Part I
Back in mid-April, I opened a btl of OjaiWhite that dated from around 2005. I left about a third of the btl sitting on the kitchen counter, sans cork, exposed to the air, about a foot & half away from an active vinegar ferment, so all sorts of acetobacter in the air, presumably. Finally tasted it last night:
1. OjaiVnyd OjaiWhite Calif TW (14.0%) NV: Med.dark golden/burnished bronze bit cloudy color; rather orangey/honeyed/slight Rouss lightly oxidized/nutty/slight cidery bit earthy nose a bit like a 15-20 yr old Rouss or Marsanne; lightly tart/tangy some orangey/nutty/oldRouss lightly oxidized/cidery flavor w/ slight bitterness; long slight Rouss/honeyed rather nutty/oldRouss/bit oxidized/cidery little fruit finish w/ slight astringent/bitterness; clearly some oxidative character like a 20 yr old Rouss but absolutely no EA/VA/vinegar/acetic acid/acetaldhyde/maderization; no fruit to speak of but not at all unpleasant with food, a bit like an orange wine w/o the tannins. $12.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The later OjaiWhites have a laser-etched number on the btl of the bttling date. This btl had no etched number, which dates it to around the 2003-2005 vintage time frame. This would probably be a Rouss/Viog/Chard blend.
This was served at a slightly cool room temperature. As it warmed to room temperature, the oxidative character strengthened somewhat and it became more bitter.
We all "know" that a wine that is exposed to too much oxygen/air turns to vinegar. This we've been told time & time again by the "wine experts". Yet the wine had zero EA/VA/acetic acid/acetaldhyde. Where the heck did this experiment go wrong??
Part II
At the same mid-April time frame, I opened a TJ's LazyBones CabFranc. I also left a 1/3'rd btl open, sans cork, sitting on the counter top next to the Ojai. So I opened a brand new btl of the LazyBones and tasted the two wines, side-by-side, blind:
Left Glass LazyBones CabFranc PasoRobles/Calif (13.9%) C&B by CentralCoastWineWarehouse/SantaMaria 2015: Slightly lighter color; light grapey/bit herbal/CabFranc slight earthy bit tight/closed nose w/ zero signs of oxidation; soft bit closed/reticent some earthy light herbal/CabFranc bit dull flavor w/ light slight bitey tannins; long slightly beat down/reticent grapey/ripe/jammy slight herbal/CabFranc finish w/ light smoother tannins; much the same as the right but a bit simpler & lighter in character. $5.99 (TJ)
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Right Glass LazyBones CabFranc PasoRobles/Calif (13.9%) C&B by CentralCoastWineWarehouse/SantaMaria 2015: Very dark color; somewhat fresh/grapey herbal/CabFranc nose; less soft/bit harder slight tangy fairly grapey/fresh/herbal/CabFranc slight spicy/chocolatey slight toasty/oak flavor w/ bit stronger/bitey/hard tannins; very long bit tart/tangy/angular some hard/rough ripe/grapey/herbal/CabFranc light pencilly/oak finish w/ some hard/rough tannins; a bit more interesting but a bit hard/drying on the palate; some heavy/gritty sediment in the glass. $5.99 (TJ)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. So, after I finished tasting, I looked on the bottom of the glass for the identity of the wine:
Left = Newly Opened Wine
Right = Opened 5 months Wine
I was quite surprised at the unveiling. Because of the lighter color and the somewhat more reticent nose, I was convinced that the left glass was the one that had been left opened and the right glass the freshly opened sample. WrongoDongo. I was expecting the freshly opened btl to show more fresh/lush/intense fruit. It did not so. I was expecting the differences between the two samples to be in stark contrast. They were not. I actually preferred the glass that had been open 5 months by a small margin.
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2. The right glass (opened 5 months) showed absolutely no signs of oxidation, nor of EA/VA/acetic acid/acetaldhyde/vinegar. Not even any signs of being tired. Yet we all "know" that a wine exposed to air turns to vinegar. We've been told that over&over by the "wine experts". So where to this experiment go astray? Curious minds want to know.
Thus endeth your Science lesson for today.
Tom