Gunk!
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By
Robin GarrI got a little surprise when I
pulled the long natural cork from this bottle of bargain-priced
Bordeaux: An inky black sludge coated the inner end of the cork with
a shiny goo, and more of the same muddy stuff filled up the neck.
Ick.
Perhaps surprisingly, the wine seemed undamaged, although the
task of cleaning up the mess took the edge off the customary ritual
of pulling cork and pouring.
I scooped out the sludge with a fingertip and wiped the glass
clean with a paper towel, noting that the goo painted my hands with
bold blackish- purple stripes. Happily, it was water-soluble, and
washed right off.
For the sake of science (and knowing the stuff to be a harmless
mix of tartrates, phenolic polymers and perhaps microscopic bits of
fruit and yeast), I took a tiny taste. It was gritty, astringent,
with a vaguely winey flavor. Not disgusting, but I wouldn't call it
palatable either.
You don't really want it in your glass.
Sediment of this type normally collects, quietly and out of the
way, on the down side of a bottle stored horizontally under cool
cellar conditions. You can get a good bit of it in an older red
wine, but it's unusual to see a heavy deposit in the business end of
a three-year-old bottle.
My guess: The wine was exposed to extreme cold in shipment or
storage, prompting it to "throw" an unusual amount of young
sediment. The wine was in cartons stored neck down (a common
practice), so the sediment collected on the inner end of the cork
and inside the neck.
Without finding another bottle of the same wine without sediment,
it's not possible to say with certainty whether its flavor was
affected. But I'm happy to report that it seemed fine, once the
sediment was removed, with good fruit and acid in balance, firm
tannins and intriguing minerality. That's a lot of Bordeaux for 10
bucks, even if it did come with an unwanted bonus.
The wine, 2005 Chateau Sauman from Vignobles D. Braud, is
a Cotes de Bourg, made from vineyards around the village of Bourg on
the right bank of the Gironde estuary, just across the water from
the fabled Margaux appellation in the Médoc. Bourg wines are
generally made with Merlot predominating, and - like its neighbor
Blaye - it's a name to watch for if you're seeking decent,
affordable Bordeaux as we are in ths month's Wine Focus. My tasting
report is below: |
