On Apr 3, 10:43�am, DaleW > wrote:
> Four friends joined me last night for the Two Year Somewhat Poor
> Storage test. We had 4 pairs of wines (plus several others that
> weren't part of experiment I'll put in a separate post). Three of the
> pairs were my test subjects. To recap, 2 years ago several of us on
> WLDG �(including Mark Lipton) decided to do a test. The idea was to
> compare bottles we cellared with bottles that faced the equivalent of
> sitting in an average retail store. While some top shops keep store
> cool all of the time, your average neighborhood store probably doesn't
> keep store cooler than 70 or so in summer, and probably doesn't run
> the AC at night , etc.
>
> For the tasting, I furnished pairs of glasses to everyone. We had
> different styles, but everyone had matched pairs to eliminate that
> variation (in conversation I had Al sniff my Chardonnays- he agreed
> the difference between my Burg glass and his Bordeaux stem was bigger
> than difference between the differently stored bottles)
>
> Before we got to my bottles, we tried 2 Chardonnays that Ned had
> brought, he had independently been running a similar experiment for
> one of his classes. For the last 9 months one bottle had been in a 58
> degree home cave, the other had been in a garage. He figured low was
> about 50 (unheated, but hot water pipes run through) and high about
> 90.
>
> 2007 Chalone Chardonnay (Monterey) #1
> I thought I got a little VA from this at first, but whatever it was
> blew off. Pears and tropical fruit, lots of oak, not particularly
> buttery. A little disjointed. B-
>
> 2007 Chalone Chardonnay (Monterey) #2
> Slightly leaner, similar overall though I though more pear and less
> tropical, and a little butter. B-
>
> A couple of people thought #2 was much better, and voted for #1 as bad
> storage bottle. I voted no preference, but also #1 as bad storage. Ned
> checked for his mark- #2 was the garage bottle! Ned then started
> wondering if he mismarked (and convinced himself), but I'll assume his
> pre-tasting marking was better than our tasting abilities and
> prejudices!
>
> OK, on to my reds. 3 pairs. I had wrapped as identically as possible,
> asked Ron as first arrival to randomly rotate, asked next arrival to
> number pairs randomly.
>
> Cellared bottles: I have a passive cellar. These were stored at floor
> level on sides. My cellar at eye level (where I have thermometer)
> ranges from about 49-50 degrees F in early Feb to about 66-68 in late
> August/early Sept. All changes are very slow and gradual.
>
> Kitchen bottles : Last 2 years they have been upright. In winter we
> keep our house quite cool- 58 at night, 65 during day. Kitchen might
> be warmer with a lot of cooking. We have a small frame house, fairly
> shaded. We don't have central AC, but do put a window unit in adjacent
> living room in summer. It's a large unit and cools entire first floor
> (only about 550 sq ft). I'd say kitchen temps range from 70-80 F in
> summer. I did remove bottles a couple of times when I thought temps
> would be above 85- when cleaning oven in summer, and when away for a
> week with no AC going in July.
>
> Earlier in week I removed kitchen bottles to cellar to ensure all
> pairs were served in identical conditions. All bottles had good fills
> and no visible defects, except one kitchen bottle (the Brun) had a dry/
> brittle feeling label coming loose in one corner. All bottles opened
> about half hour before guests arrived, no visible issues.
>
> First Round-
>
> 2006 La Vieille Ferme (Cotes du Ventoux) screwcap
>
> 2006 La Vieille Ferme #1
> On first tasting I was sure this was the kitchen bottle, there was a
> slight roasted/stewed note to the fruit. But that seemed to dissipate
> with time. Round, ripe. But pretty dead and lifeless on finish. C+/C
>
> 2006 La Vieille Ferme #2
> Fresher fruit, balanced, not very exciting but a pretty competent CdR
> lookalike. B-
>
> 4-1 that #1 was kitchen bottle, but one person thought they still
> preferred it though they agreed it was the poor storage. And the
> kitchen bottles was....#1
>
> Second Round- 2006 Terres Dorees (JP Brun) "L'Ancien" Beaujolais VV
>
> 2006 Terres Dorees "L'Ancien" #1
> A little bretty note, not bad, good acids, red fruits. Not bad. B-
>
> 2006 Terres Dorees "L'Ancien" #2
> Good, still some tannins, good acidity, good cranberry and dark berry
> fruit. B/B+
>
> I think one person thought #2 was kitchen bottle. The kitchen bottle
> was #1
>
> Third Round - 2004 Picque Caillou (Pessac-Leognan) real cork
>
> 2004 Picque Caillou #1
> Open, aromatic, red plums, good acidity, a bit clipped. B-
>
> 2004 Picque Caillou #2
> Nice, structured, classic Graves with some time ahead. Darker fruits,
> a little cedar and tobacco. B+/B
>
> OK, one person said he just hated both. 2 people agreed #1 was poorer
> storage, but liked it as fruitier. 2 people preferred #2. Once again,
> kitchen bottle was #1
>
> OK, so just some data points. The nine month bottles were to me the
> most identical (even if temp extremes were a bit greater). I think the
> reds showed more advancement from warm storage, but we had some
> disagreement if that was better or worse. Ned for one thought the
> warmer storage bottles showed as more lush, and tended to prefer. Fun
> night, and I'll post on other wines of evening a bit later.
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

I read this with great anticipation and as usual...it was terrific!
Thanks for sharing your findings and I must say I'm a bit surprised.