Vintage Wine

[Rocky]

I am not sure where to place this for discussion so I will try here.

Last night, we had dinner at our home with my daughter and her family. I was going through my stock of store bought wines and found two Brunellos from 2001. I was thinking that would be a nice "go with" for our roasted filet so I opened one. I noted that the cork was fine and in tact and there were no off odors but the color of the wine was off, slightly brownish so I was not very optimistic. I decanted the wine into a carafe to let it breathe and got the other bottle just in case. It had a much better color so I decanted it into another carafe.

As the wine sat in the carafes, I noticed that there was a visible change in color of the first wine from the brownish to a nicer red. The taste had also improved somewhat, but was still not what I expected. The second wine also improved in color to a very nice, deep red and the taste was dry and awesome. When our family arrived and tried both they did not like the first and preferred the second which disappeared in a matter of minutes.

I had paid about $60 for each bottle a number of years ago and was reluctant to just pitch the first wine. I had a "QA" bottle of a one year old Amarone that I had just bottled so I tried adding some of that to the first wine in my glass. A significant improvement! So, I added the rest of the bottle of Amarone to the carafe, swirled it gently and all agreed that the wine was very nice.

Now, because of my keenly developed "cellar palate" I am not into vintage wines and I have some questions:

1. Is the color change a typical result in the "breathing" process?
2. My cellar maintains a fairly constant temperature between 60 and 65 degrees F. Because the cork was in tact and there were no off odors in the wine, what could have happened to it? I did note in the first bottle after decanting, there was a very significant amount of sediment in very large chunks when I rinsed the bottle.
3. I know that some vintages age better and longer than others. Do I need to research the 2001 vintage of Brunello to see what the performance of this has been?

I have a couple of others still in the cellar, among which is a 2003 Barolo. I hope it has survived whatever affected bottle 1 of the Brunello.

Thanks for your help and any insight provided.

 

[olusteebus]

If it were me I would not chance it with what you have left over. It really could be toxic.

I will dispose of this dangerous material at no charge. Call me immediately at BR549.






Sorry I am no help but I also would like to know what went on there. Glad it turned out good for you.

 

[JohnT]

I have definitely seen this on older vintages. I have recently opened a 33 year old bottle. Pouring it into a decanter, I noticed a disappointing brown tint to the color. Surprisingly, the wine tasted spectacular.

IMHO, once wine is in the bottle, each bottle will age slightly differently. The differences will become more pronounced over time. I am not too sure of the cause of the browning, perhaps it is more about the pigments over time than any form of oxidation?

Sediment is definitely to be expected in an elderly bottle of wine. This is why they invented decanters. I honestly expect it and wonder if the wine is as old as advertised when no sediment is present.

How well a wine ages is (among other things) dependent on the tannins present in the wine, the PH, ABV, and residual sugars. A dry Riesling, for example, has low tannins and low ABV and does not really age for the better beyond 3 years.

Here is a link to a handy-dandy chart that suggests peak ageing times for most wines. Hope it helps...


http://winefolly.com/tutorial/cellar-wine-guide/

 

[Rocky]

Thanks, JohnT. That was very helpful.

 

[salcoco]

I think that the wine had lost some of its tannins,ergo the sediment at bottom of bottle. I would also guess that the wine has passed its peak and is down turning at present. adding the Amarone to first bottle increased the tannin in the new blend, making it more pleasurable.
I cannot resolve the color change .

 

[Rocky]

Thanks, Sal. That certainly squares with everything I saw and tasted. The wine had definitely passed its peak. I guess my cellar is on the high side for temperature so I need to go through all the "old stuff" and start enjoying. Nice problem to have!

 

[salcoco]

your cellar temp seems okay to me. just that the wine has started to turn,. Remember it is about 14 years old. I had a Brunello from a kit and it started to fail at nine years.

 

[REDRUM]

From what I know (which is not much), wine with a bit of age in it can often lose its vibrant red colour to a brownish, brick-colour tint - a result of slow oxidisation that can sometimes be very beneficial to flavour.

 

[T_Baggins]

I'm no wine savant, especially the despicable grape....blecchhhh!!!! but I read somewhere there only like 5 grapes that will mature to over 50 yrs and a few more than that to 20yrs and so on...most are only good to like what was it 3-5 yrs?

 

[REDRUM]

Yeah, I found this site that tries to list wines by variety/type in terms of their cellaring potential:
http://www.mowinecellar.com/the-best-types-of-wine-to-cellar
Generally more tannic & acidic red wines should age better than fruit-forward styles.

Aging Suggestions for Common Types of Wine
Beaujolais – 0 to 3 years
Beaujolais Nouveau – drink as soon as possible
Bordeaux, Red – 5 to 20 years
Bordeaux, White – 4 to 10 years
Cabernet Sauvignon – 5 to 15 years
Champagne, non-Vintage – 0 to 2 years
Champagne, Vintage – 5 to 10 years
Chianti – 0 to 7 years
Chardonnay – 0 to 5 years
Merlot – 2 to 8 years
Gewurztraminer – 0 to 4 years
Pinot Noir – 0 to 5 years
Port, non-vintage, tawny, etc. – 0 to 5 years
Port, Vintage – 10-20+ years
Rioja – 4 to 10 years
Riesling – 3 to 20 years
Sangiovese and Barolo – 5 to 10 years
Sauternes and other sweet whites – 5 to 15 years
Sauvignon Blanc – 0 to 2 years
Shiraz – 5 to 12 years
Vouvray – 0 to 5 years
Zinfandel, Red – 5 to 10 years
Zinfandel, White – 0 to 1 years

(above list is VERY general & there are plenty of examples of lots of these wines lasting much, much longer than that)

 

[Rocky]

That really helps, Redrum. Thanks.

The Brunello is from Sangiovese grapes so it was outside the range given. I had better get after that 2003 Barolo, which may be past its prime now.

 

[shoebiedoo]

Rocky I'm here to help my friend!

 

[Rocky]

Rocky I'm here to help my friend!

Hey, Steve.

I was sure I could count on you to get me through this!