Acid on the tongue?

[Grinners]

Query: I have always being under the impression that acid on the tongue meant that the wine could probably live a little longer? Maybe do will some cellar time?

But last night i was told that it was a sign that the wine had started to deteriorate. Not a vinegar taste, just acidic.

Now i'm confused can someone please enlighten me what it is i should be inferring from acid?

Cheers

[Maximus]

G,

I think both of you are right. Acid in a wine is certainly very important for its longevity, however it needs to be the right amount without going overboard and also have the fruit weight to match.

If a wine has lost its palate fruit and the acid is poking out, then yes, you could conclude that the wine is deteriorating. In that circumstance, had the fruit weight been higher initially, or the acid lower, the wine may have had a better chance of lasting.

That's my take. I'm sure others will correct me.

Cheers,

[Grinners]

Yeh the acid was definately poking out. Consequently i didnt like the taste much. It was a Wynns Cab Shiraz Merlot 2002.

I had one about 2 weeks ago - really enjoyed it, no acidic taste.

[pokolbinguy]

The problem you could have come across could be V.A (Volatile Acidity). its a wine fault... not sure how it comes about or if im correct or not.

im sure if im no where near the mark somewhere on hear can tell us... and explain it.

[griff]

Volatile acidity in the sense that you are referring to is mostly acetic acid. It is held that acetobacter (a type of bacteria) converts ethanol to acetic acid or vinegar as most like to call it. It does this only when wine is exposed to air, hence the reason to drink a wine in one sitting

Because you found the same wine a short time apart good and then acidic suggests what one calls Random Bottle Oxidation (especially as the wine is reasonable quality and only 4 years old and presumably kept under similar conditions). Basically means that the wine has started to turn to vinegar a lot faster than one may expect. Not sure why this happens but might be a reasonable bacterial load in the wine (wonder if due to inconsistant bottle preparation and sufficient air while bottling to allow the process in some bottles. Some think this occurs to about 5% of wines (about the same amount of cork-affected wines) and it is also thought that bottling with other than cork may reduce this rate such as Stelvin (screw-cap). Some write that new agglomerate corks that are treated may reduce cork-taint but I wonder if they reduce RBO. I wonder if bottling under nitrogen may also help somewhat. If anyone can shed light I am curious to know.

Lastly it is important to note that some fine wines actually benefit from some volatile acidity. It 'lifts' the nose and to some extent the palate due to the volatility. The trick is that you have to have a good amount of the other constituents like fruit and tannin. Perhaps some oak may help achieve balance as well.