On 23 Nov 2005 09:07:08 -0800
" > wrote:

]
] Leo Bueno wrote:
] > The observation by Cwdjrxyz about the possibility of batch to batch
] > variability being responsible for reports of oxidized 1975 Mouton got
] > me thinking about this issue generally.
] >
] > I have in the past opened bottles side by side specifically to look
] > for inter-bottle variability, which I have readily found and other
] > experienced tasters confirmed. This is a no-brainer given that
] > sometimes one bottle will be clearly corked while others are not; all
] > it takes is one tainted cork.
] >
] > Variability can be attributed of course to several other factors.
] > Because I have purchased the test bottles from the same retailer,
] > storage and handling can be likely ruled out.
] >
] > So, that leaves me to wonder how significant batch to batch
] > variability is.
] >
] > Intuitively, a winery that makes 185,000 cases of a product (e.g., the
] > 90-point Wine Spectator rated 2000 Columbia Crest Chardonnay Columbia
] > Valley Grand Estates) cannot make the stuff in one try.
] >
] > So, intuitively again, no matter how hard the wine makers try, they
] > cannot produce batches that are identical.
] >
] > Which then leads to the question, is the wine in each batch really the
] > same stuff?
] >
] >
] > On 20 Nov 2005 16:34:20 -0800, "
] > > wrote:
] >
] > >There have been tasting notes for some bottles of Mouton 75 that proved
] > >a bit oxidized. Of course, at 30 years, some bottle variation is to be
] > >expected. I do not know if the less good bottles had been stored
] > >properly, if they had a cork problem, or if Mouton 75 was bottled in
] > >several batches that may not have been quite the same.
]
] In the past, many top Bordeaux wines were bottled over a considerable
] period of time. This does not seem to be as common anymore. Several
] types of grapes may be used to make red Bordeaux. Usually each type is
] kept apart until barrel aging is completed. Then it is decided how much
] of each wine to put in the final blend. Barrels not up to par or in
] excess of needs for the blend get sold as something else, perhaps as a
] second label, or are sold as bulk wine if really foul. On the other
] hand, many German wines are made in many batches. There can be several
] batches of auslese, for example. However every different batch must be
] submitted for evaluation and must display an AP number on the label
] that is given to that batch of wine. And a top batch of wine, such as a
] J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Long Gold Capsule auslese, can cost very
] much more than the "normal" batches of this wine.
]

I can think of one Chateauneuf du Pape off-hand that bottles in
different batches: Dom. du Grand Tinel. They keep a stock of
older vintage unbottled, in large old oak vats, stored in a very
cold room. These vats are then bottled up as the market will
bear. The advantage is of course the availability of older wine
kept in impeccable conditions; however this will not have the
same characteristics as a well stored example of the initial
bottling. I have tasted the '75 from the original run in mag,
to my palate it was fresher than the same wine bottled in '90.
If I understood correctly the blend was exactly the same, though.

-E

] Unless you have an accurate, complete history of the storage of a wine
] and who bottled it, all you can do is speculate about what may cause
] bottle variation. Bottle variation often becomes more apparent as wine
] ages. One only has to look at M. Broadbent's tasting notes for older
] top wines. He has tasted many top Bordeaux reds multiple times, and
] even the top wines can be rather variable. In the past it was quite
] common to ship red Bordeaux in barrel to the UK and other countries,
] where wine merchants bottled the wine when they thought it was ready.
] This introduces another very important variable for very old Bordeaux.
]


--
Emery Davis
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