Is Bigger Better?

[shroomgirl]

Chef's Collaborative had the finale Farmer Chef dinner at Cardwell's at the Plaza on Sunday.....incredible foods and wines....
Someone brought a HUGE btl of `1995 Cakebread that was incredible, really incredible.....conversation revolved around how the larger btls produce a different wine....well??????

I've sampled numerous magnums, a good number of double magnums, and a few imperials (equivalent to 6 regular bottles). In a few cases I've had the opportunity to compare them side-by-side with a single bottle of the same wine. The conventional wisdom always was that larger bottles matured more slowly and that the slow maturing produced a better wine, but I can't say my experience supports that.

My understanding is that the "slower aging" concept dates from the time when people believed that the cork "breathes" just enough to allow minute amounts oxygen into the bottle, maturing being basically a process of aldehydes and ketones oxidizing into organic acids and esters. Larger bottles have a greater wine/cross-sectional area of cork ratio, so needed longer for the requisite amount of oxygen to diffuse through the cork. I think most now agree that wine matures just fine in hermetically sealed containers because it already has enough oxygen dissolved in it when it's bottled. If that's the case, then there's no reason why larger bottles should mature more slowly.

This is just my own understanding and comes from limited experience in this area, so if someone else has objective data (blind side-by-side comparisons, for example) I'd sure like to hear it.

[cape chef]

Wow dick, I never heard it put like that thanks for the chemical reaction info. I agree with what you said.Also in addition the the prossess of oxidation that slowly ages the wine there is the shear volume of liguid in the larger formats that mature a little slower do to temputure. the longer a bottle is exposed to a proper celler temp 55 degrees and 70% relitive humidity the lesser volume will mature faster just because there is less volume to age. shroomgirl, Just as a fyi, larger formats are sought by collectors and the like because of there scarcity, lower production goes into the imperials nebuchadnezzar 20 Bottles, rehoboams 6 bottles in champagne ect.

[David Jones]

I'm more apt to enjoy a large format bottle, mostly because of the occasion at which it's opened. It's less of an academic moment and more of a celebratory time with good friends and a good meal.