Lees
/liːz/
Lees are the sediment that settles at the bottom of a fermentation or aging vessel, made up mainly of dead yeast cells along with fine grape particles and tartrates. In quality winemaking, the term usually refers to fine yeast lees that are deliberately left in contact with the wine (and sometimes stirred) to enhance texture, flavor complexity, and stability.
Examples
- The label "Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie" indicates the wine was aged on its fine lees, giving extra creaminess and subtle bread-dough notes to an otherwise very crisp white wine.
- A winemaker may rack a young Chardonnay off its gross lees but keep it on fine lees in barrel, with occasional bâtonnage (lees stirring), to build a rounder mouthfeel and gentle brioche-like complexity.
- Traditional-method sparkling wines such as Champagne are aged for months or years on the lees in bottle, which creates the classic bready, biscuity aromas associated with long lees aging.
Etymology
English "lees" comes from Middle English "lees" or "les," borrowed from Old French "lies" (plural) / "lie" (singular), meaning the dregs or sediment of wine. Old French "lie" derives from Late Latin *"lia" or "lea" (plural "leae"), referring to thick deposits or sediment in liquids, especially wine, likely from a Gaulish or pre-Latin substrate root linked to something thick or viscous that settles. The term has remained a technical wine word in English and French, and the French expression "sur lie" ("on the lees") is now widely used internationally to denote wines aged in contact with their lees.