Corked Wine

[southern girl]

I have a bottle of what should have been a lovely Puligny-Montrachet...but, it is corked. It is only slightly corked, but, it is both in the nose and the taste. I no longer have the receipt. Is there anything I can do with this wine besides pour it down the sink? I know you are not supposed to cook with anything you wouldn't drink...but, I am tempted (the pennypincher in me comes to the front). Will the cork taint taste come through?

[tommy]

I have a bottle of what should have been a lovely Puligny-Montrachet...but, it is corked. It is only slightly corked, but, it is both in the nose and the taste. I no longer have the receipt. Is there anything I can do with this wine besides pour it down the sink? I know you are not supposed to cook with anything you wouldn't drink...but, I am tempted (the pennypincher in me comes to the front). Will the cork taint taste come through?

uh, no, don't put it in your body in any way shape of form. you should cork it back up, and return it to your wine merchant. hopefully you bought it at a place that accepts returns, as most reputable stores will. although, i'll admit that i've never returned a corked bottle, out of probably hundreds i've come across. probably because they set me back only 12 dollars or so. my local wine merchant makes sure he reminds me every coupla visits that i should return anything that is off. they just pass it back to the distributor, and so on. at least, in a perfect world.

but don't dump it, and recork with the same cork, to cover all of your bases.

[LaNiña]

I have a bottle of what should have been a lovely Puligny-Montrachet...but, it is corked. It is only slightly corked, but, it is both in the nose and the taste. I no longer have the receipt. Is there anything I can do with this wine besides pour it down the sink? I know you are not supposed to cook with anything you wouldn't drink...but, I am tempted (the pennypincher in me comes to the front). Will the cork taint taste come through?

uh, no, don't put it in your body in any way shape of form. you should cork it back up, and return it to your wine merchant. hopefully you bought it at a place that accepts returns, as most reputable stores will. although, i'll admit that i've never returned a corked bottle, out of probably hundreds i've come across. probably because they set me back only 12 dollars or so. my local wine merchant makes sure he reminds me every coupla visits that i should return anything that is off. they just pass it back to the distributor, and so on. at least, in a perfect world.

but don't dump it, and recork with the same cork, to cover all of your bases.

Although you did return a corked bottle at the Oyster Bar, and I was very impressed - yeah, it wasn't a store, but still, a good thing.

[tommy]

Although you did return a corked bottle at the Oyster Bar, and I was very impressed - yeah, it wasn't a store, but still, a good thing.

lest you think that i'm something special or smart, or worse yet, lest anyone playing along at home is lead to believe that, a "corked" bottle is easier to spot than nina at a quiet event: it stinks like mildew.

[LaNiña]

as opposed to you, oh delicate demure and shy one

[tommy]

as opposed to you, oh delicate demure and shy one 

indeed, i am rarely sent back.

[southern girl]

Guess that means I pour it out...it came in a shipped order from Sherry Lehmann many moons ago...

[jaybee]

Guess that means I pour it out...it came in a shipped order from Sherry Lehmann many moons ago...

Of all places, I think SL would take the bottle back and replace it for you. Why not call them first, explain the situation and ask them what to do? I'd bet they will replace it.

[Ron Johnson]

Absolutely call them. They may not even ask you to send it back. They at least should know about it. Corked wines are caused by tetrachlorinanisol (sp?) or TCA contamination of the cork prior to bottling of the wine. Estimates are that it occurs in 2-7% of wine. So, if you drink one hundred bottles of wine, chances are that a few will be contaminated. Its characteristic smell is that of moldy wet cardboard or newspaper, somewhat mildewy as Tommy described.

The fact is that this is a defect. People should not be anymore reticent to return a corked bottle of wine than they would a TV that didn't work when they got it home.

[southern girl]

Thanks for the suggestion Ron and Jaybee...I did call SL. They were wonderful. After explaining the situation (corked bottle here in LV ordered about 3 years ago, no receipt and no way to get it back to NYC anytime soon short of shipping an opened bottle...which I was told is illegal) they have credited my account for what I presume was the original price...or something close...I can't remember. Good customer service. I have been using them for awhile to get the wines I can't find here in NV and this will add to my "cutomer loyalty" factor.

[Ron Johnson]

That rocks.

[mogsob]

Wow -- score another for SL in the class front. I tried to return a corked wine once only to be yelled at by the owner and practically thrown out of the store - and I had a receipt.

[tommy]

Wow -- score another for SL in the class front.  I tried to return a corked wine once only to be yelled at by the owner and practically thrown out of the store - and I had a receipt.

was this at a place that you usually shopped?

[LaNiña]

SL = Sherry Lehmann

[tommy]

SL = Sherry Lehmann

yup. and?

[Beachfan]

Although you did return a corked bottle at the Oyster Bar, and I was very impressed - yeah, it wasn't a store, but still, a good thing.

lest you think that i'm something special or smart, or worse yet, lest anyone playing along at home is lead to believe that, a "corked" bottle is easier to spot than nina at a quiet event: it stinks like mildew.

Not always. It's true of a really corked bottle, but a slighty corked young bottle may be easier to identify by it not having any fruit (but not necessarily a wet cardboard smell).

At Babbo, I ordered a wine that I hadn't tried before (very young), wasn't bad upon first sip (sommellier had one two), but it was disappointing and the more I sipped it, the more I became sure something was wrong. No fruit, no mid-palate.

I had already expressed disappointment to the sommelier when he checked in on me, but it took a follow up to that, asking him to retaste the wine. At that point, he immediately agreed, and we changed bottles.

I'm pretty sure he didn't identify it on his first sip either.

[Ron Johnson]

Beachfan,

I usually associate that type of lack of fruit or midpalate with a "cooked" wine rather than a corked wine. A wine that has been shipped in a non-refrigerated truck, or sat in a hot warehouse for two weeks, or not stored properly by the retailer/restaurant.

If a wine has been contaminated with TCA, I always get some type of musty, moldy, or wet basement smell. TCA is quite powerful, it only takes a few parts per million to have a noticeable odor.

[Cosmo]

When I worked in a wine store we always took back corked wine, it went right back to the distributor.

The only time we had problems were when the people brought back an empty bottle and wanted an exchange...sigh...even though we would do the sniff test, looked at the cork-which may mean absolutly nothing-and anything else to verify the corkiness or off boquet, we tried our best. Ususally we just gave deep discounts on the next purchase. Empty bottles can't be replaced.

Cosmo

[Christopher]

Wow -- score another for SL in the class front.  I tried to return a corked wine once only to be yelled at by the owner and practically thrown out of the store - and I had a receipt.

This happened to my younger sister once at a local store in VA. and the insinuation was that she was a know nothing country girl and was dismissed out of hand.

So she returned to the merchant an hour later with her big brother.

I wonder what they drank with the crow?

[tommy]

I wonder what they drank with the crow?

i can only hope that they finished the corked bottle in front of you.

[mogsob]

Actually, I bought the wine in question (a 1994 Gran Reserva Rioja) at a wine store near my in-laws house. While I am by no means a regular there (we visit about 3 times a year), I do buy about $300 worth of wine annually from them.

I know the Rioja very well, as I had a case of it myself and it is on the wine list at Etats Unis (at a very reasonable $34 I might add, for a 92 point wine). Upon opening, it was clear that the wine was corked -- very mildewy. Moreover, the cork was green and splotchy towards the bottom. When I returned the wine, the owner took a glass and pronounced it fantastic and proceeded to lecture me on how to taste wine. All over a $14 bottle.

Needless to say, I lost it and, to make a long story short, I am no longer welcome back.

[tommy]

Needless to say, I lost it and, to make a long story short, I am no longer welcome back. 

"no longer welcome back!?!?!?!" how about "i'll never spend a dime in your f*cking store again and i'll make sure everyone i know or speak to knows the name."

what's the name of the f*cking store anywho?

[Beachfan]

Beachfan,

I usually associate that type of lack of fruit or midpalate with a "cooked" wine rather than a corked wine.  A wine that has been shipped in a non-refrigerated truck, or sat in a hot warehouse for two weeks, or not stored properly by the retailer/restaurant. 

If a wine has been contaminated with TCA, I always get some type of musty, moldy, or wet basement smell.  TCA is quite powerful, it only takes a few parts per million to have a noticeable odor.

Could very well be, although the sommelier agreed it was corked after sniffing. I may not be that sensitive to the smell (although I have a sensitive nose in non- wine areas).

The bottle was in exellent condition, but that isn't conclusive.

[tommy]

Could very well be, although the sommelier agreed it was corked after sniffing.  

perhaps the term "corked" is sometimes used a little too generically, considering it defines a specific problem with a bottle? that said, the sommeliers (pl?) that have passed through babbo have seemed pretty top-notch, but that's not to say that they wouldn't use that term to simply appease the customer and get on with getting a fresh bottle.

i usually just say "off", which covers all of the bases. well, all of the bases as far as i know.

[Leslie Brenner]

It is my understanding (and I've spoken with a number of winemakers about this) that when TCA attacks a bottle, the first thing that happens is that much of the palate disappears--this happens before the characteristic "corked" smell manifests itself. And you'll notice, if you actually taste a wine you know to be corked -- in other words, once you've identified the corked smell -- that the palate has somehow disappeared. To me, "cooked" wines have a decided off-taste, as opposed to nothing left in the palate.