eric lee

I have recently open a bottle of Spanish un-oak Tampranillo.
It smell like rotten egg. But slowly fade off with time in the glass. I
smell the cork but it smell fine. It's the first time I've tried un-oak
Tampranillo, just wondering is it normal or the wine is corked.

Question, How corked wine smell and when the wine is corked, does the cork
itself smell bad too?
I've drunk many wine and I've never encounter faulty one before.

mwillsta

Eric, "rotten egg" odors are an indication of the presence of hydrogen
sulfide, a "reductive" wine fault that can result from - among other
things - malnourished yeast during fermentation or improper handling
of the wine when it is on the lees (dead yeast cells). As you
observed, the smell of hydrogen sulfide often "blows off" with
exposure to air, at least in relatively minor cases. A subtly corked
bottle, on the other hand, might be detectable only to those familiar
with a given wine as an absence of fruit. Aromas in more extreme
examples of corkiness are most often described along the lines of
"musty" and/or "damp cardboard". People vary widely in their ability
to detect TCA, the chemical responsible for corked bottles but just
about everyone can smell hydrogen sulfide. A corked bottle tends to
get worse, not better, with air. The rotten egg odors you noticed
cannot be called "normal" but your bottle was not likely corked, both
because the smell is wrong and because it declined with time - unless
you were unfortunate enough to find a bottle that was corked in
*addition* to having a hydrogen sulfide problem!

- Mark W.

ian hoare

Salut/Hi Eric lee,

le/on Sun, 23 Nov 2003 02:05:23 +0800, tu disais/you said:-


H2S, often caused by sulphur dropping onto the bottom of a barrel, when the
sulphur "candle" is burnt in it to sterilise it. However as your Tempranillo
isn't oaked that sounds improbable.

This is called "blowing off" and quite often happens with some minor faults.

Doesn't prove anything at all and in general doesn't give much information
even if the wine were corked.

No it's not normal and from your description the wine is _definitely_ not
corked.


People describe a corked wine smell in many ways, but most often have the
words "wet" & "mouldy" associated. So "Wet dog" "wet cardboard" "mouldy
cardboard" are all used fairly frequently. A very slightly corked wine may
not have much corked smell (at first certainly) but the smell does NOT go
away, it gets worse and that's the MOST distinctive characteristic of a
corked wine.

Well, you've been pretty lucky, or else you're one of the people like me who
are very insensitive to TCA. However, MY perception of a slightly corked
wine is that it "isn't showing well", and that's happened to me quite a few
times.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare

Sometimes oi just sits and thinks
Sometimes oi just sits.

steve slatcher

You're right that it's Hydrogen Sulphide, but that would not be caused
by a sulphur candle in the barrel; that would give Sulphur Dioxide
taint.

The combination of nitrogen deficiency in the must, use of sulphur
dioxide before fermentation, and certain types of yeast give H2S
taint.

Can be removed by putting a copper coin in the glass.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

mike tommasi

Why is nitrogen needed in the must? Is it dissolved in the must? And
how does its deficiency yield H2S?

Mike

steve slatcher

The deficiency is apparently related to certain soils and g****
varieties, and one solution is to treat with diammonium phoshate, so I
presume the nitrogen is chemically bound rather than dissolved.

Beyond that, I do not know. My source of information is The Oxford
Companion to Wine, which says quite a bit more about the issue, but
does not directly answer your questions. If you are really keen to
find out, this article has a couple of references to scientific
journals. Let me know if you want the references.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

eric lee

Thanks guys for your help,

After all, that bottle is bad and I'm quite disappointed as wanted to try a
young Tampranillo which show varietals characteristic after reading
recommendation in wine book by Jancis Robinson. It took me a hard time
looking for minimum oak influence copies. As it's cheap and not a mainstream
style. Not many merchant willing to carry I guess...

However, I still haven't give up yet, That bottle is a Vina Allbali
Tampranillo 2002 from Valdepena, Spain. Not even a Crianza class so I guess
it's not wooded at most old wood.

Should I go back and get another bottle or another vintage of the same wine,
If not any suggestion? How about Corona by Torres, but it's still age for 6
months in wood which is good enough to be crianza although it's not labelled
so. Would I able to taste the fruit unadulterated?


news:<bpo7h5$r8a$1@mawar.singnet.com.sg>...

eric lee

Have found a solution, I have decant it and the sulphur smell has gone, and
the fruit come through. The wine is powerful enough to last through the
aeration process.

mark lipton

Mike,
I suspect that the role of nitrogen in the must is as a nutrient for
the yeast. A low level of nitrogen would lead to early death of the
yeast, which seems to be one of the primary causes of H2S.

Mark Lipton

ian hoare

Salut/Hi Steve Slatcher,

le/on Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:30:48 +0000, tu disais/you said:-

With respect, I think you ought to read what I said. I _was_ aware that
burning sulphur gives sulphur dioxide, and that in fact this is what is
intended - to sterilise the barrel. You were probably not aware that
sometimes, drops of molten sulphur heated by the combustion of the "candle",
can dribble off the bottom and fall to the bottom of the barrel, where the
flames go out. This _unconverted_ sulphur can - I repeat - give H2S
contamination.
--
All the Best
Ian Hoare

Sometimes oi just sits and thinks
Sometimes oi just sits.