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Default Problems with Pesquera/Alenza/Condado

I'm becoming increasingly disturbed over recent experiences with my
stash of Pesquera/Condado de Haza/Alenza wines. I've got bottles which
include the 1996 Alenza , purchased from a reputable local wine
warehouse, severa remainingl (of six) 2001 Pesquera bought off the
overstock shelf from the same dealer in July of last year, and some
'01 Condado de Haza I picked up (probably from Whole Foods) a couple
years back.

The problems with the Condado go back a year. At least one bottle was
definitely bad. Corked or something, but it was bad enough that I
dumped it down the drain and opened a second bottle, which was better
but seemed to have lost its edge. I had problems with at least two
other bottles from that case, too.

Several nights ago I opened a bottle of the '01 Pesquera, and it was
so overwhelmingly aromatic of brettanomyces that I stuck a cork back
in the bottle and set it aside. I tried airing it out and opening it a
day later, but it was still undrinkable.

A week ago I took a bottle of the '96 Alenza with me to a restaurant.
(Got nailed $30 for corkage! Never seen anything over $15 around here
before.) This was the first bottle plucked from a half-case purchased
in 2005. The cork was streaked/soaked/sparged almost all the way out.
There was a bit of mold on the top of the cork, but no apparent
leakage. The wine steward dismissed the soaking, attributing it to
intentional overfill. My personal experience, like I had with that bad
batch of Palazzo Della Torre last year, is that corks so heavily
streaked are either defective or storage/shipping conditions somewhere
along the line were left wanting. However, much worse than the issue
of the cork was the wine itself. The brett odor was so bad I thought
I'd stuck my nose in cow flop. The very same astute wine steward
agreed -- the stench was thick as a brick outhouse. We decanted the
wine, of course, and eventually it tasted better than it smelled, but
it never attained the richness and depth I expect from a wine of
Alenza's caliber. Similarly, the pungent odor was present all the way
to the very last drop. Needless to say, this detracted considerably
from the enjoyment of what had now morphed into a $70 bottle of wine.

Something's not right here. Especially not at $25-40 a bottle. Brett
contamination does not happen in the bottle, it happens at the winery.
It's a sign that the storage or processing facilities are not clean.

I have 1998 Condado de Haza and 1996 Pesquera in the cellar, and I've
had no problems with those. But I'm wondering if the reason there may
have been six bottles of 2001 Pesquera on the overstock shelf was
because someone else discovered they were problematic and returned
them. As far as the '96 Alenza goes, I still have five unopened
bottles. I was hoping to hang on to at least some of them for a few
more years, but now I'm not convinced that's a good idea.

So here's the question:

Has anyone else out there had similar problems with Pesquera's
(Alejandro Fernandez) wines, especially the several I've mentioned?

JJ



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Default Problems with Pesquera/Alenza/Condado

Hi JJ,

The problems you relate with the wines from Alejandro Pesquera are quite
known. I have not purchased any bottle since the 1996 vintage, for this
very same reason.

Those who have more experience say it is all about the batch. Some batches
are totally contamined with brett. Other are clean. I suspect all are
contamined to some extent.

However, I have recently tasted a Crianza 2004 that was really great, clean
black fruit with no brett. However, it is too early if it will go wrong
with time so I am not purchasing.

Alenza 1996 was shown at a local wine fair a couple of years ago and I
thought it was plainly horrible. Oxidized bretty plonk to be fair.
Considering what they are charging, it is a joke.

Best,

S.
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Default Problems with Pesquera/Alenza/Condado

In article 8>,
Santiago > wrote:

> Hi JJ,
>
> The problems you relate with the wines from Alejandro Pesquera are quite
> known. I have not purchased any bottle since the 1996 vintage, for this
> very same reason.
>
> Those who have more experience say it is all about the batch. Some batches
> are totally contamined with brett. Other are clean. I suspect all are
> contamined to some extent.
>
> However, I have recently tasted a Crianza 2004 that was really great, clean
> black fruit with no brett. However, it is too early if it will go wrong
> with time so I am not purchasing.
>
> Alenza 1996 was shown at a local wine fair a couple of years ago and I
> thought it was plainly horrible. Oxidized bretty plonk to be fair.
> Considering what they are charging, it is a joke.
>
> Best,
>
> S.


Well to be a third party here, I popped a 2002 Pesquera las night.
Clean, fresh and very good fruit. No Brett in evidence. Actually, it was
quite enjoyable and I would highly recommend it. I would think twice
about going to a place with a $30 corkage but think of it in Euros only
20.
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Default Problems with Pesquera/Alenza/Condado


Am 13.11.2007 um 13:00 wurde geantwortet auf:
Lawrence Leichtman > schrieb:
> In article 8>,
> Santiago > wrote:
>
> > Hi JJ,
> >
> > The problems you relate with the wines from Alejandro Pesquera are quite
> > known. I have not purchased any bottle since the 1996 vintage, for this
> > very same reason.
> >
> > Those who have more experience say it is all about the batch. Some batches
> > are totally contamined with brett. Other are clean. I suspect all are
> > contamined to some extent.
> >
> > However, I have recently tasted a Crianza 2004 that was really great, clean
> > black fruit with no brett. However, it is too early if it will go wrong
> > with time so I am not purchasing.
> >
> > Alenza 1996 was shown at a local wine fair a couple of years ago and I
> > thought it was plainly horrible. Oxidized bretty plonk to be fair.
> > Considering what they are charging, it is a joke.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > S.

>
> Well to be a third party here, I popped a 2002 Pesquera las night.
> Clean, fresh and very good fruit. No Brett in evidence. Actually, it was
> quite enjoyable and I would highly recommend it. I would think twice
> about going to a place with a $30 corkage but think of it in Euros only
> 20.


in many restaurants here in austria you pay just 5,- euro corkage.
best
m

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