by Richard Fadeley OLD » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:23 pm
This is the fourth time I have done this interesting transformation and by far the most rewarding. Seems as though about 18 months ago I opened a '95 Lindemans Bin 45 SE Aus. Cabernet Sauvignon. It was terrible, I wouldn't even use it to clean my tires. But out of frustration (I don't even know what I was doing with this bottle in the first place) I recorked the wine and put it back in my kitchen rack (the least temperature controlled of my storage areas). Tonight, wanting a glass of wine while I perused past issues of WSJ, I decided to knock this one in the head. Cork was soaked and sticky, wine was sublime. No kidding, a solid 89 pts. and at 13% ABV I might even have a second glass. How did they lose their way, or were they just too eager to satisfy the "American palate", and lack of patience. This idea of recorking (and topping off if necessary with another wine) seems to be worthy of consideration. When a wine is out of sorts, or "shut down" this has worked for me on four different occasions, mostly with Bordeaux. I will not hesitate to use this technique again. Anyone else had a similar experience?
Richard Fadeley, CWS
aka Webwineman