I purchased a bottle of this yesterday at a local store. The guy at the store said to decant it for at least a day. Its been in the decanter since last night but the smell is just horrendous and the few tastes I’ve had are hard to swallow. I was hoping today it would get better but it hasn’t. It smells like a wet basement and leather. Is this corked? or is this how old wines should smell/taste?
The reason I bought this bottle was because it was older and I don’t ever recall having something this old. I am newly getting into wine so it was intriguing to me. I have no idea what corked wine is like.
Is it inappropriate to take this back on Monday if it is corked? I paid $90 for this. I figured before I go in there Monday and tell the store about this I’d ask the experts.
Hard to say for sure. Wet basement speaks of cork taint. Leather suggests different equally unappealing possibilities. Is this Riserva a white label? Or is it grey and lost the word Rancia prominently? $90 for the white label would be a lot. For the Rancia that’s fair I guess. Decanting a day? I can imagine giving that advice, especially to someone new to wine. Kinda like putting you in a race car and giving you some quick tips on how to drive it. Almost negligent. Bottom line - bring it in to them and ask, what’s wrong? Curious to hear what they say.
Honestly, put it back in bottle and take back to store. I’ve a couple bottles of this in the last few years, and it should not smell or taste like that. It should still have fruit, and the slight volatile acidity note (slightly sharp smell), it should have leather, some light must and earth, but wet moldy basement? no.
I had this on Thursday. It still had primary fruit and was not “moldy” in any way. I would go with Vincent and Eric’s advice of putting it back in the bottle and bringing it to the shop!
Agreeing with the above, that the leather is to be expected and on it’s own should be either pleasant complexity, perhaps as far as understandable over-maturity (which I’d say I wouldn’t expect a refund for on an old wine).
However it does sound like TCA has scalped the rest of the wine, leaving that leathery taste high and dry. TCA is not a factor of age, so the age of this bottle is irrelevant. Difficult of course to be sure without tasting the wine, and it can be difficult even with tasting a wine (opinions can often differ). It’s a local store, so do take it back to them, say you believe it’s TCA affected and ask them to try it to see what they think.
Return and get a refund. Most shops have 70 degree storage. That wine is not going to go that long in those poor conditions. Maybe if it was properly stored it would be good but that is a long time to age a Felsina Reserva.
Thanks for all the input. This is the Grey label with Rancia in gold on it. My understanding is that this case came directly from the winery. I believe its been stored correctly as they have a temperature controlled cellar in the basement.
I was told I could leave it open for up to 8 days. They are going to do the same with a bottle next week. Open it for a few days to show customers how it evolves.
So I’ve left the bottle open in the decanter all day. I think it might be cork taint? It has the taste of the smell of a cork. The cork did break upon opening the bottle I should add. What’s interesting is that the horrid nose of wet basement and mold has disappeared. The nose has a smell now of leather and cork. There is some acidity to this now.
Your note doesn’t say anything about the absence of fruit flavors. That to me is another indicator of a corked wine.
Dunno how much you drink old world vs new world wines, but when I had just started dipping my toes outside of California, I would probably describe many Italian reds as you did, and I’m guessing most of them were fine. It was just my palate was calibrated to expect gentle tannin, tons of fruit, and fresh flavors of young wines- none of the leather you would see on an aged red.
this last piece surprises me. I would think a '95 Rancia would be rocking right now. unless you just mean its a long time to store it at 70 degrees?
OP, a day decant definitely seems excessive, but your description sounds exactly like what I would expect with TCA. I’m not very sensitive to it personally but basement, no fruit, maybe some dry leather… that bottle was DOA and has probably been ruined since a couple days after the cork went in. Shops typically are pretty good at refunding this. If they have another bottle I would say its still a wine worth trying.
Oh, the Rancia? I thought it was the regular riserva. The few I’ve had had a bit of bottle variation, however the last one I had about 6 months ago smelled and tasted super young. So yeah. Bottle totally off.
his last piece surprises me. I would think a '95 Rancia would be rocking right now. unless you just mean its a long time to store it at 70 degrees?
OP, a day decant definitely seems excessive, but your description sounds exactly like what I would expect with TCA. I’m not very sensitive to it personally but basement, no fruit, maybe some dry leather… that bottle was DOA and has probably been ruined since a couple days after the cork went in. Shops typically are pretty good at refunding this. If they have another bottle I would say its still a wine worth trying.
Rancia yes I am talking about Classico Reserva. I have had some older examples of the Classico Reserva and for me they are much more enjoyable with about 10 years of age than 20. Rancia would go 20 if stored properly. I would rather drink them within 15 and still get the fruit rather than go longer and only get the secondary character.
Chris, if you live close to Chicago or are passing through sometime, let me know and some local Berserkers can have a Rancia offline and sample vintages at least back to 1995. I prefer to age to the mid-teens
I thought it was the 95 Rancia that there was discussion of a lot of corked bottles of a dozen or so years ago, but that might have been the magnums (or it could have been another Chianti-ish wine like rhe Montevertine). Just a vague memory, mine were all fine I think. But in any case the original description sounds like TCA to be (the blowing off next day doesn’t).
But I am in the crowd that is most confused by idea of a full day decant (and drinking over 8 days). I’m pretty far on the pro-decanting side, and I often do long decants for say Nebbiolo. But Sangiovese doesn’t seem to need air like that and I can’t imagine a full day (especially on a 20+ yr Sangiovese). And I find Sangiovese to generally be the least likely major grape fir leftovers to show well on day 2. The idea of drinking a Chianti over a week is bizarre to me
I have had a bunch of these the last couple of years and the bottle you describe does not mirror my experience. Decant a 23 year old bottle for a day? That is nuts. I have found the wine opens up in the glass over an hour or two but it does not need a long decant. YMMV.
My general rule for sangiovese is to decant for at least a half hour but then try to finish within 2-3. Soldera is the only exception I’ve experienced where it will often still be going strong on day 2.
Though I agree that the initial description suggests TCA.