Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb.

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Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 11:49:42 AM

Maestro

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Joined: 10/4/2007
From: Italy
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How to defuse a fruit bomb in a few simple steps.

Disclaimer: This only works for fruit bombs that do have a bit of a backbone and a certain quality level (say, a minimum rating of 81-82 points in your favorite quality scale). If the fruit bomb has that artificial fruit taste (you know, like "Kool-Aid") then pour the sordid thing down the sink and go own with your life.

Step 1: 6 hours of aeration in a decanter. That's simple.
Step 2: Taste the fruit bomb after the 6 hours. If it was better than you expected it might already have been defused.
Step 3: If the thing is still bombastic, pour it back into its bottle (after rensing and drying the bottle), re-cork it (don't vaccum pack it), and put it back in the cellar (or in a refrigerator, if you don't have a cool cellar).
Step 4: Forget about it for 4 days.
Step 5: On the 5th day, re-open it and taste it. By then there will be three options:
----->(a) It is already defused (i.e., tasting like a plesant wine) -- drink the thing then.
----->(b) Still bombastic, but significantly better -- recork it and re-taste it every day after that until it is finally defused.
----->(c) It has gone bad. Either flat or Kool-aid-like -- down the sink it goes.

When properly defused, it usually displays secondary aromatics of chocolate, mocha, and pepper, while the fruit calms down. When that happens, it may become a fairly decent wine for mid-week quaffing.

Post #: 1

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 11:58:33 AM

Maestro

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From: Italy
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And this is the case study.

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 2

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 12:37:59 PM

RoundersRob

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From: Santa Cruz, CA
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LOL - you go through that much effort for a $7 merlot?

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 3

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 12:41:29 PM

NiklasW

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Joined: 10/13/2007
From: Finland
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D'ya think this will work for Chateau Pavie?

(in reply to RoundersRob)

Post #: 4

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 12:42:22 PM

GintsO

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Joined: 5/14/2006
From: Latvia
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For me the term "fruit bomb" is still an enigma.
Is it good or bad thing?
Or "fruit" is good and "bomb"is bad?

(in reply to RoundersRob)

Post #: 5

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 12:45:44 PM

Maestro

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quote:

ORIGINAL: RoundersRob

LOL - you go through that much effort for a $7 merlot?

There is really no effort in it. When it is documented as a recipe (as it is above) it looks complicated, but it was more like "ah, fruit bomb with a bit of a backbone... throw it in the decanter overnight... back in the bottle next morning... see you in 4 days... hey, look, a decent Wednesday night quaffer..."

Better than pouring it down the sink, when there is hope...

That Merlot was a gift from visiting friends. It could easily have been used for cooking, but it turned out to taste quite alright today.

The bomb defusing technique itself I have used many times before.

(in reply to RoundersRob)

Post #: 6

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 12:47:28 PM

Maestro

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GintsO

Or "fruit" is good and "bomb"is bad?

Correct.

(in reply to GintsO)

Post #: 7

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 12:48:29 PM

Maestro

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Joined: 10/4/2007
From: Italy
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quote:

ORIGINAL: NiklasW

D'ya think this will work for Chateau Pavie?

(in reply to NiklasW)

Post #: 8

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 1:24:34 PM

Blue Shorts

Posts: 2779
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From: Santa Cruz
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OK. I'll give it a whirl. I'll try it with my Aussie Shiraz bombs. I (unfortunately) have quite a few.

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 9

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 6:55:19 PM

apes

Posts: 211
Joined: 1/29/2008
From: CT
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So your not crazy about a fruit bomb. I think I'll try one of your recommendations this weekend 2002 Michele & Patrice Rion Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillières, maybe compare it to one of my fruit bombs 2005 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja, see which way I lean more to. Don't think I have discovered my favs yet.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Maestro

quote:

ORIGINAL: GintsO

Or "fruit" is good and "bomb"is bad?

Correct.

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 10

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/28/2008 11:31:55 PM

Maestro

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quote:

ORIGINAL: apes

So your not crazy about a fruit bomb. I think I'll try one of your recommendations this weekend 2002 Michele & Patrice Rion Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillières, maybe compare it to one of my fruit bombs 2005 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja, see which way I lean more to. Don't think I have discovered my favs yet.

Let me know how the 2002 Rion Clos des Argillières is drinking now. I still have it in the cellar but haven't had a bottle since January.

I have noticed that in your TNs for the 2005 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja you recommend decanting the wine for at least 2 hours to calm down the heat: ("Do not think of popping and pouring, the alcohol is overwhelming. Let decant at least 2 hours... After 4 hours fruit comes through with some chocolate. I think this wine will improve greatly, but needs 2,5,10 years.")

What you are experiencing there is what I called "defusing the bomb"... But the Alto Moncayo seems to be of much better quality and gets "defused" much more quickly. It is simply a question of how good the backbone is. If you look at my recipe at the top of the thread, you'll see that the Alto Moncayo would be ready to drink already at "step 2".

(in reply to apes)

Post #: 11

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/29/2008 7:10:14 AM

esb

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From: Bend, Oregon
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Excellent. I follow the same basic procedure, but use one additional final step if the wine is still sound. I blend it away, if possible, with something else I have accumulated in the fridge. It doesn't always work, of course, but with experience it is fairly simple to determine if wines are compatible. The results can be very satisfying and it's fun to see what I end up with.

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 12

RE: Bomb Squadron 101: How to defuse a fruit bomb. - 5/29/2008 2:52:00 PM

Maestro

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From: Italy
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quote:

ORIGINAL: esb

Excellent. I follow the same basic procedure, but use one additional final step if the wine is still sound. I blend it away, if possible, with something else I have accumulated in the fridge. It doesn't always work, of course, but with experience it is fairly simple to determine if wines are compatible. The results can be very satisfying and it's fun to see what I end up with.

Yeah, I blend stuff every now and then if I happen to have two wines that are not good but could compliment each other. Usually a fruit bomb with a tannic bastard end up in a smoother wine.

But those are either desperate measures or late night playful chemistry experiences.