I have a batch of 2002 Chardonnay that at bottling time was a very pleasant,
slightly oaked wine. I then bottled in Jan 2004. I had a bad experience
with the corks. They were natural corks but in real bad shape. I should
have checked them before purchasing them. They looked like a drunken sailor
whittled them with a dull knife. They had 1/4" grooves along the side. I
can't imagine how they could have passed quality control.

Anyway over 50% leaked. No problem, we drank them in the next few months
and that wine was o.k.
I was checking the remaining bottles last week and noticed that quite a few
of them have some mold on the cork. It appears the corks leaked a small
amount. The wine in these bottles tastes funny. The chardonnay character
is still and it would be a nice wine except that there is a slight moldy
type smell and taste.

Is this a mold taste/smell or is it Brett? I guess there is no way to save
the wine?

thanks

Joe

"Pino" > wrote in message
...
>I have a batch of 2002 Chardonnay that at bottling time was a very
>pleasant, slightly oaked wine. I then bottled in Jan 2004. I had a bad
>experience with the corks. They were natural corks but in real bad shape.
>I should have checked them before purchasing them. They looked like a
>drunken sailor whittled them with a dull knife. They had 1/4" grooves
>along the side. I can't imagine how they could have passed quality
>control.
>
> Anyway over 50% leaked. No problem, we drank them in the next few months
> and that wine was o.k.
> I was checking the remaining bottles last week and noticed that quite a
> few of them have some mold on the cork. It appears the corks leaked a
> small amount. The wine in these bottles tastes funny. The chardonnay
> character is still and it would be a nice wine except that there is a
> slight moldy type smell and taste.
>
> Is this a mold taste/smell or is it Brett? I guess there is no way to
> save the wine?

Could be mold, brett, TCA or a number of other spoilage problems. Air
getting into the bottle causes some; bad corks the remainder. No way to fix
it. Sorry. :^(

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com

"Pino" > wrote in message
...
>I have a batch of 2002 Chardonnay that at bottling time was a very
>pleasant, slightly oaked wine. I then bottled in Jan 2004. I had a bad
>experience with the corks. They were natural corks but in real bad shape.
>I should have checked them before purchasing them. They looked like a
>drunken sailor whittled them with a dull knife. They had 1/4" grooves
>along the side. I can't imagine how they could have passed quality
>control.
>
> Anyway over 50% leaked. No problem, we drank them in the next few months
> and that wine was o.k.
> I was checking the remaining bottles last week and noticed that quite a
> few of them have some mold on the cork. It appears the corks leaked a
> small amount. The wine in these bottles tastes funny. The chardonnay
> character is still and it would be a nice wine except that there is a
> slight moldy type smell and taste.
>
> Is this a mold taste/smell or is it Brett? I guess there is no way to
> save the wine?
>
> thanks
>
> Joe
I have a burgundy that had a smell like you describe that you could smell
three feet away from the wine, but it tasted ok. I used Bocksin to clear up
the smell. I do not know if it would do anything for the taste.

Roy

From the descriptions I can find I think the problem is TCA . The article
also says there is no danger to people and that up to15% of the commercial
wine is infected (the industry will only admit to 1.5%).

Anyway I can definetely smell and taste it so I can't drink it. But I
accidently served a bottle and the others didn't notice. They complimented
the wine. I should be able to use the remaining bottles for cooking?

Joe

"Pino" > wrote in message
...
> From the descriptions I can find I think the problem is TCA . The article
> also says there is no danger to people and that up to15% of the commercial
> wine is infected (the industry will only admit to 1.5%).
>
> Anyway I can definetely smell and taste it so I can't drink it. But I
> accidently served a bottle and the others didn't notice. They
> complimented the wine. I should be able to use the remaining bottles for
> cooking?

It's a common misconception that it's OK to cook using inferior wine. If
you do, your dinner will become inferior to what it would have been if you
had used good wine.

That said, you don't need to use Chteau Lafite for marinading a roast. Any
good red wine will do - but it should be something that you'd enjoy
drinking.

FWIW, the best gravy I ever made started with a bottle of 1975 Carneros
Creek Petite Syrah. That wine was a huge, dark, tannic, high alcohol
_monster_ - and wasn't particularly cheap.

As for the TCA issue, you might try pouring the wine into a wide mouth
decanter and dunking a wadded up sheet of Saran Wrap* into it for several
hours (or more). Supposedly, the plastic has a greater affinity for the TCA
than does the wine, and the TCA will "dissolve" into the plastic. Depending
on the degree of taint, this may or may not be effective - that is if it
actually _is_ TCA.
*Be sure that the plastic wrap is polyethylene - not PVC - or you may render
the wine even _less_ drinkable.

If this doesn't work I'd probably dump the bad bottles and chalk it up to
experience. But hey, it's _your_ wine.

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com