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Posted to alt.food.wine
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Sediment and decanting
In article > ,
says...
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>"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
>news:aCUbf.530748$_o.89600@attbi_s71...
>> Since sediment is polymerized tannins, it tastes bitter.
>
>Hi, Mark -
>
>Something about the polymerization process seems to take away much of the
>astringency I'd expect to taste in sediment. IOW, I detect more bitterness
>in young wines than I do in the resulting sediment after extended aging.
>
>AFAIC, sediment in wine that hasn't been properly decanted damages mouth
>feel - which is not to say that I perceive it as bitterness, per se. Does
>that make sense to you?
>
>Tom S
Tom,
I agree completely. At a recent dinner, the sommelier offered up a '01 Rioja,
which was to be decanted. I asked for a light pour of it, prior to the
decanting. A friend and I sampled the pre-decant taste, and cataloged our
impressions. When the decanted glasses came out, we were able to do a bit of
A-B (though the un-decanted wine had now sat in the glass for 30 mins, or so),
and both agreed that the decanted version was smoother. My friend could not
really tell any difference between the two, from first taste of the bottle
pour, to the decanted pour, but I could find definite "tactile" differences
with the mouthfeel. The two pours were good and the aromas and actual taste(s)
were similar, but there was a tannic "edge" in the mouth of the first. I can
describe it best as having a multi-faceted object in my mouth, while with the
decanted wine, it was closer to a sphere, with no edges, or corners - just
more subtle and supple with no "edge."
Hunt
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