RJ Spagnols Corked Wine.....boo

[foursons]

Hello Everyone, so it happened...

I got the Chilean Malbec en primeur from RJS.

Fermented for 2 months and did 2 months of bulk aging.

When I tasted my wine, it had all the characteristic of cork taint. the cardboard, stinky mold, and the flat taste. Why Me?!?


Anyways there are things that I wanted to ask"

How can it be corked before it was bottled?
Can I treat it somehow?
Will I be able to get a refund from RJ?

Thanks guys!

 

[JohnT]

Did you bottle it? I see no mention.

for cork taint, or TCA, you need three things to come together....

1) chlorine,
2) phenols
3) and bacteria colonized cork.

most avoid TCA by avoiding the use of bleach or chlorine in any form..

 

[foursons]

Hey John,

Thats the thing, it wasnt corked.

 

[Runningwolf]

Are you sure it's not H2S. Take a small sample in a wine glass and put an old penny in it. Swirl it around a bit and let it sit. Give a smell in about 5 minutes and see if it cleared up. I rally don't see corked wine very often.

 

[JohnT]

agree with RW,

It is very unlikely that you have TCA issues.

In all likelihood, you have H2S issues.

Questions: Did you wine at ant time smell like rotten eggs? Also, once you transferred your wine into your secondary, how long was it before you racked your wine?

 

[wineh]

Fermented for 2 months and did 2 months of bulk aging.

If you really had it in a primary fermenter for two months, it is likely oxidized. The details of your procedure are sketchy, so maybe you could fill us in regarding racking, stabilizing and de-gassing.

 

[ibglowin]

Unless you are using a 100% pure cork (very high end) there is very little chance of cork taint especially with the agglomerated corks most amateur winemakers use as they are chemically treated to prevent cork taint.

 

[foursons]

So I did a month of primary for 1 month, then I racked it (stabilized it, added clearing agents, then degassed it). Had it in a carboy for another month. Filtered it, then let it sit in a carboy for another 2 months for bulk aging.

I will try the copper method,
But if it is H2S how would I treat it? I have 6 gallons of wine, how much copper would i need?

Thanks everyone for the support!

 

[Boatboy24]

So I did a month of primary for 1 month, ...

When you say "primary", do you mean it was in a bucket for a month?

 

[wineh]

As you had it in the primary long after active fermentation ended, I'm going to stick with oxidized. I'm not sure that there's a cure for that, but WinExpert offers this:
http://www.winexpert.com/wine-wiki/show/Troubleshooting,+Oxidation+Treatment

 

[Runningwolf]

If it's not too oxidized you could try PVPP, if that's the issue.
If it is H2S you would need a bottle of Copper sulfate and do a bench trial. See how many drops it takes to clear up a 100ml sample. You can buy it in a 1% or 10% solution from Presque Isle and then make your adjustment to the carboy based off your trial.

 

[Tom_S]

Did it turn brown? Then it's oxidized.

 

[BernardSmith]

If it's not too oxidized you could try PVPP, if that's the issue.
If it is H2S you would need a bottle of Copper sulfate and do a bench trial.

Isn't the use of copper sulphate a mite dangerous for anyone without the chemical /medical knowledge of its effects? It's a chemical that looks pretty innocuous but it can be quite deadly if misused, can it not? LD50 is quite small, I thought, isn't it?

 

[Runningwolf]

Isn't the use of copper sulphate a mite dangerous for anyone without the chemical /medical knowledge of its effects? It's a chemical that looks pretty innocuous but it can be quite deadly if misused, can it not? LD50 is quite small, I thought, isn't it?

Every chemical is dangerous if not used with due diligence and intelligence. When I test wines for H2S it is based off how many drops I add to a 100ml sample of wine. It is rare that more then 2 drops are used but usually only one. This equates to .189 to .379ml's per gallon. So you can see that is a very small amount and way under the allowable amount. For what it's worth there is about 20 drops in one ml.

 

[foursons]

So I did the Penny (copper) experiment but nothing changed..
Whats suppose to happen if its H2S?

Thanks for all the tips btw^^