ANOTHER HEAT DAMAGE QUESTION

For a brief period, it was warm today. No problem as it cooled down-I thought-with the change in weather and the AC tonight.

Unfortunately, in sorting through some very recent purchases, I noted one bottle now has "stickyness" on the sides. Note-we are not talking 95 degrees and direct sunlight exposre, just a brief warming. No visible problems with the foil.

Am I screwed with this bottle? Is it worth even cellaring it? It's a 2005 Cote Rotie (Domaine Bernard Burgund.

[Robin Garr]

For a brief period, it was warm today. No problem as it cooled down-I thought-with the change in weather and the AC tonight.

Unfortunately, in sorting through some very recent purchases, I noted one bottle now has "stickyness" on the sides. Note-we are not talking 95 degrees and direct sunlight exposre, just a brief warming. No visible problems with the foil.

Am I screwed with this bottle? Is it worth even cellaring it? It's a 2005 Cote Rotie (Domaine Bernard Burgund.

Brian, do you think there's any chance that this seepage was already present? The kind of minimal heat exposure you describe shouldn't cause any problem at all.

No guarantees. I've had good and bad sticky-sided bottles.
You could rip off the foil and see what the top of the cork looks like. If it doesn't seem that the stickiness is coming from the cork, I'd keep the bottle. If the cork is leaking, you could take the bottle back or just open it right away. You won't hurt a bottle's ageing potential by removing the foil.

John

Thanks, John. I will open this sooner.

Needless to say, the stuff has been moved out of the warmer room, and I am investigating bigger off-site storage options!

You could rip off the foil and see what the top of the cork looks like. If it doesn't seem that the stickiness is coming from the cork, I'd keep the bottle. If the cork is leaking, you could take the bottle back or just open it right away. You won't hurt a bottle's ageing potential by removing the foil.

John, that is what I was going to suggest. I stopped at a wine store on Grand Cayman Island where many of the bottles were badly seeping. I got to see cooked bottles at all stages. It was really quite remarkable, given the many great classed growths that were ruined. But if ooze is coming from the bottle, you should see it under the seal.

On Grand Cayman, it wouldn't be astonishing to find heat damage, would it?

I don't suppose it's an accident that the "cooked" wines - sherry, madeira, canary, etc., come from hot climates.

John

OK-foil pulled off tonight. Definitely some "extrusion" going on here. Top of the cork, however, is not obviously soaked except for one narrow
spot.

So ...my birthday is Friday. When you say drink it now, is Friday too late?

If I recall, another Cote Rotie wine, Clusel Roch, had the same seepage issue. Not as obvious (no sticky bottle or obvious line of extrusion, but the bottle smelled like red wine and the underside of the foil was slightly damp. BUT the wine was one of my favorite bottles of the year. So...hopefully this means I have merely moved the drinking window up five years

Behold the power of positive thinking, Brian!

Well, Friday is my Un-birthday. So why don't you try it then? Hamburger, maybe?