Vesuvio 1994 - a leaker?

[Axel P]

This is the third time Ive heard about a leaker on VPs with the Vesuvio 94 and the third time I heard about leakers on 94 VPs at all.

My 36 bottles of Vesuvio are all fine - at least up to now. Does anyone have an explanation for this. Is it really a matter of the cork?

Axel

[uncle tom]

Once in a while you come across a bottle with an imperfect seal in a case of otherwise perfect bottles, and there is quite often a runt in the litter that loses level much faster than it's brothers, but without visibly leaking.

I've yet to see a problem with a Vesuvio, but I may have been lucky!

I do wonder if there are occasional 'bad cork' years - there seem to be an unusually large number of bottles with poor levels from certain vintages - notably 1960 & 1980.

My biggest gripe with recent vintages is poor fill levels - newly bottled wine that is sometimes barely 5mm into the neck..

Tom

[Andy Velebil]

I can't say I've seen any major issues with them leaking. Leaking could be from a bad cork as Tom pointed out, but also from heat damage...a far more common thing in young wines. I generally don't buy leakers, especially young wines that have leaked, for this reason. Older wines I can be more tolerant of, so long as a significantly lower price comes with it.

[Axel P]

I asked Dominic Symington and he responded as follows:

Dear Axel

Thank you for your note.

I have absolutely no knowledge of "leaking" bottles. Indeed due to a number of tasting over the last few months where I have focused quite significantly on Vesuvio at least 7 times (indeed you were at the Berlin event) I have never had a problem with the corks of the 1994.

(Berlin, London, Stockholm, São Paulo & 3 here in Portugal)

In the case of Berlin, London & São Paulo we tasted stock that was already in the market. For Stockholm & the 3 tastings here in Portugal we used stock directly form our cellars).

This morning I immediately asked our Cellar Master to check our stock. I have just now received his reply that all our stock is in perfect condition!


The only situation that I can imagine that may have happened is that the bottles were exposed to some form of heat that made the wine expand and forced a small amount of leakage.



With best regards

Dominic

[Alex Bridgeman]

I own a "couple" (note for Julian - ironic quotation marks) of bottles of the '94 Vesuvio and do not have a problem with leakers. As far as I am aware, this is the only bottle that I own that leaked and I am prepared to accept that once every now and again a bad cork slips through the net.

The '92 Vesuvio was almost certainly subjected to temperature variation that caused it to leak.

In my capacity as "Mr Vesuvio" (note for Julian - direct quotation from an earlier post by Axel but could also be correctly interpreted as ironic quotation marks) I can fully support Dominic's report. I own a fairly large number of bottles of Vesuvio across different vintages and I do not see a problem with leakage that would concern me.

Alex

[uncle tom]

If a bottle is subject to significant temperatue variation, simple physics dictates that the cork will come under considerable strain; which can be relieved either by movement of the cork, or by seepage.

As gas is much more inclined to expand and contract than fluid when subject to temperature change, it follows that the greater the amount of air in a bottle, the more vulnerable that bottle is.

Look at the VP bottlings of the last 20 years..

..with relatively tall necks and low fill levels, we have a problem brewing..

Tom

[jdaw1]

AHB: Though I hate to be pedantic, Axel here described you as “Mr. Vesuvio†, with the American-style full stop after the title.

Others: please ignore this post, as it is off-topic.

[uncle tom]

Though I hate to be pedantic

You jest, sir...

Tom

[jdaw1]

Though I hate to be pedantic

You jest, sir...

Well, the elision was intended to facilitate conversation. Really I hate that the world so easily facilitates such trivial pedantry.

If we don’t get back on topic quite soon this thread will have to be split.

[Alex Bridgeman]

OK, back on topic.

Traditionally, vintage port is stored to mature by lying the bottle on its side. The benefit of this, I believe, is that it keeps the cork moist and so improves the quality of the seal provided by said cork.

However, given Tom's comment above of tall necks and low fill levels should we be looking at inclined storage where there is a risk of temperature variation. The perfect angle of inclination being one where the liquid in the bottle makes contact with approximately 30-50% of the cork. This should then allow any expansion to force air past the cork and leave the port remaining in the bottle (the logic being that air is less dense than port and so will be the substance expelled in preference).

But I guess that this is only relevant where you have a temperature variation problem. In temperature-stable storage conditions, bottles can lie as flat as required.

Alex

[Alex Bridgeman]

I owe the folks here an apology. When I opened my leaky Vesuvio '94 this evening I checked up the provenance again - it was not a Berry Brothers supplied bottle as I first said, but was one that I bought at auction some time ago.

Who knows what it had been through before it came into my tender hands. However, I do know that it tastes good. Tasting note will follow in due course.

Alex