So why would there be a lower incidence of TCA in older wines (though we now find it is not zero)?
Ray,
It happens very often that when an old wine is corked, it is because it had been recorked. And I do not count them in the ratio of non corked wines because I look for non recorked bottles more than recorked ones.
Jonathan,
I have for a long time wondered why the ratio of corked wines is so low.
There could be two possibilities :
- quality of old corks, made from trees which kept their skin for a longer time than today
- TCA which disappears with age.
I would be unable to prove anything, it is just a guess.
Not treated with chlorine. It’s a reaction between certain molds and chlorine that creates TCA.
Ah. David Glasser said this first as a speculation. You speak with more persuasive certainty. Why did people start treating corks with chlorine and if it is known that this is the cause of TCA, why don’t they stop?
Because they didn’t know that chlorine would cause TCA and lighter colored corks were worth more. As often the case, it’s the money.
Fair enough, but then why haven’t they stopped? After all, if it’s only money, the presence of TCA has started to create a threat to their business in the form of (as yet nascent, granted) alternative closures…