WTN: 2007 Thevenet Morgon

2007 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes 13.0%
Decided to sacrifice my single bottle of this rather prematurely to see if I should get more. From the bottleneck, intriguing aromas of incense, caramel and pleasant charred wood. In the glass, two hours later, very little of that. Marcia got strawberry and cinnamon. I got some cloves over generic berry, but what got in the way was an odd and spirited (literally) aroma of sugar cane licquor (Brazilian cachaça, used in caipirinha). Had never detected this in a wine before and felt like sending my nose to dry dock for a thorough diagnostic. Then, a smell of mold or yeast, somewhat wet cardboard, marred the remaining sips. Between us, we only drank half the bottle, an unusual indictment. Reading this, it sounds like the bottle was flawed, but we didn't think so while drinking, just found it completely underwhelming. But malo in the bottle is a possibility. If not, a big disappointment from my favorite (hitherto) Gang of Five producer.

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like it had some promising elements. But I take it you didn't declare the cardboard note to be evidence of TCA?

Could be TCA. I was loath to suspect that it in a wine so young, so was more inclined towards MLF, given the low or no SO2.

MLF and TCA seem to produce not entirely dissimilar effects (musty, stale dishcloth v. musty, dank, mouldy wood, or mouldy newspaper, according to the useful "An article for competition wine judges and of interest to competitors").

If it is MLF in the bottle, it would seem unseemly that any hipster winemaker would not take sufficient pains to ensure that both regular fermentations are 100% over before bottling. It's the least he could do, given the risks we as buyers are being asked to bear.

Could be TCA. I was loath to suspect that it in a wine so young, so was more inclined towards MLF, given the low or no SO2...

What does the age of the wine have to do with TCA?

Could be TCA. I was loath to suspect that it in a wine so young, so was more inclined towards MLF, given the low or no SO2...

What does the age of the wine have to do with TCA?

Less time for the bacteria to act on the wine and do their damage.

Less time for the bacteria to act on the wine and do their damage.

Aha, I never thought of that. So the musty smell of a corked wine should get stronger as the wine ages? Or perhaps the smell is just one aspect of the TCA infection...

I would have thought so. I imagine that some flaws/faults get worse with time while others may resolve (perhaps the chemists/winemakers among us can help).

From the list in the article (http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/flaws.htm), the flaws/faults that seem to be most often mentioned here on the board are:
Reduced sulphur compounds (HS2 and Mercaptans) - curable with copper penny
MLF in bottled wines - don't know if this resolves once it ends
Yeast fermentation in bottled wines - ditto, but bubbles often dissipate with decanting
TCA - I would think this gets worse and worse with time
Brett - ditto

What I find maddening is stuff like When H2S, mercaptan or disulphides are present near or perhaps slightly below their threshold of detection, no characteristic sulphury odour is present. Instead, they tend to suppress aromas that should be typical of the wine. I wonder how many wines have I thought closed when this was actually the problem.

Could be TCA. I was loath to suspect that it in a wine so young, so was more inclined towards MLF, given the low or no SO2...

What does the age of the wine have to do with TCA?

Less time for the bacteria to act on the wine and do their damage.

Oswaldo,
The TCA is produced before the wine is ever bottled. TCA production involves wood/cork, bacteria/mold and a chlorine source (bleach, chlorinated water, etc.). Since the corks -- the usual source of TCA -- are sterilized before introduction into the bottle, there's really no opportunity for TCA to be produced after bottling IMO.

Mark Lipton

there's really no opportunity for TCA to be produced after bottling IMO.

Mark Lipton

But is there time for the TCA to 'grow' in intensity?

there's really no opportunity for TCA to be produced after bottling IMO.

Mark Lipton

But is there time for the TCA to 'grow' in intensity?

Exactly, does it instantly contaminate 100% or gradually make the wine worse and worse?

PS: last night I tried what was left of the Thevenet and there was a touch of acetone - ethyl acetate, the "commonest ester in wines." So, in retrospect, this bottle must have had one or two problems, in amounts just below the level of our detection, but enough to dull the fruit. Strangely enough, it would have been less frustrating (certainly less puzzling) if this had been clearly a bad bottle.

But is there time for the TCA to 'grow' in intensity?

Exactly, does it instantly contaminate 100% or gradually make the wine worse and worse?

I can imagine a scenario wherein the TCA is gradually extracted out of the cork into the wine, so yes it is possible for the wine to grow more corked with time. Also, because TCA is so non-volatile that it will accumulate as the wine evaporates (that's why wines grow progressively more corked as they sit open), so over a several decades-long period wines may grow slightly more corked.

Mark Lipton