Pocket Time Machine...

My personal trainer will love me... I have probably doubled in size over the past days here in Europe... Riesling tasting in Frankfurt, Brunello in Hamburg, too many french new growths and a lot of Spaniards, invading my palate like a good Conquistador...


A Conquistador always sports some nifty knife action, so was I surprised to see the waiter dip his Laguiole into my glass, and my neighbors and his neighbors and so on...

Only after some intense negotiations was he willing to pass over his new Laguiole - interstingly equipped with a Clef-Du-Vin on an extra knife. Clef-Du-Vin you might ask? Well, mais oui... a small metal dipping stick, developed in France by master sommelier Franck Thomas and the equally famous enologist Laurent Zanon, the Clef du Vin's alloy - no information as to the actual combination, where is 007 when you need him - acts as a catalyst to speed up the oxidization process. The metals are precisely gauged so that dipping the tool into a glass of wine for one second will mimic the effect of a year's aging. Dipping it for two seconds simulates the effect of two year's cellaring, and so on.

Think pocket time machine... So thanks Q, but what is actually happening? The samples I have tasted across different regions and vintages, seemed not to have changed at all in their bouquet, but overly agressive Tannins were definitely tamed and improved the experience. Interestingly though there was a slight disconnect between the nose and the palate experience. I would have expected a much rounder, richer overall bouquet, because the wine was now roughly '10 years older' than before, but the nose remained pretty much the same...

Yes it's fun and interesting and it creates a good conversation and exteded wine consumption, as you will start comparing the effect on all different regions and vintages, but I prefer to be patient. Sometimes very patient, and to wander down into my cellar, gently caressing my bottles in expectation of the first time we come together...