ChillyWino  
Barrel Racker
Posts: 1760
 | | 11-18-2005 02:01 PM |
| We went to a wine tasting last night featuring Hogue wines. Gary Hogue was there pouring. I tried the regular Merlot followed by the Reserve Merlot, the second being very tight with fairly harsh tannins. I asked how long the wines had been opened and he said about 10 minutes. I then said I thought the reserve wine needed some time to open up. When I said that Gary Hogue looked shocked. He thought giving wines air and decanting wines was unnecessary. He said it didn't help a wine and the only old wines needed to be decanted. And that was just to get rid of sediment. Obviously this completely shocked me as I've experienced countless bottles that have improved after being decanted or open for a little while. | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts: 11169
| | 11-18-2005 02:26 PM |
| | I've heard that from two other well-respected wine people. Willi Frank of Dr. Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars and Alex Golitzin of Quilceda Creek both said that to me and I believe they are dead wrong. Alex opened a just bottled Cab of his for my wife and me and it was hard as nails. Willi opened a Pinot Noir Reserve and it was also hard and almost not disitnguishable as a Pinot. Maybe they like drabbing the tannic wines. | | | |
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Winetex 
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11046
| | 11-18-2005 02:29 PM |
| I guess that's why they call them "opinions". "Only old wines need to be decanted" -
Not true in my experience. | | | |
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Rothko
Palm Beach
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5711
| | 11-18-2005 02:35 PM |
| | Certainly they are entitled to their opinions, but I feel sorry for their dinner guests who don't get to enjoy wines at their fullest potential. | | | |
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juggernt
Tampa, FL, USA
Wine Bottler
Posts: 3464
| | 11-18-2005 02:59 PM |
| | I'm simply going to disagree. Nearly every bottle of decent (red) wine I've ever had has benefitted from decanting. | | | Visit The Butcher Block at http://www.butcherblocktampa.com/ | |
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Randy Wigginton
Master of Wine
Posts: 10808
| | 11-18-2005 05:16 PM |
| Maybe what they meant was "Only old people need to decant" | | | |
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love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts: 12605
| | 11-18-2005 05:19 PM |
| I don't agree either. That being said, I do not indiscriminately decant all wines any more. Decanting is important as far as I am concerned. But, I do believe people tend to over decant wine(s), over do it.
There are many wines I open that I do not decant @ all. And, many that I open that I decant, may be, 20-30 mins. Of course, that's a call made per specific bottle @ the time of opening.
Very few bottles I open that I decant more than 30-60 mins. I always said/thought that if you have to decant over 60+ mins, you opened it too early.
But, I see people decanting the heck out of wines. And, I also think that is wrong. Perhaps, that's what he meant to say. | | | |
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ChillyWino
Barrel Racker
Posts: 1760
| | 11-18-2005 09:18 PM |
| Quote:
But, I see people decanting the heck out of wines. And, I also think that is wrong. Perhaps, that's what he meant to say.
He was tasting his 2 current release Merlots, the regular and reserve. When I told him the Reserve tasted tight and could use some air/time, he looked utterly shocked and then went into his little speech. He really believed that the only reason to decant a wine was because of sediment. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts: 11169
| | 11-18-2005 09:37 PM |
| | Virtually all Pinot Noir, imncluding Burgundies, benefit from time in a decanter, unless they're in decline. We've done tests with Burgundies over the years and found that to be a truism. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 11-18-2005 10:31 PM |
| | Not commenting one way or another about the veracity of your position Board-O but the funny thing about it is that the Burgundians themselves traditionally do not decant Burgundy - even aged Burgundy which has thrown a sediment. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts: 11169
| | 11-18-2005 11:37 PM |
| I'll tell you what my college friend in the business and I have done. We've taken two bottles of Burgundy from the same case and tried them immeditaely and every half hour or so after decanting. The second bottle, we opened and decanted and let them sit til the time that we had liked them best previously. Virtually all Burgundies needed at least an hour. One in particular, a 1985 Beaune Clos de Thorey, needed over two hours. This was about 10 years ago.
I ran a similar experiment with many bottles of the 1999 Martinelli Reserve Pinot Noir. Two years ago, it was clearly showing its best at three hours after decanting. I brought a bottle of it to the Syrah/Shiraz dinner and everybody loved it, some so much they bought it as soon as possible. In fact, Martinelli had a run on that wine after we all posted about it. That wine clearly needed time. I cannot imagine anyone tasting that wine at opening and then at three hours not thinking it was immeasurably better at three hours.
Recently, I've been drinking a good number of bottles of the 2002 Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Pinot Noir. This wine is far better at 2 hours after splash decanting.
3 years ago, mletson and I and our wives tried a 1999 Girardin Clos Vougeot at opening and again at 40 minutes. At opening the wine was so hard it was diffiocult to determine the varietal. At 40 minutes, it was still closed but had opened enough for us to have a good idea what we were tasting.
Maybe hard Pinot Noir is an acquired taste. If so, I don't intend to acquire it. I prize the varietal for its expansive elegance. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 11-19-2005 12:12 AM |
| | Again I was not commenting one way or the other on the veracity of your position but merely the fact your assertion differs markedly from how the Burgundians traditionally consume the beverages they produce. | | | |
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love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts: 12605
| | 11-19-2005 02:58 AM |
| | In that case, CW, I am a little surprised with his reaction to tell you the truth. I understand that he knows much more than I do when it comes to the world of wine, but still I find his reaction surprising. | | | |
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