A somewhat embarrassing admission, still, thought I'd share...a new Rule.

  • Thread starter Thread starter BJ
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BJ

BJ
I've begun to decant all my old stuff.

I've always worried that it would tire the wine out, but man, keeping the sediment away from the glass just allows for the complexity to come out more fully. Even bottles that look low sediment have more than they seem. I did a side by side the other night - '96 Taluau St.NdB VV and boy what a difference...I also think the decant does something to actually give the wine a bit of freshness with an upfront aeration...

The wines are a little lighter and more complex.

The new Rule: Decant!
 
The decanted one was fantastic - very elegant and complex, a bit haunting, slightly bitter and leafy.
 
Brad, I used to be an avid non-decanter, but, like you, I have come around to being more in favor of it...AT THE LAST MINUTE before serving.

. . . Pete
 
My experience is that older wines are almost always reductive if the cork is sound. Decantation not only removes sediment but also gives those wines needed aeration.

Mark Lipton
 
I always pour the bottle into two small carafes anyway so that Marcia and I stick to our allotted 375 (otherwise I'd end up having more), and use a mesh filter at the very end if there is sediment in older wines. But I'm curious about the claims being made (here and in older threads) that sediment allowed out ruins the wine.

If it's an orange wine, or a col fondo wine, I actually shake the bottle to ensure even distribution of the (young) sediment. Of course I don't do that with old wines, but only because it's unpleasant to be drinking a liquid and, suddenly, an intrusive granular substance interrupts the liquidity flow. Sort of like finding a bone interrupts the distracted chewing of fish. But it's merely a textural unpleasantness, rather than something organoleptic, so clarification is sought from ye all on how exactly do you see it ruining your oldies. Not to mention the unkindness of separating families that have dwelt together in the same room for decades.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
But it's merely a textural unpleasantness, rather than something organoleptic, so clarification is sought from ye all on how exactly do you see it ruining your oldies.
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Really? I'm hardly an expert but the strong bitterness of sediment from older wines is a pretty aggressive flavor and very clearly a detraction from the wine, at least in my experience.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
But it's merely a textural unpleasantness, rather than something organoleptic, so clarification is sought from ye all on how exactly do you see it ruining your oldies.
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Half the point of aging wine is for texture, and in any event it's texture as much as anything that distinguishes the great from the merely good, so textural unpleasantness is a definite dealbreaker. The fishbone analogy is right on.
 
I think sediment tends to generify older wines - typically makes them a little sweeter and heavier, a bit more "old wine" rather than unique to itself.

I used to think if I was careful with my pours that the sediment would stay on the bottom and affect only the tail end of the bottle - I don't think this is true anymore - the sediments starts to move up the bottle almost immediately.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
I always pour the bottle into two small carafes anyway so that Marcia and I stick to our allotted 375 (otherwise I'd end up having more),
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Stunning discipline...
 
originally posted by BJ:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
I always pour the bottle into two small carafes anyway so that Marcia and I stick to our allotted 375 (otherwise I'd end up having more),
Click to expand...

Stunning discipline...
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You haven't heard the time span for each 375 allotment.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by BJ:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
I always pour the bottle into two small carafes anyway so that Marcia and I stick to our allotted 375 (otherwise I'd end up having more),
Click to expand...

Stunning discipline...
Click to expand...

You haven't heard the time span for each 375 allotment.
Click to expand...

I finish my half first 90% of the time, so sometimes I get seconds when she's not in the mood to finish hers. But when she finishes her half first, I know it's a 94 point wine.
 
Oh now I get it. The two of you still drink the whole bottle. Whew!

Not a bad idea...the Mme is always complaining she gets the short end of the stick.
 
originally posted by BJ:
Oh now I get it. The two of you still drink the whole bottle. Whew!

Not a bad idea...the Mme is always complaining she gets the short end of the stick.
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Be prepared for the argument that you represent more than 50% of the couple's joint bodyweight (assuming that is so) to fall on deaf ears. Too many years of getting the short end of the stick does that to our partners.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Too many years of getting the short end of the stick does that to our partners.
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Come to my house. My partner doesn't like dry wines but he's willing to taste. So, 99% of the time, I get 745 ml.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Too many years of getting the short end of the stick does that to our partners.
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Come to my house. My partner doesn't like dry wines but he's willing to taste. So, 99% of the time, I get 745 ml.
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Always surprised when couplehood does not generate increasing interest in each other's hobbies (barring physiological impediments). Yet examples here are legion (well, at least two, as Jay and Rahsaan come immediately to mind).
 
I also find the old wines suffer when mixed with sediment. They become muddy and blurry if mixed together

In my case, I usually let them stand for a few days. For serving, a wine cradle is a good tool for serving
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:

Always surprised when couplehood does not generate increasing interest in each other's hobbies (barring physiological impediments). Yet examples here are legion (well, at least two, as Jay and Rahsaan come immediately to mind).
Click to expand...

Indeed. In my case, my wife has gotten less interested in alcohol of any kind over time. She claims that it is partially due to decreased tolerance and physiological changes in how alcohol tastes after her pregnancy. But she also just progressively got out of the habit of even drinking a small glass, so it seems less and less interesting to her.

Hard to argue that she needs to drink alcohol. So somehow I survive!
 
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