Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10573
 | | 04/17/2004 10:48 PM |
| I recently purchased a couple of bottles of high-end, recently released Burgundy. I set them out at home to take a look at them. A couple of hours later I looked at them and there was wine on the capsule.
My question is - these wines have an extremely high fill level. Do wines leak for any reason other than heat? Would you take a risk that it is the fill level knowing that these wines may be suspect? The retailer is excellent and these wines came from a sealed wooden case.
Would appreciate any insight here. I'm returning the wines. Unfortunately they are probably not replaceable at the same cost. C'est la vie. Thanks! | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 04/17/2004 11:31 PM |
| I'd ask for replacements. If they're leaking, air is getting in and the leaking won't stop. The corks have been compromised. I've had this with several Burgundies, including all three damn bottles of 1978 Richebourg from the DRC. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until a few years had passed. I was forced to open all three bottles prematurely and, whiule not spoiled, the wines were way below expectation. The worst leaker I ever had was my lone bottle of 1961 Latour that I diuscovered was leaking in 1987. We opened it, and it was madeirized. The kitchen sink drank it. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 04/18/2004 12:32 AM |
| Some retailers claim that wines can leak because they are over filled by the winery. My position is why take the chance. I never purchase wine that shows evidence of leakage. If a wine starts to leak the only thing you can do is drink it ASAP.
The bottles were upright and dry when you put them down and then a few hours later wine was on top of the capsule? | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10573
| | 04/18/2004 12:57 AM |
| | Thanks for the opinions. The store is going to replace them. The bottles are continuing to leak while standing upright. Had it been just one I wouldn't have worried too much but it is two bottles of the same wine. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15708
| | 04/18/2004 1:10 AM |
| Two of the best bottles of wine I have ever had were leakers. Did I buy it? No! I would never knowingly buy a leaker and if I received one I would definetly return it, replaceable or not.
The great leakers I had were given to me by a vintner who had taken them back from two different customers. He had replaced the bottles for the customers. I drank them within two weeks. Both were absolutely delicious! | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 04/18/2004 2:33 AM |
| | i've yet to have a leaker. i know i am jinxing myself now | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13660
| | 04/18/2004 10:27 PM |
| | At least the leakers started leaking shortly after your purchasing them. Thank goodness they didn't wait a year or two or more to do the same. Whew! | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:986
| | 04/19/2004 11:15 AM |
| Unfortunately you can never really know why a wine leaked in the first place.
Lost of German wines leak, and if you check the size of the air bubble in Germans you'll see in many cases that it is really small or even non-existent. I've seen a few German wines being bottled, with a bit of wine gushing over the top, and the capsule being placed on with no wiping of the bottle. The consumer would never know that the wine was perfectly fine. It was just a bit of sloppy bottling that caused the sticky residue/stuck capsule. | | | |
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