TCA

Y

Yixin

Yixin
Probably tempting fate here, but of the just under 400 bottles closed with cork tasted or drank in August, I've had exactly 1 corked bottle (and I am sensitive). That's a rate of 0.25%, far lower than I expect.

More interestingly (for me), it seems to be part of a longer downwards trend - I've averaged around 1% in the past 2 years, which is lower than my historical average (which is already low at just over 2%).
 
I've also noticed a decline in corked wine. Out of 200+ tasting bottles opened this summer only 2 had any taint. Perhaps increasing competition from screwcaps and plastics has forced the natural cork producers to clean up their act.
 
I've been getting fewer too, but haven't been opening any middle aged French whites, so the odds have been stacked. Well, maybe not, since that was probably not TCA related.
 
Interesting!

I have never encountered a corked bottle.

Of course, I am not TCA sensitive.

. . . . . Pete

P.S. Okay, others have presented me with corked bottles but not in a very long time.
 
It just means you are allowing you chenin age a little longer, that's all.
 
Anecdotally my impression is that I've been experiencing less TCA in more recent younger bottles. Older bottles are holding up with regards to frequency.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
Anecdotally my impression is that I've been experiencing less TCA in more recent younger bottles. Older bottles are holding up with regards to frequency.
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With the caveat that we are drinking fewer cork-finished wines than ever before, we too have encountered fewer corked bottles. This is anecdotally supported by statements from the cork industry that they've reduced the incidence of cork taint in their product.

Mark Lipton
 
So I looked at the breakdown of what we drank in August in terms of bottle age. About 80% are from vintages 2008-2011, and another 10% from 2000-2007, and the last decile is all older wine stretching back to 1934. The one corked wine was from 2008.

Not sure what this means, to be honest. I remember looking at my records a few years ago and finding out that I've never had a corked claret, but several corked Sauternes/Barsacs. Or that my highest cork taint rate by country was Italy, but by region was the Rhone.

I've also not had a corked Champagne in over 2 years. Don't know if it's the fancy new corks, but it can't be as we've had several '71s (admittedly some badly cooked, but that's not TCA).
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
Anecdotally my impression is that I've been experiencing less TCA in more recent younger bottles. Older bottles are holding up with regards to frequency.
Click to expand...

With the caveat that we are drinking fewer cork-finished wines than ever before, we too have encountered fewer corked bottles. This is anecdotally supported by statements from the cork industry that they've reduced the incidence of cork taint in their product.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

My experience is now less than 5% TCA, maybe as low as 2-3%, but that's still an extraordinary amount of waste. I am pushing my producers to move to screwcaps where I can, but many Italian appellations currently forbid any alternatives to bark corks.

I would love to shift my sparkling wines to crown corks, but that's an even greater challenge (losing the 'pop').
 
For the past year or two I've encountered almost no corked bottles, "almost" meaning just 1 or 2 out of hundreds (4 or 5?). The vast majority being from the past 5-7 years. I was beginning to wonder if I was losing sensitivity, because it didn't seem possible that the industry could improve so quickly, but It sounds like it isn't me and actually it may have. I'll drink to that!
 
originally posted by scottreiner:
originally posted by MLipton:
This is anecdotally supported by statements from the cork industry that they've reduced the incidence of cork taint in their product.
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how?
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How is my experience anecdotally supported by statements from the cork industry? I'm not sure what you're looking for, Scott.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
He may mean to ask how they have reduced the incidence of cork taint, if they have.
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If that's the case, the claim as I understand it is that they've instituted better QC and reduced the usage of chlorine in sterilization.

Mark Lipton
 
The box here claims these corks were prepared using a "Maszone ozone washing system" though I have no idea what that is or even if it is relevant to TCA. A recent article mentioned a cork treatment that "uses carbon dioxide in a state known as its critical point" to remove taint. Sounds like serious stuff.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
The box here claims these corks were prepared using a "Maszone ozone washing system" though I have no idea what that is or even if it is relevant to TCA. A recent article mentioned a cork treatment that "uses carbon dioxide in a state known as its critical point" to remove taint. Sounds like serious stuff.
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Ozone is used to sterilize cork in place of chlorine, which avoids the problem of chlorine reacting with the cork to produce TCA precursors. The carbon dioxide bit is supercritical fluid extraction using supercritical CO2 to extract TCA out of corks. This is exactly the same thing as the misleadingly named "Swiss water process" used to make decaf coffee.

Mark Lipton
 
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