Thanks! Yes, I guess it was VA (I don’t have much experience with that, so I can’t be sure, but that sounds right). Whatever it was, the level was extremely high, really undrinkable.
VA (at “flaw” levels) usually presents as acetone or nail polish remover. I do not recall ever smelling a wine where I suspected VA and thinking “pickles.”
See my posts upstream–I had a really bad bottle of this, and there were quite a few other similar reports. Clearly other bottles are very good, so I’ve been looking for the culprit. With an operation on this scale, it seems clear that mistakes can easily be made. That’s all I meant.
Pickles are pickled in vinegar, whose primary flavor ingredient is acetic acid, a key form of VA.
Dill, of course, is something completely different!
The problem with the special-blend theory is that many of us in the US have experienced extremely oaky bottles and others where the coconut oak didn’t clobber you over the head. If there were a special oaky cuvee for the American market, I would expect the wine to taste oaky consistently.
I think it’s more likely that it’s unintentional variation in lots/blends (highly possible with quantities like that), bottle variation or just the way the wine showed on a given night. And wines certainly ban be capricious that way.
John,
I am very familiar with pickling (and unfortunately with VA as well) and was just noting that a pickle aroma was not something I have ever noted with VA. If I smelled pickles, I might even be able to still enjoy the wine, rather than the typical acetone. ![[truce.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/d33e712b50d5efc2425bf219c404fbdb7ed0ba50.gif "truce"){kind=small}
I think you can pick up acetic acid at low levels in some wines. It’s that small amount of VA that winemakers say can give a wine a little lift, just as vinegar does in foods. But it’s pretty subtle. I make my own vinegar, so I may be more attuned to it than most people.
I think you can pick up acetic acid at low levels in some wines. It’s that small amount of VA that winemakers say can give a wine a little lift, just as vinegar does in foods. But it’s pretty subtle. I make my own vinegar, so I may be more attuned to it than most people.
I was able to track a bottle over the course of a day, and while there were vanilla & sandalwood notes, I wouldn’t characterize the wine as overly oaky, just having seen extended barrel aging – meaning nothing seemed out of place. I think it showed very well towards the end, with a nice morello cherry component becoming more prominent. While I might have a bottle or two in the interim, I thought it needed some mid-term cellaring to fully display itself.
Interesting to follow this thread. I have one bottle of this particular wine and also some '95 and '98 904 which have been receiving favorable reviews and ratings. I think I will hold the 2001 Reserva Especial for at least three years to see if the oak integrates (assuming it might be one of the overly oaky bottles.) A CellarTracker note on the 2001 said that the good bottles he had were numbered in the 404 series and the undesirable bottles were labeled in the 950 series (later bottlings.) I’m not sure which I have but since it was a relatively recent purchase, it may be a later bottling,.
I purchased 1 bottle from wine library a few months back - couldn’t figure out the lot number. The bottle number was 957259. I thought there was a large amount of oak on initial taste. Behind that was a lovely old world sour cherry fruit profile with a vibrant finish. I followed over 3 days. On day three it was much more pleasurable than day one with the oak, while noticeable, was integrated with extended air. I think this was wine has a good future, but needs a good 5 years to integrate if not more. I would purchase a few more, especially at $26. I didn’t get the dill pickles, but did get sourness, but attributed that to the fruit. Could too much oakiness, combined with fruit equal dill pickles for some? Or maybe I just like dill pickles 