petrol or kerosene is often associated with aged Riesling wines.

• Rioja Reserva: bottle age (red) notes such as leather, earth, mushroom and game in a WSET Diploma marking key example
• Mature Bordeaux: earth, cedar and tobacco in a WSET Diploma example tasting note
• Dry Amontillado: amber colour and tertiary characteristics indicating extended oxidative ageing after flor
• Riesling: petrol notes, often more pronounced in Rieslings from warmer, sunnier regions such as Australia than in those from cooler climates like Germany

WSET's Systematic Approach to Tasting is at the core of how WSET teaches wine tasting. The WSET Level 3 SAT asks for a development call on the nose (youthful, developing, fully developed, tired/past its best) and a level of readiness for drinking in the conclusions, with options that include too young and too old. As wines age, their aromas and flavours tend to develop from fruity and floral (primary) towards more savoury, earthy and spicy characters (tertiary). In the WSET Diploma framework, a wine that has already undergone ageing, evidenced by a predominance of tertiary characteristics, and is close to the end of its drinkable life should be classified as drink now: not suitable for ageing or further ageing. Complexity can come from a combination of primary, secondary and tertiary aromas, but tertiary characteristics might detract from the high quality of a wine where varietal definition is what makes it great. The vast majority of wines sold are designed for immediate consumption, and ageworthy wines tend to share plenty of flavour intensity and natural preservative qualities such as high acidity or high tannin.

• Development on the nose: youthful, developing, fully developed or tired/past its best (WSET Level 3 SAT)
• A predominance of tertiary characteristics is evidence that a wine has already undergone aging
• Tertiary character is not automatically a plus: it can detract where varietal definition drives quality
• Ageworthy wines tend to combine flavour intensity with high acidity or high tannin

Wine aged at home should be kept at a cool, constant temperature and away from bright light and vibrations; stored correctly (somewhere cool, dark and undisturbed), some high-quality wines may hold their freshness for years or even decades while chemical changes create greater aromatic complexity. Ageworthy wines are commonly held to follow a bell curve: too young, just right, too old. The WSET Level 4 SAT conclusions include a bottle ageing assessment (suitable for bottle ageing or not suitable for bottle ageing), with an explanation required, and its Wine-Lexicon lists red tertiary descriptors including dried fruit (prune, raisin, fig) and cooked fruit (cooked plum, cooked cherry).

• Storage: cool, constant temperature, away from bright light and vibrations
• The bell curve of ageworthy wines: too young, just right, too old
• WSET Level 4 SAT: a wine's suitability for bottle ageing must be explained, not just stated
• Petrol in Riesling shows that aroma categories are not always tidy, sitting between primary and tertiary

Primary sources: https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/11766/wset_l3wines_sat_en_may2022_issue2.pdf, https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/13271/wset_l4wines_sat_en_aug2023.pdf, https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/13156/wset_l2wines_sat_en_may2023_issue2.pdf, https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/6714/wset_l4diploma_cag_tasting_en_aug2018.pdf, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2023/march/21/why-do-we-age-wine, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/strawberry-pepper-and-petrol-why-wine-smells-the-way-it-does, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2022/january/13/why-doesn-t-wine-taste-like-grapes. https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/mz4dnhzc/wset_l2wines_sat_en_aug2026_issue21.pdf, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/wset-systematic-approach-to-tasting-sat/, https://riojawine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/pliego-de-condiciones-am13.pdf. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/learn/understanding-wine-aromas-329940/. Last verified 2026-11-09