"Slightly" Corked Wines

[Cris_Whetstone]

@Dave Grudzinski

Coincidentally, I believe I had a slightly corked wine last night. It was a 2001 Tardieu Laurent Gigondas, my 6th & last bottle. I’ve drunk the wine 5 times before so I know what it’s supposed to smell & taste like. I’m also pretty sensitive to TCA & corked wines. This is the 1st wine that was so slightly corked, I could drink the bottle. I noticed a slight smell of wet cardboard mustiness, then I’d swirl the wine, smell it again, and then I was not sure I smelled it anymore. This kept happening, but the wine definitely didn’t have the pleasant aromas I knew from previous bottles. On the palate, I noticed the characteristics were not quite the same as I had tasted previously, more subdued flavors, but it didn’t taste bad. I didn’t smell cork taint on the cork either, which I can usually pick up right away. Very unusual. My wife noticed the flaw also but couldn’t drink the wine.

I think when you are unsure about TCA taint in a wine it is best to let your glass sit for a few minutes and then smell it again without swirling. Soon after it is popped the TCA can hide behind the fruit if it is not heavy.

[Brent_C_l_a_y_t_o_n]

Cris,

FWIW, I have on occasion had corked wines that definitely give what I would describe as a ‘tinny’ note on the palate, as this usually corresponds to the wine’s absence of fruit where the fruit should be. I would vote with Kris on this one.

[John_Morris]

@Chris S p i k e s

If you can’t tell if a wine is corked, does it matter? Kind of like the tree falling the woods with no one around.

I see people agonize and argue over this issue all the time. If Person(s) A thinks a wine is corked, but Person(s) B thinks the wine is fine and good, why not just let Person B enjoy the wine? I see this often where Person A is convinced and then tries all evening to convince anyone in the Person B category and maybe insist on pouring the wine down the drain. If Person B is happy, why not state your opinion, then let them be?

Chris

Obviously if it doesn’t matter to someone, there’s no point in telling them not to enjoy the wine. Personally, I seem to have a high tolerance for it because in some cases I can happily drink a bottle that is clearly corked to me and others but repulsive to the others. (I’ve enjoyed an old Chevillon and an old Heitz cab that others turned up their noses at.)

But it is a legitimate question when a wine falls short of expectations. Because TCA has a way of suppressing flavors even when you don’t get a strong TCA aroma, the possibility naturally arises.

[John_Morris]

@larry schaffer

I find it difficult to explain ‘slightly corked’ to most people, because, for me, when a wine is slightly corked, you won’t get the telltale ‘wet cardboard’ aromas . . . Instead, the wine’s aromatics will be severely muted.

Exactly! And sometimes there seems to be no fruit on the palate.

In many cases, it becomes clearer with time in the glass: the TCA becomes more apparent or that funkiness dissipates, which suggests it was something else.

[John_Morris]

@Rick Gregory

Most of what people call barnyard funk is usually some form of brett. Corkiness is a very sharp, musty odor. Think wet cardboard with a sharp note.

To me, wet cardboard is the best description, too.

I would add that I think reduced sulfur is another leading cause of what people describe as funkiness.