(VinePair) - A single enzyme is primarily responsible for making aged wines have that oh-so-enticing old wine smell, according to researchers from the University of Strasbourg in France. The name of the enzyme, however, isn’t nearly as romantic as the idea of aging like a fine wine. Prepare for your eyes to glaze over, because it’s a mouth full: CYP76F14.

CYP76F14 is part of the cytochrome P450 family of enzymes, which make and break certain molecules and chemicals. It’s not simply a messy jumble of letters and numbers, though, it’s essentially the ultimate creator of fine wine.

CYP76F14 gets to work before the juice ever leaves the grape. It takes a plant compound called monoterpenol linalool and turns it into (E)-8-carboxylinalool. Then, as the wine matures, (E)-8-carboxylinalool slowly turns into wine lactone, which is a good smelling compound that can be found in everything from apples, to oranges, to wine grapes. Wine lactone, which only made it into the wine thanks to CYP76F14, helps give old wine that glorious old wine smell.