Have you ever opened a bottle of wine that was lovely for 30 minutes or so, and then the fruit became to fade?This happened to me yesterday during the Super Bowl with a bottle of 1999 Havens Bourriquot Napa Valley Red Wine, a 67-33 blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
Wow, this was nice at first. Lovely ripe cherry and cherry tobacco, some raspberry, leather, some dried herbs: I loved just smelling it. It was also nice on the palate, with raspberry fruit and well-managed tannins. But the finish was more leather and earth, and perhaps that was a warning sign.
I thought I detected a hint of brett in the beginning, but not enough to detract from a wine that seemed to be at its peak: mature, but still lively.
Within 30 minutes, though, the fruit was all gone, and all that remained was must and dust and maybe a little old leather.
So what was the cause? It could have been:
* Brettanomyces, better known as brett. This is my number one suspect because I think I smelled it, but without lab testing I can't say for sure. If true, the brett really took over fast.
* TCA, better known as cork taint. Corked wine does get worse as you drink it. But my previous experience with cork-tainted bottles is that they were never as lovely as this was to begin with.
* Possibly the fresh fruit flavors simply evaporated. This is only an outside possibility because, while this can happen with very old wines, a decade is not that long, and the fruit didn't seem delicate or fragile at first.
At the end of the day, I'm guessing it was brett. Havens Wine Cellars has taken pride in pronouncing itself "old-world" in style, and to be frank, I've never been a big fan of its wines. Many French wineries tolerate a level of brett in their wines that American wineries have tried to eliminate. I suspect that's what happened here.
But that's the problem with deconstructing a wine: without a lab, you can't be sure.
The experience also reminded me that wine is like a cherry blossom: a temporary beauty. If I had merely enjoyed a half-glass of this right after opening and then moved on, I would still have a delicious memory of it.
4 comments:
Sounds like it might be Mousey taint? http://www.aromadictionary.com/articles/mousey_article.html
~Pamela @ enobytes
While it is common for fermentation esters responsible for those fruity aromas, another factor I have found to contribute to this is the ambient temperature of the tasting room and that of the wine. Some wines just do not show as well in the low temperatures traditionally recommended for serving.
Would like to send you some technical information on TCA eradication efforts by cork producers. How do I reach you? Please e-mail me: news@winebizpr.com Thanks.
Thanks for the comments.
Enobytes: I think you're right, I think it was brettanomyces, but I can't be sure.
Red Wine Buzz: I don't think the temperature mattered here. I cellar at 60 degrees Farenheit. The room temperature was probably 67 or 68, so the wine would have gradually warmed to that. But because the wine smelled best when first opened, low temperature wasn't the reason for its decline.
WineBizWhiz: Thanks for the generous offer, but I already have the information. I know, cork producers are taking all sorts of interesting measures -- they have to, with the growing popularity of alternative closures. But cork taint hasn't been eliminated, even from the priciest bottlings. Personally, I think most wines should be screwcapped for this reason; why take the risk? That said, cork taint is not my number one suspect here.
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