How to recognize corked wine?
Quick answer
Corked wine smells like wet cardboard, damp basement, or mould. On the palate, the fruit vanishes and is replaced by a dull, unpleasant flatness. Around 3-5% of cork-sealed bottles are affected.
Detailed answer
Cork taint is caused by TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), a molecule produced when mould comes into contact with chlorine in cork. According to Wine Spectator (2024), contamination rates remain between 3-5% of natural cork bottles, though improvements in cork production have helped.
The telltale signs: on the nose, wet cardboard, damp newspaper, musty basement, or wet dog. Intensity varies — sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's subtle, manifesting as a wine that simply seems "muted" with no fruit or expression.
On the palate, a corked wine loses all its fruitiness. It becomes flat, short, and leaves an unpleasant finish. If you're unsure, pour the wine into a glass and wait 10 minutes — TCA intensifies with air exposure.
What to do? At a restaurant, flag it immediately — any decent establishment will replace the bottle without question. At a shop, most wine merchants (including 20hVin in La Hulpe) will accept a corked bottle back. It's a cork defect, not a fault of the wine or producer.
Alternative closures (screw cap, synthetic cork, Diam) eliminate this risk entirely. Never judge a wine by its screw cap — top Australian and New Zealand estates use them for their premium wines.
Signs of corked wine
- Smell of wet cardboard or damp basement
- Musty or damp newspaper aromas
- No fruit on the palate
- Flat and short finish
- The smell intensifies after 10 minutes of air exposure