This wine ages 4-6 years in large old oak vats (opposed to Vintage, that ages 2-3 years). LBV fills the gap between the rubies and the vintage ports since a Ruby Port should be drunk quite young and a great Vintage Port may need 15 to 20 years to really open up and show its splendour. This led in the 1960s to the creation of a Port ageing 4 to 6 years in large vats before bottling it, thereby producing a wine with the style of a Vintage Port with its deep colour and concentration of fruit but with a more mature character caused by the extended ageing in wood.