Below are the results from the 5th experiment. The most interesting one to date. These experiments involve comparing the dozen or so less than ageworthy wines found last year in my Father-in-Laws basement. I've been opening them over the last 10 months and drinking them side by side with comparable newer bottlings. All of the bottles should be over the hill using conventional wisdom.

I'll summarize the prior 4 experiments first (my first 3 posts are no longer retrievable on the board):

1. 1969 Beaujolais Villages- Suprisingly drinkable. Lost some fruit but retained its body. Good color.
2. 1990 California Sauvignon Blanc- Lost its vibrancy and its freshness. Clearly inferior to the 2000 we tried but not completely lacking in character.
3. 1992 California Gewurztraminer- Still spicy. Very similar to the newer bottle. Color had darkened a bit and as with the others the fruit had faded but not too much.
4. 1991 Beaulieu Vineyard Beautour Chardonnay- I updated this post so you could read it for yourself.

Experiment #5 involves a New York sparkling wine and a new California sparkler for comparison. 4 persons were present at my Father-in-Laws home for this experiment. Here are the 2 wines:

N/V J. Roget Blanc de Noirs (New York)
N/V Chandon Blanc de Noirs Carneros #397

Although the Roget is non vintage, my Father-in-Law estimates that it is 15-20 years old. It had a heavy coating of dust. The bottle states that it is 12% alcohol and made from red and white champagne grapes. Obviously not a very good bottle even in its prime. The Chandon is also 12% alcohol and made from 88% Pinot Noir, 11% Pinot Meunier and 1% Chardonnay.

The plastic cork on the Roget was intact but the wire was starting to flake from corrosion. Absolutely no pop when opened. The inside of the plastic cork was brown. The wine threw a small sediment and was minimally cloudy. I tried to avoid stirring it as much as possible. It was a brandy color. Similar to the deepest and longest aged Sauternes you have ever seen except with a slight pinkish hue. There was absolutely no doubt that the wine was way past gone. Nevertheless the experiment continued. The Chandon had a hint of pale pink to it and was fresh and bubbly.

The Roget smelled of Sherry and burnt caramel. No fizz at all. It tasted like Harveys Bristol Cream. In fact, I found a bottle of Harveys and poured some in a glass to sample. Everyone agreed that it was almost a dead ringer. The Roget had some added tartness and a slight bing cherry taste to it but that was the only difference between it and the Harveys. Nobody would think this was ever a sparking wine in a blind tasting. Because it was so different than any sparkling wine there was really no comparison to the Chandon and it was very hard and pointless to compare the two. Therefore, I will make no further mention of the Chandon.

The only person to finish their glass of the Roget was my father-in-law who said he enjoyed it and asked for some more. He didn't want us to throw it out. I drank half of my glass to get an accurate assessment of it. The things I do out of a sense of loyalty to this board. I would have been very interested to find out if the alcohol content on the Roget had changed. Not being a expert on winemaking my only guess is that time and less than stellar storage caused a secondary fermentation to occur. If anyone can enlighten me on how this sparkling wine turned into a sherry I would be grateful.

I think I need a break before the next experiment.

VM

[ 05-25-2002, 03:09 AM: Message edited by: Vino Me ]

Vino Me, I think your father-in-law opened that bottle, poured out the sparkler, and filled it with Harvery's Bristol Cream ! Then, he put a plastic cap back in the bottle and added that flakey wire ! He got all of the Bristol Cream, as the rest of you were turned off by that flat, sweet, sparkler ! I think your father-in-law had a great time

[ 05-22-2002, 01:35 PM: Message edited by: latour67 ]

Vino, you're a brave man to drink that. I think I would have bailed long before I finished half a glass. Interesting to note that although labeled as blanc de noirs, both contained chardonnay (although only 1% for the Chandon). I always thought that a blanc de noirs was made entirely from red wine grapes. Does anybody know what the regulations are on this as it applies to US labeling laws?

Do you put the local Poison Control Center on alert before you try these?

Rothko:

If you call the Poison Control Hotline in situations such as these, their advice is to "Induce Bollinger".

VM: From the condition of the sparkler, it almost seems as if it was fortified somehow. No matter how low the quality of the wine, it just doesn't seem that what happedned here was normal. Not in 15 years. 50 maybe. Clearly the plastic cork did not help the cause. Something to think about as producers move toward synthetic closures.

Hey. Maybe someone ought to start a thread about... Aww. Nevermind.

[ 05-21-2002, 09:33 AM: Message edited by: JimmyV ]

Latour- The resemblence to a cream sherry was so striking that the substitution theory crossed my mind. However, I compared the color of the Roget to the Harvey's and the Harveys was clearly darker and more opaque.

JimmyV- It sure tasted like it was fortified but I'm not sure that the alcohol content changed. That's why it would have been interesting to test it if I could. I wonder if a real cork would have preserved the fizz.

VM

Vino Me, I love these experiments of yours, how I wish I could partake. Truly entertaining AND educational. Though maybe not so tasty!

Stealthman,

Well if you're ever in town let me know. There are still plenty of bottles left. A 10 year old White Zin, a 33 year old red Spanish table wine and a 27 year old Brunello among them.

VM

Might I suggest that you donate the White Zin to be raffled off at the 6/15 dinner?

Jimmy- Who would bid on it. Now if we made everybody bid and told them that the lowest bidder would have to drink it we might raise some serious coin.

To All- As a footnote, I took my Father-in-Law to the Cubs game this afternoon and he tells me that he finished the rest of the Roget the next day.

VM

10 Year White Zin, I am jealous, I have a '97 Sutter Home incubating, I heard it was a great vintage...
I was at a birthday party that ran out of booze about a year ago...out comes 1990 Glen Ellen Chardonnay, it was better than I expected, but what I expected was crap.
Cubs game...

Stealth,

Is the Frown graemlin after "Cubs game..." because you could not go or because the Cubs have been doing so poorly? I can assure you that any day at Wrigley is a good day.

VM

Both, I haven't been to a game at the Friendly Confines in many a year. Man, I miss Jack Brickhouse still...Lou Boudreau too.

VM--

Man, we've got to get together for a tasting one of these days...You sound like a riot!

Save the White Zin for me!

Joe

Bumped in anticipation of Experiment #7.

VM