I sat down to absolutely slate this wine, A Sainsbury's Limited Release Cotes du Rhone Villages 2007 after tasting it last night and being confronted by an insipid, raw and flat wine. There was nothing which complimented it, the alcohol stood out in a hard lean ethanoic way and there was a strange under ripe character which hinted at a minerality that was so unappealing as to makeswallowing a challenge. So, that was last night, now, 15 hours later I have opened the bottle and things have changed. The wine has lost its raw edge and opened up, expanding the depth and breadth on the palette. It has become richer and fuller making it a more appealing wine. Ok, so its not going to blow your socks off, and I defiantly wouldn't recommendd buying it, but the change is remarkable. 15 hours of contact with oxygen and the wine has slidthrough many different oxidative reactions which together have combined to making what was a completely disappointing wine transform into a wine which is now at least drinkable. As I write this I am concerned that I'm putting too much emphasise on the wine developing through oxidative processes, from being half-opened and in contact with the oxygen in the air. I'm not sure that's all it is though. There are other factors which all contribute to wines subjective vagueness. Factors which do not directly effect the palette, but which never-less play an important role in the perception of taste. The environment and mood in which you drink a wine will change a mediocre Provencal rose into a thirst quenching, crisp, fruityand vibrant gift from the god Baccus. So maybe it was mood that spoilt this wine for me, maybe it was the weathers turning from bright spring day to wet overcast greyness or maybe it was from being stuck indoors all day. Who knows, I don't, and I'm not willing to scrawl through the text books on wine science to try and explain it to you. The only point Ireally want to make is, if you find yourself with this bottle, for goodness sake open it at least 12 hours before you intend to drink it!
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