Term (also bottle deviation) for the phenomenon of different qualities in a wine, although it is the same product (identical vintage, same location, same ageing) - sometimes even from the same barrel. When wines are matured and stored, the maturation and ageing process in the individual containers is never 100% identical. Particularly when ageing in smaller containers such as barrique barrels or conventional wooden barrels, (slightly) different wine qualities can result.
This can be compensated for by equalising (blending) before bottling. Nevertheless, differences in quality between individual bottles can also occur during bottle maturation or ageing. In addition, certain wine defects - such as cork taint - only occur in individual bottles.
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