Travel shock, is it real and how long does it last?

Anything to do with Port.
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ajfeather
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Travel shock, is it real and how long does it last?

Post by ajfeather »

Ignore me if I'm having a moment!

Anyway I have an observation that younger ports appear to go through a travel shock period (or perhaps time is masking the development). Why? Well being impatient I try newly delivered ports and they miss my expectation, however after some time (say a year) I am surprised that they are much better than I remember. Todays reference is a QdVale Dona MAria 2000 that has mostly lost a bitter element I didn't *appreciate*.

Is it just me or does port take some time to settle down after a frightening run around the M25 (or you local equivalent we don't all live near the road to hell)?
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uncle tom
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: Travel shock, is it real and how long does it last?

Post by uncle tom »

Funny you should raise this, as I'd been mulling a thread on this subject myself.

As a scientist, I was originally a bit skeptical on this front.. What, chemically, could significantly change in a bottle during the course of transport that would then reverse over a period of rest? Nothing obvious comes mind, although organic chemistry is full of surprises..

But.. I'm coming round to the view that there is some truth in this.

Not so much where young wines are concerned, but for older, frailer ones. Bottles that are past their peak of maturity seem to show better at home (or at The Bell, where there is little travelling) than when carted down to London offlines. Old and badly ullaged bottles also tend to show very poorly after transport, but can be quite exquisite at home, and one terrible SW47 of mine was once the WOTN at The Bell..

It's all a bit subjective, and raises all sorts of issues when one wants to arrange tastings that have bottles from a wide spectrum of sources; but I rarely indulge old bottles now until they've rested in my cellar for at least six months.

Tom
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly - W.S. Churchill
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g-man
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Re: Travel shock, is it real and how long does it last?

Post by g-man »

I would imagine part of it is simply the shake up of the "gunk" that gets crusted along the inside of the bottle.

For new bottles, I've heard that usually bottles that are "Fresh" from delivery has a sulfur component that has been shaken and integrated with the wine.

When you let it sit, the sulfur dioxide gas being lighter then the liquid wine will settle on the neck so when you pop the cork it escapes.

The wine itself then reviews it's freshness having lost some of the sulfur component.

With new bottles/dry reds where i've bought a case and wished to taste, I'll always let hte wine sit in the decanter for at least a few hours before even taking a sip.
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
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uncle tom
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Re: Travel shock, is it real and how long does it last?

Post by uncle tom »

sulfur dioxide gas being lighter then the liquid wine will settle on the neck
Sulphur dioxide is extremely soluble in water and is also soluble in alcohol. The amount that can dissolve is about 10,000 times the maximum amount normally present in wine. At such low concentrations, one would expect it to remain evenly distributed throughout the wine, and not separate out.

Tom
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly - W.S. Churchill
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g-man
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Re: Travel shock, is it real and how long does it last?

Post by g-man »

There goes that theory =)

but i did hear it from the winemakers of molly dooker. They even recommended opening the bottle, pouring a little bit out, shaking it like crazy before drinking. The pffft sound released is the sulfur.
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
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