I know that some people see sediment in their wine glass and go "eek!" I know that welcoming sediment in your glass (if not your mouth) is somehow rather old-school.
Well, what the hell, I'm old-school. I'm old, so of course I'm old-school. A couple of my favorite Domenico Selections, er, selections throw quite a lot of sediment. One is Reale's Cardamone 2006 and the other is Boccella's Rasott Aglianico 2006, which has only recently started to throw a sediment. ("Son, you are now a man." A sort of vinous bar-mitzvah, eh.)
So, we have established that I like sediment in me vino.
Here's part of what is written about sediment in the Oxford Companion to Wine:
Sediments in bottled wines are relatively rare, and usually signal a fine wine that has already spent some years in bottle. So unaccustomed have modern wine consumers become to sediment that many (erroneously) view it as a fault. Many winemakers therefore take great pains to ensure, through clarification, stabilization, and filtration, that the great majority of wines made today, and virtually all of those designed to be drunk within their first few years, will remain free of sediment for at least a few years. Wines designed for long periods of bottle ageing, on the other hand, frequently deposit crystals of tartrates, white in white wines and dyed red or black in red wines. Red wines, in addition, deposit some pigmented tannins that are the result of phenolic polymerization. The heavy deposits in bottles of vintage port are a particularly dramatic example of this phenomenon. Winemakers deliberately leave more tartrates and phenolics in wines designed for long ageing in bottle so that they are able to develop the compounds that constitute bouquet. A bottle of wine containing sediment needs special care before serving.
(Gay color emphasis mine.)
OK, I've prejudiced the discussion.
Still, what is your Position on sediment in your wine? Inquirin' minds wanna know.
Sediment doesn't bother me--it's like the clear jelly around Vienna sausages, just a slightly unpleasant part of life you have to learn to accept.
But there's been a few occasions when it's surprised me. Occasionally, after the dinner guests are gone and the kitchen is semi-clean, I'll grab a mostly-empty bottle and head upstairs to take notes and reflect upon the day. And invariably, I'll forget about the sediment, and my last glass is like getting a mouthful of coffee grounds.
Posted by: Benito | May 07, 2009 at 01:22 AM
Sediment's all right. At least when it's at the bottom of the bottle, not all over the place.
Posted by: Viinipiru | May 07, 2009 at 05:36 AM
Doesn't bother me in the least...just had a Mas Des Dames (Languedoc) last night that threw some sediment and my reaction was about the equivalent of "hey, look at that, some sediment" and I went right back to drinking it.
Posted by: Katie | May 07, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Yeah, the coffee grounds effect can be off-putting.
Sometimes they're like tea leaves -- not so bad. Sort of taste like 'em too -- tannin!
Posted by: TH | May 07, 2009 at 03:45 PM