New Wine in Old Bottles; Old Brandy in New Bottles

Hans-Peter Frericks wants to know if the bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite he bought from Hardy Rodenstock is a fraud.

According to a report in the London Times, the German wine collector acquired the wine from the well-known German wine merchant and sent it to a laboratory for testing. The lab report showed that there were traces of ultra-heavy hydrogen (tritium) and radioactive carbon in the wine; these elements did not appear in the environment until the 1960s, as a result of nuclear weapons testing.

Does this mean that the wine is a fraud? Not necessarily.

Rodenstock said he discovered a cache of 1787 Lafite in a Paris cellar in 1985. The wine had reputedly been sold to Thomas Jefferson but never delivered. (One of the bottles of 1787 Lafite was sold at auction in 1985 to the late publisher Malcolm Forbes for about $150,000.)

According to the London Times, some of Rodenstock’s wines “have been the subject of misgivings because he refuses to provide them with a provenance or history.” Frericks challenged Rodenstock to prove that the bottle wasn’t tampered with.

Here is the problem. Cork, after many years, loses its resiliency. It becomes weak and is no longer effective in keeping air out of a wine bottle. This ruins the wine. After 30 or so years, professional recorking is suggested.

This is considered so essential that a team from Chateau Latour recently visited major U.S. cities to recork older bottles of Latour. They removed deteriorating corks and replaced them with fresh corks. And while the cork was out of the bottle, the winery topped up any bottles that had lost wine through leakage or evaporation. Recorkers can’t always top up with the same vintage of wine. A younger wine is usually added.

New York wine merchant William Sokolin, for instance, had a bottle of 1787 Margaux, that he said had been recorked and “topped-up” at the chateau in June 1986. Sokolin said it was not topped with 1787 wine but “with whatever they thought was most beneficial for the wine,” probably a 20th-Century vintage.

So it is possible that the 1787 Lafite had also been recorked and younger wine added. That might account for the 20th-Century chemicals that the lab discovered. However, the German laboratory reported that about half the wine in the sample of the 1787 it evaluated was from 1962--far more than the few ounces used in a standard recorking.

Brandy, Cognac and Armagnac are all aged, distilled products of wine grapes, but they don’t taste the same because different grapes and production methods are used (Cognac and Armagnac must use grapes from particular regions of France).

One unique product is Brandy de Jerez, which may appeal to a wider audience than traditional brandy.

That’s because Brandy de Jerez, an underappreciated after-dinner treat, is typically aged in a series of barrels the way rare old Sherry is aged--in a solera system that usually dates back many decades. Some brandy soleras are more than 100 years old. Moreover, Spanish brandy can be sweeter than Cognac because some houses actually add a few drops of Oloroso Sherry to the brandy.

To promote its wines and spirits in this Olympic year, a Spanish Embassy agency called Wines of Spain has organized tastings of top-of-the-line Spanish brandies around the country. I attended one last month, and found that the seven Solera Gran Reservas were as different from one another as all of them are from Cognac.

The two lightest in aroma and taste were among the most attractive: Lepanto from Gonzales Byass ($35) and Carlos I from Dome ($30). Lepanto is richer and has a vanilla-cream aroma, a bit like Sherry. It is smooth and complex (and its squat decanter bottle is very attractive). Carlos I is light and pale, with a delicate tobacco-leaf freshness and a crisp, lingering finish. Both are quite elegant, with the latter more like Cognac than others tasted.

Far more concentrated and dense is Osborne’s Conde de Osborne ($40), a brandy that has the aroma of spice and nuts. Its softness reduces the taste of the alcohol and makes for a very pleasant after-dinner sip, reminiscent of fine Sherry. It’s strikingly packaged in a white ceramic bottle designed by Salvador Dali.

Gran Garvey ($28), from the firm of Garvey, is lighter than some of the others, with a mild citrus-like note. Terry’s Terry Primero ($30) is more like Armagnac, with a soft entry and ample flavor despite a trace of roughness. Bobadilla’s Gran Capitan ($28) is sweeter and less complex than some of the other brandies.

The most interesting Brandy de Jerez evaluated was Cardinal Mendoza from the firm of Sanchez Romate ($35). It is sweeter than the others (what the Italians would call abboccato ) and luxurious on the tongue. It reminds me of a cream Sherry with extra brandy added.

One other reason to try Brandy de Jerez: Because it is so little known in this country, it is often possible to find it at deeply discounted prices.