I tend to think they story is true. With respect to the lack of an
airlock, he did say that he thought they had a screw top lid on top.
Once fermentation had stopped, the weight of the semi-loose lid at rest
may have been just enough to stop air from getting in. With respect to
the lees... the carboy was in a cool basement. Perhaps the cool
temperature and alcohol content of the beverage prevented autolysis
from getting out of hand. Many of the old country wine recipes produce
very sweet wines. As I'm sure you know, sugar makes up for a multitude
of sins in wine making. It's not hard to believe that the sugar content
could have masked any off flavors that were produced by autolysis or
oxidation.

Greg G.