A question for the Big Brains...

[Skeeter]

Okay, Vino-masters... I have a query for you.

I picked uo a bottle of port recently from a vineyard that shall remain nameless. (Mainly because I like them a lot, but their 2002 vintage was FAR below their usual standards... practically tasteless in some instances.) On tasting it at the vineyard, I like the port immensly, but...

The bottle I opened at home has a somewhat harsh aftertaste that I can best describe as "Woody". It vanishes by the third sip or so, but I'm wondering if this could be due to a tainted cork. Or did I just get the Evil Bottle?

It's not so bad I want to return the thing and demand a refund, just noticable enough to make that frst sip a bit... rough.

Any ideas what might have caused this?

[winoweenie]

Skeeter ole' pal, looks like you've been hit by the old " Barrel Variation Club ". Lots of smaller wineries here in the states bottle their wines from the individual barrels instead of blending the whole crop and putting out a uniform product. I've had this happen twice since I've been into wines and have always been able to return the unsatisfactory bottle. See if that's the case. If not, check your tongue out for irregularities.WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Thomas]

And then there are other things to be said.

First, tainted cork means you cannot drink the wine--at all. So your problem has nothing to do with the cork.

Second, quite often when you take home a wine that you tasted at the winery it seems different. I have had experiences at home that left me wondering why I ever bought the wine at all. Seems we are more forgiving when standing in front of a pourer at the source.

Third, you say it is only the first sip that gets you. Maybe you need to let the wine sit in the glass a few minutes before you get to it. At the winery, you likely tasted from a bottle that had been open for a while.

Fourth, the magical mystery of wine... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img]

[Skeeter]

Thanks for the informative and quick replies, guys. As I say, the port is still very drinkable, so I'll certainly try giving it a few minutes to breathe first.

Incidently, I'll backtrack and name the source. It's from Souljans Estate, a 10-year-old tawny. While their sav blancs were below-average this year, they're pretty much the reason I started trying wines in the first place. Back in '97 I tried a glass of their Marlborough SB at a Chinese resturant... and ended up drinking about half a bottle of the stuff. Just incredible... I still have fond memories of it.

A week later, I secured the last bottle they had from their cellar door... and I've been sampling the ol' vino ever since. So I'm willing to forgive the "first-sip" shudder. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

[joeyz6]

This reminds me of a few months ago when I bought two bottles of a Banyuls I had tasted in the tasting room at Cellier des Templiers (the Banyuls co-op). I liked it there, but when I opened one up at home, it was all oak. I guess it's easier for this to happen with fortified wines because they spend so much time aging in wood.