Do Piscos improve over time?
On March 15, 16 and 17 we were at the vertical tasting of Piscos convened by Eng. Juan Carlos Palma at the La Molina Agrarian University. It is the first time that work like this is carried out: samples were presented to us from 2003 to 2013, from the 5 pisco regions.These samples had not been opened in all these years and/or exposed to light, so we worked on several exercises of three samples each. First day with non-aromatic Piscos y and green must (mosto verde),, second day aromatic Piscos and green must, third day acholados (blended). These were the questions:
1.- Can you say which is the oldest Pisco and which is the youngest? (they indicate the years 2005 - 2008 -2012).
2.- Can you say if these Piscos are old or young? Determine vintage.
As in all tasting work of Pisco we have been doing, we cannot give a conclusive answer regarding whetherPiscos evolve for better or worse over time.During the tastings we appreciate that there are changes in the Piscos; that from the fifth year onwards in the non-aromatic ones we find light ones, almost none in some cases, perception of aromas, there is no freshness, persistence in the mouth, flattened or dull, yes, the defects are enhanced. In the case of aromatics, we perceive that they preserve their aromas better, although they always lose freshness, caramel aromas, overripe fruit, honey, are marked both on the nose and on the palate; the persistence is better than in the non-aromatic ones. Here we are presented with a dilemma: are there consumers who like those sweet sensations? If, therefore, these Piscos can be sold, in the case of non-aromatic ones we do not think in the same way, when entering the mouth the lack of freshness that characterizes young Piscos does not allow it.
In addition, between tastings we were talking about what would happen if a producer includes samples of more than 5 years in in pisco contests; We as tasters cannot avoid it, that is handled directly by the Pisco Denomination of Origin Regulatory Council, but we can warn it so that the appropriate controls are carried out.
All the tasters tasters present at the workshop believe that if samples of old Piscos were presented, they would not be awarded a great gold medal, because their characteristics give them away, the differences between 8, 10 year old Piscos with those we call young (maximum 5 years) is very clear. We still need to carry out this work by pisco regions with other tasters in order to obtain more information on this subject.
That they are different yes; that they lose quality and freshness yes; that defects do not disappear if they are not enhanced; Those are the conclusions to date, we still need to work with each of the 8 Pisco grapes,, as we have said above, Piscos from the 5 regions,with different panels of tasters, with bottle and tank samples to see what changes we find. Our conclusion is that there is a lot to do for Pisco and a lot of work.
Til next time!
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Pisco Specialist and Taster
Pisco Taster Registration: CRDO-PISCO RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Pisco & music
Cocktail Magazine, Edición No. 01 del 2015
April 2015