What are the odds of tasting three faulty wines in the space of a week? One was in a pub/restaurant where I just thought the wine was crap but it was only after I had left that I started to think about what might have been wrong with the wine. Another I bought in a good independent wine shop and the final wine was one that I regularly drink. Apart from being oxidised the other common denominators were that they were all chardonnay and all from Burgundy – albeit one from Macon and the other two were Chablis.
I tend to drink Chablis regularly so am attuned to the taste and profile, what I found most surprising was that in the space of a week a wine that I had regularly tasted up to that point was still fresh with good fruit and indications that it would last another year or 2. Now it may be that I was unlucky and that other bottles of the same wine will be ok but it has made me change my preference for a particular Chablis producer
There has been much discussion about prematurely oxidised Burgundies or premox if you like. The alledged causes vary from lowered sulphur levels, corks to battonage – especially extensive stirring of the lees after malolactic fermentation.
The main detectable fault for oxidised wine is the darker colour, the sherry nose and the flavour of bruised apple. With age this is what can happen to wine anyway; it is a problem when the wine should have potential to age.
Here is a Chablis that is not oxidised and one which is fast becoming my new favourite. Drouhin Reserve de Vaudon 2008. Typical Chablis flavours of citrus and green apple, but soft as it has been aged 12 months in oak – none of which is new. Available is most good independent off licences and wine shops
Des,
What were the oxidised wines?
Cheers,
Will
Hi Will,
I will get the names of the other 2 (written at home) and put them all up. Again it may just be a problem with some stock rather than all.
Hi Des,
Opened a bottle of corked Montagny 1er Cru recently, much to my dismay, as I had purchased it some 50 miles from where I live. The kind people at the store replaced it however. It was the most vile oxidation I have experienced to date.
Colly
Hi Colly,
I am tasting some bin end wines at work and in fairness some of these that are 8-10 years old and are clearly oxidised taste almost better than the wines I posted about.