Volatile Acidity?

Tell me if you think the problem here is volatile acidity.

Last night I opened the third of three bottles of 2005 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie and was overwhelmed by its strong streak of acid, on the palate but especially on the long finish, which felt like it was drilling a hole in the back of my head. But my note on the first bottle, from March 2008, at the tasting where I bought the wine, says only, "black, extracted, unusual," with no mention of acidity. My note on the second bottle from June 2013 says only, "Better the second day. Needed lots of air. Maybe I should wait a couple more years," and again no mention of acidity. Recent Cellar Tracker notes on the wine are all favorable and all CT ratings are in the 90s. Except for the absence of any complaints about excessive acidity and a couple of claims that the wine is reminiscent of right bank Bordeaux, the CT descriptions nail the wine exactly as I see it: That is, "oak, black fruit, cassis, integrated tannins, mint, flint, gunpowder, unsweetened cacao, still young, opaque." One TN says the wine has "great acidity," and I would agree with that only if "great acidity" meant a godawfull hell of a lot of acidity. There's so much acid I can't drink the wine. Is the problem volatile acidity?

I'm no wine scientist, but to me VA is more a factor on the nose than the palate. VA isn't more acid
I've generally loved 2005 Joguets, though don't think I've had the Dioterie

What Dale said. Volatile generally refers to something that evaporates, like vinegar. I don't see how bottle variation could cause high acid in different bottles. Perhaps it was something you ate that effected your palate?

Wine's acidity (tartaric, malic, etc.) is not the same thing as volatile acidity.

VA is the result of bacterial infection that causes acetic acid build up in wine as well as ethyl acetate by-product.

This is not to say the wine is not suffering from VA. Most wines have some VA level in them, but until oxygen enters the wine, the levels of VA usually remain manageable--in fact, the feds allow a certain level in finished wine. In storage, the wine could have been subjected to oxygen entry. Still, VA is a definite nose thing: you can smell it immediately either as nail polish or vinegar.

Volatile acidity is, well, volatile--it evaporates and is detected mainly in the wine's aroma. As mentioned, the most common volatile acids are acetic acid (aka vinegar) and its volatile reaction products such as ethyl acetate (which smells like nail polish). This is in contrast to non-volatile acids such as lactic, malic, and tartaric, which don't evaporate and are detected on the palate.

I think one of two things is going on here. It's possible that the wine is currently in a shut-down state so that the fruit isn't apparent and all you get is the acidity. It may need a few years to open up again. On the other hand, it might mean that it has dropped its fruit with age and is just going to get meaner as time goes on.

If the wine is just shut down, then aeration (decanting, leaving it to the next day) should cause it to open up somewhat. If the fruit is just plain gone, then aeration will only make things worse. Did you try that experiment?

-Paul W.

I think one of two things is going on here. It's possible that the wine is currently in a shut-down state so that the fruit isn't apparent and all you get is the acidity. It may need a few years to open up again. On the other hand, it might mean that it has dropped its fruit with age and is just going to get meaner as time goes on.

If the wine is just shut down, then aeration (decanting, leaving it to the next day) should cause it to open up somewhat. If the fruit is just plain gone, then aeration will only make things worse. Did you try that experiment?

-Paul W.

I should have posted this. I agree with Paul's assessment and fix.

Counter question to Clint's question for all the commentators:

Would the acidity level, or the pH level in your mouth significantly effect the perception of a wine as being acidic?

We are all aware that some foods will seriously and immediately affect our perception of a wine, right? So if our mouths have been acidulated, or the reverse, would that not affect our perception of a wine?

And another counter-question: If you were to get the same reaction Clint got with the Joguet, would continued drinking be likely to ameliorate the shock effect (or to put it another way, would you become more accustomed to the wine)?

Counter question to Clint's question for all the commentators:

Would the acidity level, or the pH level in your mouth significantly effect the perception of a wine as being acidic?

We are all aware that some foods will seriously and immediately affect our perception of a wine, right? So if our mouths have been acidulated, or the reverse, would that not affect our perception of a wine?

And another counter-question: If you were to get the same reaction Clint got with the Joguet, would continued drinking be likely to ameliorate the shock effect (or to put it another way, would you become more accustomed to the wine)?

Yes.

Just a wild stab, but some producers don't consolidate their various lots before bottling and/or bottle over a period of time, according to demand. This most often occurs at some small cellars where space and equipment is at a premium - probably not Joguet. Maybe a bottle from a substandard cask?

Volatile Acidity could actually increase the perception of the wine’s fixed acids, but VA itself could be “masked” by alcohol and RS.
Thumbs up to what everyone else contributed!

Salute

Great responses, all. This sort of thoughtful thread is why I've been hanging around here for the past couple of decades.

First, I see I should have ruled out VA right away. Paul's thought that the wine may have shut down so the acid is more apparent seems reasonable. (It's not likely over the hill as others find it young and I have good cellar conditions.) Paul's suggestion that a little air overnight might improve things proved right, although the improvement wasn't enough to make to the wine drinkable. Joe's rationale makes sense but, as he says, that doesn't sound like Jogue. And Victorwine's suggestion raises an interesting possibility.

Thanks, all.