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(LZYLTNING) wrote:

> What are these things and why are they there?
> Does this indicate damage of any kind?
> How will this impact their age-worthiness and eventual
> drinkability, if at all?

Completely harmless: These are crystal of potassium bitartrate,
a salt of tartaric acid. The precipitation happens at cold
temperatures. Quite often this is done during winemaking, the vats
are cooled down to -2°C (28°F) for a week or two to induce
precipitation. But quite often this is not done, so it happens in
the cellar, if cellar temperatures are lower than what the wine
encountered during its making and transportation.

M.