Why do french wines have a long shelf life?

Answer 1

Some French wine last a long time, some don't! All wine can last a long time if it has the following three qualities, a high enough level of tannin, high enough acidity, enough fruit and enough secondary flavours for the fruit to integrate with. If it has all these characters and is stored correctly then the wine may last for a long long time. It is worth nothing that alot of old wine (say from 1980 and older), even French is undrinkable, most wines don't last more then a few years, they are made to be drunk young, a few will last up to a decade and a very rare couple will last longer.