Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Done! (We'll see how quick Descartes is on a Friday......
)
Also, I don't recall seeing any leakage at the corks, but I'll check 'em out well once I get home & then maybe I'll even take some pics.
Who knows..........maybe this thread will teach us sumfin'.........Naaaahhhhhhhhhh.....
Not too quick apparently; Friday's are nights to spend the evening with conversation and wine
Had a few interesting Chilean bottles night.
Anyway, onto your question. The bottles are likely in bad shape. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you stored them upright, so leaks aren't likely to be a problem. I'm also assuming that these are natural corks (as opposed to synthetics or screwcaps), so the cork alone likely gives you the following potential problems:
1) It's oxidized. This occurs in bottles with too low an SO2 content and/or simply too much oxygen. A dry cork doesn't have a proper seal, so more oxygen can interact with the ethanol in the wine over any period of time. When oxygen strips away an oxygen molecule of ethanol you have acetyldehyde (I think... I forget exactly), and that will make the wine taste sharp; in addition, the fruit will be entirely muted. In short, it will be undrinkable.
2) Aceto-bacter contamination. You'll know this immediately because it will smell like vinegar. Don't think you can pour it over your salads though; a "wild" (i.e. not innoculated under controlled conditions) vinegar isn't exactly palatable.
3) Corked. This could happen regardless of storage conditions for the most part, but the bottles could be corked. Google around for "corked wine" and you'll find more information. You'll know this pretty quickly because it smells like a damp basement, wet newspaper, etc.
Ok, for the most part, the above two issues occur only with cork failures. If you're storing upright and/or you have a non-natural cork closure, you've minimized the potential for these problems.
Finally, the next few problems could have occurred as a result of the storage conditions.
3) Sulfur/Mercaptan problems. If they are unfiltered wines there's a chance of there being latent yeast, and on rare occasions this yeast will continue to ferment under some conditions. When yeast are stressed (i.e. they're in a nutritional deficit, mainly lack of nitrogen, high temperature) they release by-products in larger quantities. One by-product is sulfur, so if it smells like rotten eggs you'll know this immediately. This is a slim, slim chance as 99% of wines are either filtered or the yeast is spent. Just thought I'd throw it out there anyway.
4) Maderized. This isn't the Portuguese Madeira either, but it might taste similar. It will probably smell like dried fruits and taste like almonds. Sometimes a carmel flavor is apparent. Sometimes it actually tastes good, but one thing is certain: It won't taste anything like it's supposed to
That's about it. I'd be willing to bet the bottles aren't worth drinking, but you might as well at least sample them and learn a little more about the faults that you can find in wines. That in itself can be an interesting experience.
:thumbsup:
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