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The previously unknown twelve bottles of Bordeaux that returned to Earth on a SpaceX space shuttle in January after their 14-month stay on the ISS were Château Pétrus of the 2000 vintage. The identity of the bottles had been kept secret until now. They are part of a research project by the start-up Space Cargo Unlimited, in which the Wine Institute of the University of Bordeaux (ISVV) is involved. The company has now confirmed the identity of the wines to the "Decanter".
A few days ago, well-stored bottles of Pétrus 2000 were evaluated with those from the ISS by twelve tasters. Prof Philippe Darriet of the ISVV's oenological research department summed up the results as follows: "Unanimously, the two wines were considered great wines, which means that the 'space wine' was rated very well sensorially despite its 14-month stay on the international space station." He said the panel noted some differences in smell and taste, as well as colour, but that these varied depending on the "sensitivity" of each taster.
Samples of the wines will also be subjected to chemical analysis to enable researchers to explore changes in the chemical composition of both wines. Darriet said the team would publish the results in a scientific journal. A spokesperson for Space Cargo explained that the experts had chosen the 2000 vintage based on "oenological criteria". A finely structured wine dominated by only one grape variety was necessary for the analysis, he said.
(uka / Photo: NASA)