WTN: 2007 Vissoux Beaujolais V.V. Cuvee Traditionelle

2007 Vissoux (Pierre-Marie Chermette) Beaujolais V.V. Cuvee Traditionelle 11.5%
Opened this with some expectation due to good reviews posted here. Characteristic Beaujolais strawberry/raspberry aromas, more elegant than usual, with a hint of those church spices that I so enjoy in Gof5 Morgons. With time, an agreeable caramel toffee note becomes prominent. But the first taste was a shock: massive acidity, completely overwhelming the fruit, leaving behind just dishrag and an unpleasant sensation of disequilibrium. So I'm wondering, is this bottle shock (if such a thing exists - I'm not convinced), since I brought it with me last week? Or is it because I served right after opening, instead of waiting for a half hour or more, as usual? Or because I used burgundy bowls? In any case, with food and aeration the acidity receded and the fruit staged a comeback. The second half of the bottle, drunk on night two after a day in the fridge, was far more balanced and very enjoyable, only prevented from being delicious by still being somewhat on the acidic side. Clearly good stuffing here. Perhaps this was the victim of a circumstance or two.

I thought this a lovely Beaujolais, acidity was well within my comfort levels, but tolerances of course vary.

I thought this a lovely Beaujolais, acidity was well within my comfort levels, but tolerances of course vary.

As do bottles!

So I'm wondering, is this bottle shock (if such a thing exists - I'm not convinced), since I brought it with me last week?

At the risk of starting another never-ending thread on bottle shock, I'm just curious if you have found in your travels that opening bottles shortly after flying long distances does not make much of a difference compared to bottles that have rested for weeks/months? You clearly have a lot of practice flying and drinking wine in different locales. For what it's worth, I have found that such trips often do disturb wines.

For the wine, our bottle from this weekend did not show any dishrag.

So I'm wondering, is this bottle shock (if such a thing exists - I'm not convinced), since I brought it with me last week?

At the risk of starting another never-ending thread on bottle shock, I'm just curious if you have found in your travels that opening bottles shortly after flying long distances does not make much of a difference compared to bottles that have rested for weeks/months? You clearly have a lot of practice flying and drinking wine in different locales. For what it's worth, I have found that such trips often do disturb wines.

Unfortunately I haven't paid enough attention and/or made enough controlled comparisons to have a feel for this. I have certainly had enough excellent experiences with freshly traveled bottles to be skeptical about bottle shock, but there are so many other variables (that can never be isolated) at play that an "intuitive multiple regression" ascribing explanatory power to travel never materialized...

I have certainly had enough excellent experiences with freshly traveled bottles to be skeptical about bottle shock...

Wow. Good for you!

I would chime in with a "the bottle we drank was quite nice" comment...and if I recall correctly, it was a pop and pour situation so....

Bottle variation more than bottle shock, I would guess. I've been surprised a couple of times how different two bottles of Beaujolais have shown!

I have certainly had enough excellent experiences with freshly traveled bottles to be skeptical about bottle shock,..

Just to be pedantic, there's no real debate about "bottle shock" (that wines dumb down immediately after being bottled and sulphured). Don't think you would find anyone who denies that. In this instance we are talking "travel shock"

I've never seen any persuasive evidence that carrying a bottle in a plane, truck, or car causes a problem (except short term for wines with sediment). There seems to be a true consensus among importers that there is a difference from weeks on a boat. That being said, I generally avoid opening wines within a few weeks after even cross country shipping. I'm an agnostic re travel shock, but why chance it when I have a lot of other wine.

I have certainly had enough excellent experiences with freshly traveled bottles to be skeptical about bottle shock,..

Just to be pedantic, there's no real debate about "bottle shock" (that wines dumb down immediately after being bottled and sulphured). Don't think you would find anyone who denies that. In this instance we are talking "travel shock"

I've never seen any persuasive evidence that carrying a bottle in a plane, truck, or car causes a problem (except short term for wines with sediment). There seems to be a true consensus among importers that there is a difference from weeks on a boat. That being said, I generally avoid opening wines within a few weeks after even cross country shipping. I'm an agnostic re travel shock, but why chance it when I have a lot of other wine.

I drink corrected... I would only comment that the shaking of any liquid speeds up (to some extent) whatever chemical reactions are destined to take place within it, just as higher temperatures speed up the rate of chemical reactions. So, any wine that has travelled is, simply though having been shaken to some extent, a little further along in its evolution than an identical bottle still in the winemaker's cellar. But further along does not, of course, mean dumbed down.

Back to the wine for another look...I've had very good experiences with Chermette's wines and so I eagerly bought 3 bottles of this when it appeared at my local Whole Foods wine shop. Opened it over the weekend, drank some Saturday and some on Sunday. It's my observation that his 2007 wines are noticeably more acidic than the '06s, but I still found this one very nice, with a good balance between bright fruits and acidity. Second day was possibly better with the fruits a bit more to the front which mirrors to some degree Oswaldo's experience. I've had a Beaujolais or two that were way out of balance, thin, overly acidic, and lacking in fruit, but this is not one in my view, at least in the case of this bottle. Give it another try.

It's my observation that his 2007 wines are noticeably more acidic than the '06s...

Sounds like a reasonable observation.