In January 2004 I purchased six bottles of the 2000 Vieux Donjon CdP from one of our well-known and highly credible wine retail houses. They've been in the cellar, in the original shipping box, since arriving here nearly six years ago. I figured it was about time to see how they were doing.
To my dismay, upon opening the first bottle I found the wine had sparged almost all the way to the top of the cork. The wine itself was less than impressive. Hoping that was a one-off, two nights later I opened a second bottle. The wine was fine, but the cork looked much like the first one.
This is unusual for my storage conditions. For instance, the same night I opened the first Donjon, I also opened a bottle of 1999 Tre Donne Barbaresco, purchased in February 2004. It was stuning, and the cork was in virtually perfect condition. The two wines have been stored less than two feet from each other all this time.
I figure a 2000 Donjon should be good for at least 10-15 years, but looking at these two corks I'm not sure the remaining bottles will make it another six months.
I know that sparging like this sometimes occurs when bottles are "overfilled," but I have no way of knowing when the seepage occurred. Anyone have similar experiences with the 2000 V. Donjon?
JJ