Jane Faulkner answers your pressing wine questions

JANE FAULKNER ANSWERS YOUR PRESSING WINE QUESTIONS

Q. Magnums tend to be a bit pricier than two standard 750ml bottles of the same wine. What’s the reason for the price differential? Dan Fawcett

A. At face value, it seems fair to double the price because there’s twice as much wine, but the added expense is associated with glass manufacturing – it costs more to produce heavier, larger bottles. Without going into the technicalities, the machinery crafting the bottles has to work at a slower pace when making larger formats, and they take longer to cool, thus fewer can be made compared with a 750ml bottle.

Q. Chablis is 100 per cent chardonnay, so what gives it such a distinctively delectable character? Alan Hutchison

A. It’s possible to write a book on this but, essentially, it is terroir – that intangible French word used to describe the uniqueness of certain wines. Terroir is the confluence of people and place, taking in geology and soil, the climate – meso and micro – the variety, the vineyard site and exposition, winemaking and more, and they all add up to create special qualities. Chablis is one of the finest terroir-driven wines: it is chardonnay and so distinctively delectable, as you say, that it can come from nowhere else but the Chablis region in north-west Burgundy. The finest wines – Grand and Premier Crus – have texture and a certain tension. They can be flinty and minerally, briny and tangy, wet-stone or oyster shell-like, crisp and dry, chalky, fine and often mouth-watering. While important, it’s not only the result of vines growing in the fossil-rich limestone Kimmeridgian soils, it’s all the terroir inputs. Or maybe it’s just magic, as one winemaker once told me when they were asked to describe it.

Q. I live in the wet tropics where the ambient temperature does not drop below the mid-20s in the evening. How long can I decant a bottle of red wine at this temperature? Should I leave it in the fridge until half an hour before serving? Ryan Purkiss

A. My first reaction about two things I loathe – heat and humidity – is to suggest drinking two things I love – chilled riesling and vermentino. However, back to your question. Don’t stress about decanting and for how long; the issue is more about the red warming up too quickly. If the wine feels warm, cool down the bottle in the fridge – but cool it, don’t chill it. The tropics and robust reds aren’t great bedfellows, but lighter styles of pinot noir, or gamay, frappato or unoaked tempranillo can definitely be served chilled from an ice bucket. Don’t bother with a decanter. It’s actually a misnomer to think reds as a category need decanting – some do, some don’t. The golden rule with wine generally is to taste it first. If it tastes fine, forfeit the decanter. If your wine is older, or more delicate and/ or there’s sediment, just pour slowly and gently from the bottle. Young, tannic and more structured reds can benefit from a decanting, but are perhaps hard to enjoy in the tropics. However, if that’s what you want, pop it in the fridge to take the warm edge off it, and then decant it. If it warms up too quickly in the decanter, put it back in the fridge for a short time. Let common sense prevail. While I’m not one to advocate air-conditioning, cooling down your dining room will help you better enjoy the big reds.

Q. In the space of a week I had two reasonably expensive, highly anticipated wines. The first was a quality Barolo and unfortunately it was cork-tainted, with the second a great Bordeaux blend from the Yarra Valley under screwcap that was oxidised. From a tragic week, my spirits were lifted as both bottles were replaced, one from a wine store and the other from the winery, which was a pleasant surprise. Is this common practice? Bryce Marshall

A. Yes, because it’s a legal requirement, thanks to Australian Consumer Law. If a wine is genuinely faulty, no matter the price or its closure, the store or winery where you bought it must replace it or offer a refund. Keep the docket and it’s also a good idea to bring in the wine as proof.