Common wine 'flaws' and wine faults - a guide: Page 5 - Page 5

Like Marmite, we might have to agree to disagree when it comes to our own tolerance for wine faults. Either way, love them or hate them, it’s useful to know more about the ‘flaws’ you may encounter, says Natasha Hughes MW

Wine faults: Undeniable flaws

A chemical by the name of 2, 4, 6- trichloroanisole, or TCA, cops most of the blame for cork taint. The truth is there’s a whole family of compounds that can cause a wine to smell musty, or at the very least mask its fruit.

If you thought you might have detected an aroma similar to root vegetables in recent vintages of Loire Sauvignon Blanc or Muscadet, you’re not wrong. Vineyards in this region (and parts of Chablis, Bordeaux and Beaujolais) have been affected by geosmin, an earthy character derived from fungal infections.

Although some wines – particularly light, crisp whites such as Vinho Verde and young Rieslings – have a prickle of spritz on the palate, no still wine should contain bubbles. If yours does, the chances are that the wine still had some residual sugar and yeast left in it at the time of bottling, and is now refermenting in the bottle.

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Natasha Hughes MW began her career in the wine trade as deputy editor of Decanter.com. She left the magazine in 2001 and has since enjoyed a thriving freelance career as a writer and consultant. Writing about wine and food, Hughes has contributed to specialist publications across the world, and has acted as a consultant to private clients, wineries and restaurants. In addition, she hosts wine seminars and tastings, and has judged globally at wine competitions. Hughes graduated as a Master of Wine in 2014, winning four out of the seven available prizes at graduation, including the Outstanding Achievement Award.