midlife

I raised this question as part of another thread, but it went unnoticed and
I really would like some opinions on it.

On the recommendation of a friend (who is something of an Italian wine
buff), I picked up a bottle of Rosenblum Zin - Richard Sauret Vineyard -
2003 (US$12.49 at Costco..... my friend paid $18 at BevMo - h-m-m-m) and we
tried it with some pizza. The 2002 vintage of this wine was a 92
point WS pick, I think. The immediate sensation was very musty. I didn't
really taste anything off, though the wine seemed very flat at first, but
the mustiness was very strong. I've had this same thing happen a few times
with an Antinori Chianti I used to like. After about 20 minutes the
mustiness had gone and the fruit was very much present. This became a
really good Zin I would go back for more of, but the initial mustiness was
pretty daunting.

Now........ is that TCA?? or not? Does TCA 'air out' of a wine once it's
opened, or is it simply there or not there?

I also have an interesting side note to this. I spoke with the friend
who recommended the wine, to ask if he has noted anything similar. He had
not noticed the mustiness, but the couple bottles he has had both exhibited
the same need to stand for 20 or 30 minutes for the fruit to come out. IN
ADDITION, his opened bottles both had synthetic corks in them, while mine is
definitely a natural cork (Same exact vintage). I'm wondering whether this
has anything to do with how Costco got this wine and whether the 'corkiness
- mustiness' was part of the unusually large price difference.

anders tørneskog

"Midlife" <midlife@cox.net> skrev i melding
news:BE06B372.94DB%midlife@cox.net...

Hi
I've understood that TCA doesn't go away. Several reports have said the
contrary, namely that the smell gets stronger with aeration time.
Your musty wine therefore may have had some fault other than TCA.
Anders

martin field

In my experience TCA stays in wine over time. Friends who
run a wine bar keep corked bottles to return to sales reps.
I occasionally use these to demonstrate TCA to wine courses.
Bottles that have been opened for over a week still
demonstrate marked TCA characters.
Martin

dalew

I agree with Anders. TCA sticks around, in fact I generally find it
worsens. If there's a bottle I'm unsure about, then decide is corked,
uinvariably the wetcarboard/ba*****t mold smell is worse when it's
revisited. Other types of bottle funk do blow off.

noone

In article <BE06B372.94DB%midlife@cox.net>, midlife@cox.net says...


Hm-m-m, good question. What I attribute to TCA contamination doesn't dissipate
over a "little" time. I've never "re-visited" a suspect bottle, so my
experiences will add nothing to the discussion, however, when I've had
suspected taint, I've nursed a glass for a bit trying to decide if it IS
corked and have never noticed any questionable aspect diminish. In these
cases, the fruit is GONE, never to return. The acid levels are higher than
expected, never to molify. I'm fairly sensitive to TCA (or to what I perceive
as TCA) contamination, but there have been cases when I just wasn't sure until
after a few sips.

I've had the Rosenblum Richard Sauret Vineyard on several occasions, and found
it to be a typical Rosenblum "fruit-bomb," a type of Zin that I do enjoy, and,
though never finding it at MY Costco, have like it. As for Costco, I've
returned a few dozen bottles over the years, and have always gotten a quick,
no questions asked, replacement. A good policy in my book. I'd hate to think
that they would market a wine of questionable quality, at any price. I also do
not believe that Rosenblum would sell the wine, if they suspected any problem.
A quick profit potential v turning off buyers for their other wines "should"
loose out every time. I've only once met a winemaker, or winery
representative, who shrugged off taint in one of their bottles. All others
immediately act to get a good bottle into my hands as quickly as is possible
and offer tons of apologies. If I had put my heart and soul into a bottle of
wine, I'd want it to show its best at all times.

Now, considering the mass of wine that Costco handles, it might be that their
distribution channel(s) allow for more potential for environmentally
accelerated taint. If, as some postulate, the cause is a least partially due
to bacteria interaction with chlorine in the cork, perhaps heat at some point
in the shipping/handling would have an acceleration effect - but that is only
a guess. I've noticed more "corked" wine in AZ, than I ever did in Colorado,
but that could just be because I'm drinking much more. If I did a spreadsheet,
I might well find that the % is exactly the same, however I've returned many,
many more bottles in this warmer clime, than I ever did in CO. Poor storage in
the Sonoran Desert heat?

In the other replies, it seems that most have had similar experiences, re
dissipation of TCA taint over time. I'd lean towards other types of funk too,
but have found NO indication of any in this particular Zin.

Hunt

richard neidich

I really don't think the channel makes a difference at Costco. They run a
clean outfit and wine does not sit in back rooms. Distributors deliver to
wine section.

midlife

Thanks for all the input.........

If it's not TCA, what kind of "funk" is likely to give off a temporary
musty, rank odor when first released from the bottle? I suppose it doesn't
matter much, so long as it goes away, but it would be interesting to find
out what it is and what causes it.

noone

In article <BE07F668.94FE%midlife@cox.net>, midlife@cox.net says...


Hydrogen Sulfide can be attributed to "rank" odors, and often blows of,
shortly after opening, but its destictive "rotten egg" component is usually a
give away. Maybe some of the organic chemists in the NG can shed more light,
as I'm only guessing here.

Hunt

leo bueno

If you have some of the wine left, consider contacting the winery and
asking them to test it for TCA.

A few days ago, I opened a bottle of a well known US winery's (no need
to say the name) Merlot (around US$12). It was obviously tainted by
something that felt like what I have been led to understand to be TCA.

I contacted the winery and first the public relations person who
responded--after writing the party line that they have no control over
the wine once it leaves the winery--said they did not want the wine
back but would be willing to send me a refund.

I responded and indicated that I wasn't interested in the refund but
wished to have my impression confirmed. I then threw out the wine. A
couple of days later, and obviously a bit too late, she indicated that
their lab would be willing to test the wine and let me know the
result.

I suspect that the conscientious wineries that have the ability to
test for TCA in-house may be willing to test whenever consumers
complain.

It's one thing to identify TCA by comparing notes with other tasters
who think they know the taste of TCA and another to compare your
impression with a lab. From now on, whenever I sense "TCA", I will
try to get the winery to test the wine (and will gladly incur the
shipping expense).

This sort of exercise will do a couple of things for you. It will
allow you to learn conclusively what TCA feels like and, it you do it
enough times, may lead to your learning what your TCA threshold is.


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