Aug 25 2011
The Hazards of buying Cleanskins or Unlabelled wine and what to go looking for before purchasing
I've tried numerous wines over my 25years of expertise as a wine merchant. In selecting a Clean skin it's critical that your stock is consistent and have equal or higher quality and taste than a labeled wine of the very same price bracket.
Of all the 100’s of Clean skins I have attempted I have confounded 80%, as they are faulty or too pricey for the quality.
As a rule, these are the factors that I use for judging and tasting Clean skin wines:
The wine must not be chemically defective. It should have an enticing taste and odour, which should be obvious as you raise the glass to the nose.
The cork must be top of the range. Make sure the wine has not passed its ideal drinking age. Buy as young as practicable. While a few people are trying to find an aged wine, I find there are many more issues with an aged Clean skin than a younger one. As a guide, white wine should be 2 “3 years old and reds, 4 -5 years. Even then the hazards of issues are bigger.
Be certain the cases are in good condition. If they're disintegrating possibilities are the wine has not been correctly stored, and may affect the quality of the wine. If the boxes are faded on one side they could have been stored close to the daylight or in a hot shed that might have cooked the wine.
The wine must have body and flavor. I have tasted wine, which tasted like water and alcohol. The wine must be better than a close-labeled product of the same value. As an example, lets imagine I'm tasting a Clean skin Chardonnay for $10.00. I’d compare it with a Deakin Chardonnay for the same price. If the Clean skin weren't visibly better than the Deakin, I would not get it.
With little regard for the way in which the good the wine tastes at first, you have to like it until the last drop. When I'm testing a wine I am going to drink it over 2 “3 days. Only to find out how it holds up with a little hint of air. If the wine falls apart after a day I will not get it as it may go downhill in the bottle after 6 months.
Eventually, always buy from a source you can trust. There are many fly by night sellers in the market. Keep it simple and always taste prior to buying. Always open a bottle, drink half and leave the rest for the following day. If it still tastes nice you have a winner. If it has lost it’s flavor then it's likely to have a really short storability.
I'm hoping this guide is of help to you. I have used this formula for 25 years and it has never let me down.
The writer Jack Simic has been in the spirits and wine industry for 30 years and saw a massive amount of cleanskinsaround as well as operating his own wine store.
