# Bottle Aging Affected Aromatic and Phenolic Wine Composition More than Yeast Starter Strains
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Wine Phenolic Composition  
The results from the phenolic composition of the wines made with the four yeasts, Sc1-Sc4, after MLF and after 6 and 9 months in a bottle, are shown in Figure 4. The concentration of total anthocyanins decreased in the wines during the first 6 months in a bottle, remaining practically constant until the end of the studied period, regardless of the yeast used during vinifications (Figure 4a). In general, it is observed that, at the three times studied, the content of these compounds was higher in wines made with Sc2 and Sc4 yeasts than in wines made with Sc1 and Sc3 yeasts. Anthocyanians are principally responsible for the red color of red wines [31; 32]. Independently of the wine and the cultivar, other authors, such as [PERSON] et al. [33] and [PERSON] et al. [34], also observed that wine aging in bottles produced a considerable reduction in the total amount of anthocyanins. However, in none of the wines did the concentration of total flavonoids change during bottle aging (Figure 4b), a result that coincides with that found by [PERSON] et al. [35] for  
Figure 4: Phenolic compounds concentration (mg/L) of the wines at the end of malotactic fermentation (MLF) and after 6 and 9 months of aging in bottles, 6 MB and 9 MB, respectively. All parameters are given as average values \(\pm\) SD (n = 2). For each yeast, different capital letters indicate significant differences (Duncan test at \(p\leq\) 0.05) between aging moments. For each moment, different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (Duncan test at \(p\leq\) 0.05) between wines elaborated with the 4 yeasts. Syrah wines, aged in a bottle for 12 months. In addition, there were hardly any differences in their content depending on the yeast used, showing that at the end of MLF, wines made with Sc2 yeast had a greater concentration of these phenolic compounds than the wines made with Sc4 yeast (Figure 4b). Flavonols are the compounds that give a yellow color to wines, and are, therefore, of particular importance in white wines [36]. Besides, these compounds are essential for the stabilization of the wine color, since flavonoids participate in the reactions of co-pigmentation with anthocyanins [31]. In the case of total flavanols, differences were observed according to both the time of aging and the yeast used to make the wines (Figure 4c). In contrast to anthocyanins, during the first 6 months of bottle aging, their concentration did not change, decreasing in the last 3 months of aging, regardless of the yeast used, with the exception of Sc4 (Figure 4c). At the end of MLF, wines made with Sc2 yeast had the highest concentration of total flavanols, while those made with Sc4 yeast had the lowest. However, during the time the wines remained in a bottle, the content of these compounds tended to equalize, so that at 9 months, no significant differences were observed, depending on the yeast (Figure 4c). Flavonols are mainly responsible for the wine astringency [37]. [PERSON] et al. [31] also found a progressive diminution of these compounds over the aging period, more marked in the first year of Bobal, Cencibel, Tortosi and Moravia Agria cv. wines' storage. [PERSON] [38] suggested that this decrease in flavanols compounds through the aging period is due to reactions of oxidation and polymerization, many of which are related to the sensory properties of stabilization associated to red wine aging, principally color. The behavior of gallic acid, the only hydroxybenzoic acid detected in the wines, was the inverse of that of the other phenolic compounds studied (Figure 4). Thus, its concentration increased throughout the aging of the wines in a bottle (Figure 4d), such that, regardless of the yeast inoculated during fermentation, its concentration was higher at 9 months than at the end of MLF. [PERSON] et al. [39] also found a rise in gallic acid content throughout the bottle aging of Cabernet Sauvignon wines, relating it to the hydrolysis reaction of gallo-tannins and esters of gallic acid with glucose.