I keep doing it. I keep bringing home any bottle that catches my eye, even those I know I won't enjoy. I just can't bring myself to buy the same wine again, with few exceptions.
Original cork that had dried maybe two-thirds of the way and almost broke down even with a bilame. Not a faulty wine despite that. Cranberry, blackcurrant jam, sour cherry, bit of tobacco, clove and cinnamon. Still acidic, which I was surprised by. Tannic, but obviously smoothed by the age. Past its prime, I'd say, and probably better five years ago. Overall a good wine that has aged well.
But man do I hate that sour cherry aroma… It robs me of many Italian classics as well as Rioja. In older vintages it starts to taste like metal and oxidation to me, which is like throwback to childhood me licking keys and metal poles.
After having a proper taste of the wine I paired it with a takeaway kebab with fries and a ton of garlic mayo – good stuff for a Tuesday afternoon. Finished the bottle with my partner who thought it was quite mid.
by czcc_
1 Comment
If you don’t like aged Rioja, you don’t like it. No need to force the issue on yourself.
On this, though:
> Still acidic, which I was surprised by
… it’s a common misconception that acidity decreases in a wine as it ages. It doesn’t. What _may_ happen is that the balance of the wine shifts as it ages and de-emphasises the acidity (this is something you see in aged Hunter Valley semillon, for example). But if the fruit profile of a wine gets stripped as it ages, then that perception of acidity can be enhanced. Chemically it’s all still there, unlike tannin.