dgoerisch
St. Louis
Grape Stomper
Posts:195
 | | 05/24/2005 7:35 PM |
| I'm thinking about buying a bottle of 1994 Guigal La Mouline as a present for a very good friend (who doesn't frequent this site  ). The bottles that I'm considering all show what appear to be slight signs of seepage. The fill levels are all excellent (barely below the capsule), but all of the bottles have stains on the top label (with the vintage) to varying degrees. It basically looks like what couldn't have been more than a few drops ran down the side of the bottle and stained the label. I'm not even 100% certain that the seepage came from these particular bottles--it might have come from another bottle in the case during shipment.
Should I shy away from this, or is it not that big of a deal? This is a pretty expensive purchase, and I want the bottle to be enjoyable when we open it together. In my opinion, the price being asked is very fair in view of the condition of the bottle...it's not being given away but fair.
Thanks for your advice.
If anyone is interested in seeing pictures, I can email them to you. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 05/24/2005 7:40 PM |
| | As a rule, I never buy a bottle with signs of seepage of any kind. Even if the damage was caused by another bottle leaking in the case the entire case may have been subjected to excessive heat. | | | |
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dgoerisch
St. Louis
Grape Stomper
Posts:195
| | 05/24/2005 8:44 PM |
| | Thanks for the response. That's what I was thinking, but I don't have that much experience with these types of purchase, as most of my purchases are from the winery or retailer on release. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 05/24/2005 11:48 PM |
| | I agree with JW1 except for when the fill level is really really high, within about 1/8 inch of the cork then there could be seepage just because the fill level was so high. In that case I might buy and in others I won't. There are plenty of good bottles of wine out there, no use in purchasing a suspect bottle. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 05/25/2005 12:03 AM |
| | I've had retailers tell me that before and in the past I've bought some (Leroy and Raveneau Chablis usually). Without fail the bottles with the seepage showed a greater failure rate than bottles without signs of seepage in my experience. As a result, I never buy bottles with signs of seepage any more. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 05/25/2005 12:12 AM |
| | I'm generally averse to buying anything 'old' from any retailer. Seepage or not. | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 05/25/2005 12:14 AM |
| | What Skwid and I were talking about are new release wines. Some producers are notorious for overfilling their bottles. The contra is also true - in 2002 Palacios must have eked out another case of wine because he short fills his Bierzos. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 05/25/2005 2:45 AM |
| Quote:
I've had retailers tell me that before and in the past I've bought some (Leroy and Raveneau Chablis usually). Without fail the bottles with the seepage showed a greater failure rate than bottles without signs of seepage in my experience. As a result, I never buy bottles with signs of seepage any more.
Agree 100%. Most of the madeirized wines I've had showed some signs of seepage or at least had a cork stained completely. Look elsewhere; a bottle with signs of seepage is a big gamble. There are too many alternatives. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 05/25/2005 6:07 AM |
| Wine Searcher shows this wine is generally available for between $250 to $300. If you can pick it up for $100 (which IMO a wine merchant would do if it is stained like you say) I'd go for it; worth the gamble.
Just for the record... this vintage of this wine wasn't exactly glorious. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 05/25/2005 12:59 PM |
| | I'm not so sure I'd gamble on that wine from one of the relatively few poor vintages in the Rhone, especially with signs of seepage. | | | |
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ojeffso
warren, new jersey
Wine Lover
Posts:4877
| | 05/26/2005 6:41 PM |
| | fwiw, i have tasted all the 94 guigal lala's lately and they are outstanding wines. guigal did a tremendous job with his 94 cote-rotie's. i would still pass on this suspect bottle. | | | |
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