An experiment sure to win the Nobel Rot Prize in Chemistry

The last time I posted about serial disappointments with cases of 750s and 375s of 2002 Lynch Bages white, all of the them premOxed, Victorwine me asked me whether they showed differently. So, last night I opened a 375 and a 750 to compare.

I expected the 375 to be further along the premOx path, since 375s are supposed to age faster, but the 750 was darker, and so premOxed as to be undrinkable. The 375 was still drinkable, though slightly over my premOx threshold (interestingly, Marcia didn't experience it as much as I did, so it hardly interfered for her).

If the 375 had been more premOxed, I'd be here confidently writing that the speed of ageing is a factor. But since it wasn't, this poorly designed experiment, comprised of a single iteration, led to no conclusion whatsoever.

Both corks were pristine, confirming the notion that premOx is not a faulty cork problem but related to cellar practices (several plausible explanations are mentioned in other threads).

Next!

[David M. Bueker]

A couple of questions:

1. Were both corks silicone coated or were they parafin coated?

2. Was the provenance of both bottles perfect, less so or unknown?

There's more of course, but I don't think your experiment has isolated much other than the 375 was a little better than the 750. I would hold off on the airplane tickets to Stockholm.

Both corks seem totally uncoated. Is that a possibility? In any case, they are identical.

Alas, the 750s and 375s came from different places, part of why the experiment is poorly designed.

Are the Nobel Rot prizes also awarded in Stockholm? I would have thought somewhere damp and misty...

[David M. Bueker]

Just having fun Oswaldo.

The appearance of an uncoated cork (the yare all coated to help get them in the bottles from what I understand) sounds like parafin rather than silicone.

Still I think there are many mroe variable, but you already knew that.

Beyond coating, one prevalent theory is of course peroxide washing of corks. The 375s and 750s almost certainly went down the line at same time, so could have different batches of cork even if same size. IN any case, I'm sorry re all of this wine down the drain!

One explaination not mentioned is the heat wave of 2003. The 2002s were likely in casks, possibly bottled. The heat wave most likely affected more wine than is appreciated. Could these wines be heat damaged?