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WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

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Robin Garr

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WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

by Robin Garr » Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:56 pm

How now, quick fade

So I'm waiting in line for my latte at the corner coffee shop, and I run into my buddy John Johnson, the wine-savvy owner of my neighborhood wine shop, The Wine Rack.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said, "Psst!"

"Yes?"

"I see you liked the Holy Cow Chardonnay," he said. "Have you tried their Merlot?"

"Not yet," I said, "but I expect I'm about to."

And so it was. Coffeed up, we went to his wine shop next door, I said "Cow me," paid, up, and walked out with a bottle of Merlot bearing a simple drawing of a Holstein dairy cow on the label, a mirror image of the bovine that adorned the Chardonnay reported in Wednesday's edition. Same label, same price, $12.99 cheap, and Johnson assured me that I would like it.

I had a vegetarian repast planned, a spinach-and-mushroom risotto with lots of tangy Pecorino cheese, and I figured its bold flavors would be enough to stand up to a presumably lighter-style red, so I uncorked it - or, rather, unscrewed it - with dinner.

Not bad! Not bad at all. On the Website that Holy Cow shares with its parent winery, Washington State's K Vintners, wine maker Charles Smith exults, "smooth as velvet, TASTY AS HELL!" I can't say I disagree with him about that, and would add that it's, well, a hell of a value.

Like the Holy Cow Chardonnay, it's almost more Old World in style than new, breathing ripe cherry aromas with good, earthy undertones and a solid core of lip-smacking acidity and smooth tannins. That's my kind of dinner red, and at just a buck or two over $10, it's mighty hard not to like.

But now let's turn to Page Two: I figured that I'd save half of the wine overnight to try with a more carnivorous dinner of local grass-fed rib eye steaks the next day.

Unfortunately, it loved me and left me. Reopened after only 24 hours at room temperature in the re-capped bottle, it had faded as fast as a burglar fleeing the scene of a crime. The cherry fruit had fled, leaving behind a thin, oaky beverage. Oak? I hadn't even picked up on much wood character on Day One.

What's up with that? Apparently the wine is vinified to show seductively appealing fruit up front, but it's no keeper. Still, while I've often preached that wine deteriorates quickly once the bottle has been opened, I don't usually expect it to go downhill that fast after only one night. If any of you have similar experiences to report - or better yet, serious theories as to what might have happened here, I'd enjoy hearing them.

Charles Smith Wines 2006 "Holy Cow" Columbia Valley Merlot ($12.99)

Dark ruby, reddish-violet glints. Ripe aromas of tart red cherries and a whiff of smoke. The wine maker's Web notes suggest "pipe tobacco," and I can see that, maybe, if we're thinking in terms of that cherry-scented smoke that was the rage back in the '70s. Excellent sour-cherry fruit and subtle earth, very well structured with mouth-watering acidity and soft but perceptible tannins. (Jan. 30, 2008)

FOOD MATCH: It made a surprisingly good red-wine match with a vegetarian risotto with mushrooms, fresh spinach and Pecorino Romano cheese. I had hoped to try it on a second night with a more traditional match of rare rib eye steak, but the wine didn't hang around long enough for me to find out.

VALUE: The lower teens price tag is a no-brainer for a well-structured Merlot that's good bordering on excellent, but the value diminishes if you're planning to keep it more than one night.

WHEN TO DRINK: The wine's remarkably quick fade in the open bottle makes me dubious about holding it for any extended period. Drink up!

WEB LINK:
You'll find brief information about the winery and its wines on the K Vintners Website:
http://www.charlessmithwines.com

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Visit the winery Website for online sales; check prices and find vendors for Charles Smith's "Holy Cow" Merlot on Wine-Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Holy% ... g_site=WLP

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Paul Noga

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Re: WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

by Paul Noga » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:57 pm

Robin, can't say that I've seen anything fade that fast, let alone have oak dominate where it wasn't noticeable before.

I see that you kept the bottle at room temperature. I always store my leftover reds in the fridge, and wonder if this would have slowed down the effect you noticed. Upon taking the bottle out, I'll either pour the wine in a glass and allow it to come to room temperature, but I've also been known to stick the filled glass in the microwave to take off the chill (just a few seconds on "high" does the trick).
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Carlos Rocha

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Re: WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

by Carlos Rocha » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:21 pm

Hello,
I normally use the vacuum tops and I am quite pleased with the results. What is your opinion about these tops?
Carlos A Rocha
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John Tomasso

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Re: WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

by John Tomasso » Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:48 am

Carlos Rocha wrote:Hello,
I normally use the vacuum tops and I am quite pleased with the results. What is your opinion about these tops?


Hi Carlos, and welcome to the forum.
I've used the vacuum stopper system in the past.
I've never done a scientific analysis, but frankly, I didn't notice much of a difference whether I used the pump, or just re-corked the bottle and put it in the fridge.
So I'm really not sure how well, if it all, they work.
"I say: find cheap wines you like, and never underestimate their considerable charms." - David Rosengarten, "Taste"
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Carlos Rocha

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Re: WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

by Carlos Rocha » Sat Feb 02, 2008 10:52 am

Hi john,
thank you for the response.
I use the pump as hard as I can and then leave the bottle at room temperature and I found that it gives good results.
Cheers

carlos
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Simon J

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Question: Have you tried inert gas?

by Simon J » Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:23 pm

No, I am not talking about flatulence, :mrgreen: but about a mixture of Nitrogen, carbon dioxide and argon that creates a blanket of gas that is supposed to form a barrier blocking out oxygen? It has been a while since I used it and was wondering what other wldgers though of it and the results it gets.

Simon
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Sunny Brown

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Re: WTN/Wine Advisor: How now, quick fade

by Sunny Brown » Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:44 pm

Sometimes with wines that are young and have high levels of volatile acidity the fruit is very prominent upon first opening, but as the wine oxidizes the fruit quickly fades away and other elements become more pronounced. It has been my experience with wines that have volatile acidity that when they are young they can be very good and it may be hard to even notice the VA, but as they age in bottle the negative qualities start to come through. :(

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