For the illustrations to this explanation, download these diagrams [no longer available in 2021 alas].
The Bordeaux oenologist and specialist in wine faults Pascal Chatonnet is now consulting at Ch de Beaucastel. He therefore provided the following explanation for the curious phenomenon highlighted in my article on white Châteauneuf on Saturday whereby the wines go brown then pale.
- The whites produced in the Rhône, and especially those at Beaucastel, generally have quite a golden colour. As shown in Fig 1 on the download cited above, this varies little from vintage to vintage. This colour is reckoned to be visibly notable...