Trying futilely to catch up on some topics on this newsgroup I found people
disputing Michael Pronay in his entirely reasonable mentions of well-known
percentages of TCA-defective wines. What is going on here? Having missed
out on the wine newsgroup for a while I had no idea that this was
controversial. My regular tasting groups try new releases from several
countries and routinely find 5-10% TCA-defective bottles. Sometimes you
see runs of them from one producer or batch. This is corroborated by every
experienced fine-wine enthusiast or professional I talk to. (It is also
outrageous.) There is the separate issue that some inexperienced tasters
don't spot TCA (I've seen people hold forth like authorities on wine, while
not noticing badly corked bottles) and some wine stewards DO spot it and
keep quiet until the customer complains (many don't) whereupon the steward
expresses, like a diplomat, suitably grave concern. (That's the human side
of TCA, not the technical side.)

The problem can hit any producer. A year or two ago I was with some
hobbyists bringing our revered cellar bottles to a restaurant dinner and one
bottle (10% of 10!) was obviously corked and it was a serious Burgundy --
DRC's R-S-V 1976? but I would have to check. This was a valuable bottle
today in money terms, over $1000 US I think (another earlier posted
question) and God knows if it was even replaceable. (_Mirabile Dictu,_ its
owner had brought a back-up!) Also these are not nouveaux-riches I'm
talking about, they are passionate enthusiasts who've cherished and aged
these wines carefully and who feel the tragedy of such a wine ruined.

"Max Hauser" > wrote:

> Trying futilely to catch up on some topics on this newsgroup I
> found people disputing Michael Pronay in his entirely reasonable
> mentions of well-known percentages of TCA-defective wines.

Fwiw - and for those who read German - here's what I wrote in
Austrian "Vinaria" magazine:

<http://www.vinaria.at/sub11_vi.asp>

M.

On 2/29/04 3:34 AM, in article , "Max
Hauser" > wrote:

> My regular tasting groups try new releases from several
> countries and routinely find 5-10% TCA-defective bottles.

Yup, and if you pay USD25+ for a single bottle, a 5-10% chance it is
defective in this way is really unacceptable, especially since there is a
way to avoid it!

Bromo > wrote:

> Yup, and if you pay USD25+ for a single bottle, a 5-10% chance
> it is defective in this way is really unacceptable, especially
> since there is a way to avoid it!

I don't know how much I paid for the only magnum of 1985
Sociando-Mallet (my son's birth year), but nobody will replace its
actual value (EUR 140.00 / USD 175.00) when it corked a year ago.
(Not to speak of two other corked solo bottles from my cellar:
Mouton 1988 and Lafite 1962.)

M.

"Michael Pronay" in nachricht ...
>
> Fwiw - and for those who read German - here's what I wrote in
> Austrian "Vinaria" magazine:
>
> <http://www.vinaria.at/sub11_vi.asp>
>

"10 Prozent Korkfehler sind völlig inakzeptabel."

I like it! (Note that bit above comes out similar in either tongue.)

Thanks -- MH

Salut/Hi Max Hauser,

le/on Sun, 29 Feb 2004 00:34:13 -0800, tu disais/you said:-

>Trying futilely to catch up on some topics on this newsgroup I found people
>disputing Michael Pronay in his entirely reasonable mentions of well-known
>percentages of TCA-defective wines.

Max, newsgroups aren't only frequented by experienced people with no axes to
grind, with your many years' experience I'm sure you know that. So no matter
who says what, there's likely to be someone who argues! Heck, I've even had
people doubting ME!

> What is going on here? Having missed out on the wine newsgroup for a while I had no idea that this was
>controversial.

You'll be amazed at what can be controversial! I remember one chap who wrote
here for a while, often with some very unorthodox views. One such was that
_most_ serious collectors had their corks replaced more or less every 5
years. We had quite a heated discussion over that. Even when we ALL said
this was not the case, he continued to defend his position.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

Mark Lipton > wrote:

> Yes, this is the real problem concerning corked wines. For
> those of us who cellar wines for years/decades, the ability to
> recover anything for damaged goods is very small. In the end,
> it is this problem that will spell the end of the cork unless
> the incidence of TCA contamination can be drastically lowered.

Your words in God's ear! (German proverb.)

M.