sur lie

[soor LEE] The French expression for "on the lees." lees is the coarse sediment, which consists mainly of dead yeast cells and small grape particles that accumulate during fermentation. Wine­makers believe that certain wines benefit from being aged sur lie. chardonnay or sauvignon blanc wines are thought to gain complexity if aged in this way for a few months. This happens as a matter of course with sparkling wines made via méthode champenoise because the second fermentation occurs in the bottle where the wine is aged (sometimes for up to 10 years) until the lees are disgorged. Muscadet wines from France's loire region occasionally have the phrase "mis en bouteille sur lie" on the label, which means the wine was bottled from barrels where the lees were not drained (although the sediment has fallen to the bottom of the barrel). These wines have a creamy, yeasty flavor and a touch of carbon dioxide which gives a slight prickling sensation on the tongue. See also autolysis.