"Mark Lipton" <notpil@eudrup.ude> wrote in message
news:hdrqn4$pnj$1@mailhub227.itcs.purdue.edu...
> Yves wrote:
>
>> As I am just sitting at this keyboard, can I just ask the Burgundy geeks
>> among you if your cellars are absolutely perfect (temperature and
>> humidity-wise)?
>> My own cellar has less than ideal temperature variations (14 °C in
>> winter,
>> 19 ° to 20° in summer) and, more often than not, I am disappointed by the
>> evolution of Burgundies, whereas there is almost never a problem with
>> Bordeaux. Any comments?
>
> What is perfect, asked jesting Pilate? Is a constant 10°C considered
> more perfect than what you've got and, if so, why? I do concede that
> there's some anecdotal evidence that cooler cellar temps (hence slower
> evolution) lead to greater complexity once/if the wine reaches maturity,
> but it hardly seems like a consensus opinion. That being said, my
> cellar is pretty much like yours, though in very cold winters, I've seen
> temps as low as 5°C.
>
> Regarding your question: there are several reasons why Burgundy may
> offer greater disappointment than Bordeaux. One is that less robust
> wines seem (anecdotally, again) to be more sensitive to heat damage than
> bigger, more robust wines. That heat damage could have occurred before
> it ever reached your cellar, or there might be subtle heat damage
> resulting from the temperature oscillations and higher summer
> temperatures in your cellar. Finally, Pinot Noir is a more finicky
> grape. Most everyone I know experiences more disappointment with
> Burgundy than with other areas, at least until recently.
>
> Apropos the question of whether your cellar temperature variations lead
> to subtle heat damage: stay tuned to this "channel," as on 4/1/2010 Dale
> Williams and I will conclude The Great April Fools' Day Heat Damage
> Trial. He and I, along with several others, have placed several bottles
> of wine in two different locations, one in a temperature-controlled
> cellar and the other in an area without temperature control (in my case,
> a shelf in a room adjoining our bedroom). We'll compare in head-to-head
> tastings whether there's any evidence of heat damage in the latter
> wines. All results will be published here in alt.food.wine.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Mark,

I am definitely looking forward for the Glühwein versus Eiswein encounter
next April! By the way, I vaguely remember that Bouchard from Beaune had
performed some kind of test by handing over half a dozen of a Beaune 1er crû
to various journalists who were to store the wines in their own cellars (or
other storage facilities) in order to have a comparative tasting about 8
years later.

The result was that the differences between "perfect" conditions and cellars
with high humidity and some temperature variations over the seasons were
very limited.

I asked the question initially because I am intrigued by the fact that
ageing Bordeaux (and also top Rhône, Duero and most Italian reds) is almost
always a safe bet, whereas Burgundy seems to be predictably unpredictable.

Regards,

Yves
>