----- Original Message ----- From: Jon Murphy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Timothy Kuntz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Martin Shepherd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Roman Turovsky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 25 October 2003 11:53 Subject: Re: How long can a lute last?
> Another example of absolutism. > > > >> But as with wine, no amount of age will turn an indifferent one into a > good > > >> one. > > > I've found that with wine, many an indifferent one has been turned into > > > a good one. > > > > > And later to vinegar. > > It is not just the quality but also the nature of the grape. A Beaujolais or > a Cotes du Rhone is best when it is young, Bordeau's (American spelling) > improve with age (to a limit). Distilled wines or whiskeys (brandies and > fine malts) also improve with aging (but also with a limit, but a much > longer limit). I see we have no wine experts on the list! The potential for aging in a wine is a combination of many factors, and winemakers "design" wines to be (or not to be) suitable for aging. Unfortunately age is expensive, so the modern tendency is to create wines which are suitable for immediate consumption (and which will therefore not last more than a few years). Jon, some Côtes du Rhone wines are *only* suited to being aged for 10+ years, Cornas for example. There may be a parallel with instruments. I once (only once!) made a lute which was fantastic when it was new, and less so after a year or two. It is still a good lute, but not as good as it was. All my other lutes seem to have improved markedly with age, and show no signs of going over the top. When new, some have bright fruit predominating, some have dark tannins, but with age one hopes that a harmony of all the elements will develop. Santé a tous, Martin
