As is the case with the British sauce “Bain Marie”, which is accepted or adore or hate, we are forced “to stand Pat”, discussing common faults found in wines.
Anyway, it would be useful to know about major defects before you judge the merits and shortcomings of wines says Master of Wine (MW) Natasha Hughes.
In the early 1990s abyss of the letters in the gloss was poured out in disputes about the mole above the lip of super-model Cindy Crawford. Many believed that this tiny flaw distinguishes it from a number of standard beauties, raising in rank those who really “catchy”.
So with good wine, the same story.
Largely due to the increased attention to scientific issues and technologies in precision farming (Precision agriculture – a concept based on satellite tracking of areas of yield on the plot) over the past decades there has been a lot of watered-down wine with stable production. But while technological perfectionism is becoming the norm, more and more wine lovers are disappointed in these wines, considering them to be faceless.
This group of connoisseurs of the absence of flaws prefer what is called “character fault”. Many others, however, this “character” seems a simple set of defects. The level of tolerance to such features is dictated, first of all, individual sensitivity to separate aromatic molecules. But there is a place and ideological considerations (especially when it comes to the “naturalness” of wine). In the end, the question of your personal criteria in the definition of the boundaries of “features” and limitations.
No matter what position you took in this dispute, there are the main defects of wine, is still very common, and part of which is believed to contribute to the complexity of the wine and the formation of his “character.”
The relationship of wine with oxygen ambivalent.
A neat contact of wine with oxygen during the exposure – for example, through the pores of oak or with use of technology of microoxygenation – allows you to soften the tannins and balance the taste.
However, the excess of oxygen leads to peroxidation.
To know this wine is the color he often dimmer and darker than it should be at his age. A breath or a SIP confirms the diagnosis: the freshness of the fruit almost will not, and the finish is slightly bitter. The taste and aroma is often present tone podprevshee Apple.
Oxygen may attack the wine at any stage of fermentation, aging or storage (especially if the cork dried out and not sitting tight).
But not just any oxidation is the result of an error.
Many fortified wines – port-type Tony, sherry “Palo cortado”, “Amontillado” and “oloroso”, Rutherglen Muscat (Rutherglen) and Topak (Topaque) in Australia and the traditional sweet wines of Banyuls and Maury (France) – rely on the effects of oxygen in building their distinctive bouquet.
Another example of “oxidative” wine – Madeira. But there is one caveat – heating, so the pedants distinguish wine type “Madera” in a separate category.
Some table wines are also traditionally done with the assumption of oxidation, though not to the same extent as the famous fortified. You’ll find these wines in the regions of the Old world, where there is a tradition of long aging of wine in barrels, often even without any topping, which would keep oxygen within. These wines have many of the “oxidative” qualities: notes of nuts and dried fruit, wax and honey, for example – besides the obvious “sherry” (aldehyde) tones.
If you like wine in this style, then here is your choice: Rioja (red and white), Jura, Loire (Chenin Blanc), southern Rhone, Piedmont and Montalcino.
While some varieties – in particular, the Grenache is prone to oxidation (oxidation), other varieties show the opposite tendency to the restoration processes, or a reduction.
From the chemical point of view, recovery is a reaction to the accession of electrons and decrease in oxidation numbers of the elements.
With regard to wine, the term reduction implies the presence of volatile sulfur compounds.
Grapes are particularly prone to reduction – Syrah (Shiraz) and Sauvignon Blanc, especially if the wine they make or are stored under conditions that exclude oxygen contact (screw plugs are often a prerequisite to reduction if the equipment on the filling line is not configured properly).
The wine that was aged on the lees, often acquire the characteristics of reduction as the dead yeast have a strong antioxidant effect.
In its extreme manifestations, signs of reduction appear in the repelling smells of rotten eggs or boiled cabbage.
But a small fraction of the neat reduction of guilt can add the necessary complexity. The characteristic shade “circutol match” some wines from Chardonnay and a blend of Sauvignon-Semillon, fermented in oak – the result of the reduction. In the same way as “smoky”, “gun-flint” tone of many of the famous wines from Sauvignon Blanc (Pouilly-fumé).
In fact, most of the characteristics of the wine, which is called “minerality” are the result of the reduction.
California winemaker Jamie Kuch (Jamie Kutch) is convinced that light reduction has so much to give white wines, aged in barrels, in particular, of Chardonnay. “In moderation, it invigorates the receptors, he says. – If done correctly, you get a much more versatile wine than the wine without it. In a drink such wine may be just the space!”
But not all are fans.
Philip Dulong (Dulong Philippe), consulting winemaker, Chateau Brown, actively prevents the process of reduction in his wines.
“Traces of thiol reduction overshadow all the fruitiness of the wine,” he explains, ” and I’m doing everything I can to my wines retain their fruit purity.”
If you like Dulong, not happy with the tones reduction, you will be pleased to know that:
Wine with traces of reduction often can be “cured” with a simple decanting. Some hints of reduction you can also get rid of, leaving in the glass a copper coin and twisted it.
Yes, and it looks pretty cool, if you want to pretend to be a nerd.
Brettanomyces (Brettanomyces) is a foreign yeast
(not any particular).
“A great Burgundy, writes master of wine Anthony Hanson in the publication in 1982 – it smells like shit. Not always of course. But these wines often have the smell of decomposition of vegetable or animal”.
Although modern Pinot Noir rarely smells like Poo, thank God, it is likely that some of the aromatics, which meant Hanson is the result of brettanomyces.
Brettanomyces (abbreviated Brett) is extraneous yeasts that develop in wines with low acidity.
The wine is particularly susceptible to Brett when the basic yeast – Saccharomyces cerevisiae – killed before finished the fermentation process. But Brett can develop during aging, especially if the use of sulphur dioxide was very limited.
Settling in wine, Brett begins to produce a whole cocktail of compounds responsible for the characteristic aroma of his presence. First of all, it
Large quantities of these substances do not just inhibit fruit notes, they begin to dominate the aroma.
Many believe that in very small quantities, the presence of brettanomyces wine adds complexity, especially if you focus on spicy-smoked range of Brett.
“As long as brettanomyces is not manifested in an obvious way, he is able to make the wine more complex and interesting,” – says Steve Webber (Steve Webber), winemaker, De Bortoli, Australia. “Personally, I like the effect in the coarse fragrant red wines”.
Overall, however, the presence of Brett in the delicate wines based on Pinot Noir today has become much less acceptable than in earlier times.
Chateau Musar is known for its volatile acidity
Volatile acidity (Volatile acidity, VA), as the name suggests is the part of the acids in wine, which can be caught by the nose (unlike those acids which are perceptible to the taste).
The main culprits – acetic acid (smells like vinegar) and its ether – ethyl acetate (smells like nail Polish). The ratio of these compounds may be markedly different.
As in the case of brettanomyces, the bacterium responsible for volatile acidity, is actively developing in conditions of low acidity and high sugar content.
Although the high level of volatile acidity is considered undesirable, in some cases a small level can be very useful, especially in botrytised wines.
“In the best Sauternes it in abundance, says the chef sommelier Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. It adds spice and helps balance the wine. Without her sweet wines often lack complexity.”
Volatile acidity in the aroma of certain red wines, especially those that spend a lot of time in the barrel. That’s why LK is often associated with Italian red wines, in particular the traditional style of Amarone and Barolo.
But volatile acidity, of course, is characteristic not only of Italian wines. It is noticeable, for example, in the most famous Lebanese red Chateau Musar, and in some samples Châteauneufs-du-Pâpe (rhône Valley, France).
Even the most delicate variety – Pinot Noir may benefit from a light footprint LK. In very small doses, it helps to reveal its floral tone.
However, in dry white wines, volatile acidity is recognized by most as a clear defect.
Compound 2, 4, 6 – trichloranisole (THA)has the main share of the blame in the deterioration of wine due to a defect of the tube.
The truth is, there is a whole family of compounds for which wine can have a musty smell or, at least, to lose the living fruit.
If you somehow thought that you caught the scents smell napominaya roots in the Loire a Sauvignon or Muscadet, then probably you are wrong. The vineyards of this region (and partially Chablis, Burgundy and Beaujolais) were susceptible to fungal infections, causing geosmin education – the emergence of an earthy smell.
Although some wines – particularly the cheerful light white such as Vinho Verde and young Rieslings – have a residual carbon dioxide, tingling tongue, a quiet wine in General the vesicles should contain. If your contains – chances are, at the time of bottling in wine was still unfermented sugar and live a shiver, and now wine its final fermentation takes place in bottle; wines, is not intended to be sparkling, it is a Vice.
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