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Not good. Had a wine merchant just shipped that to you?

jdaw1 wrote:Not good. Had a wine merchant just shipped that to you?

bidforwine = private auction. But seller being very helpful so at least I'll get my money back. It was shipped in a tube. Surely a few corners would give greater structural integrity? There was no liquid left in the packaging, and the cardboard was also only slightly damp, so it must have broken fairly early in the shipping.

djewesbury wrote:There was no liquid left in the packaging, and the cardboard was also only slightly damp, so it must have broken fairly early in the shipping.

Somebody else’s computer equipment, collected from a nearby address, will be sticky and non-functional.

jdaw1 wrote:

djewesbury wrote:There was no liquid left in the packaging, and the cardboard was also only slightly damp, so it must have broken fairly early in the shipping.

Somebody else’s computer equipment, collected from a nearby address, will be sticky and non-functional.

But will smell rather nice. For a little while at least.

1977 Dow
Badly oxidised. Full note here.

1985 Warre in a half bottle was so full of VA as to be undrinkable.

AHB wrote:1985 Warre in a half bottle was so full of VA as to be undrinkable.

1985 or 1983...? Or both?!

RAYC wrote:

AHB wrote:1985 Warre in a half bottle was so full of VA as to be undrinkable.

1985 or 1983...? Or both?!

1985 - thank you. TN now corrected.

Offley Boa Vista 1977 - full of TCA

1985 Graham was so full of VA as to be undrinkable most disappointing!

1977 Dow VP
Picked it to be our Thanksgiving VP but by dessert time i couldnt get myself to drink it. It was tasting fine over the first hour or two in decanter. More than half the bottle went down the drain the following day. so sad.

Miguel Simoes wrote:1977 Dow VP
Picked it to be our Thanksgiving VP but by dessert time i couldnt get myself to drink it. It was tasting fine over the first hour or two in decanter. More than half the bottle went down the drain the following day. so sad.

Sadly, pretty typical for this port.

Another bottle of Gould Campbell 1977 opened on 8th Jan 2014 was tainted, initially not too badly but it got worse.

1977 Sandeman corked

Dow 1985 spoiled by VA

Two days ago, a Graham Crusted bottled 1998, TCA-tastic.

jdaw1 wrote:Two days ago, a Graham Crusted bottled 1998, TCA-tastic.

The GC98 in my glass right now is not corked but has a LOT of VA, even two days in.

djewesbury wrote:

jdaw1 wrote:Two days ago, a Graham Crusted bottled 1998, TCA-tastic.

The GC98 in my glass right now is not corked but has a LOT of VA, even two days in.

Bought my first bottle of this at the weekend. Hope it fares better than these examples!

2005 Quinta do Noval LBV (unfiltered) - TCA of the worst kind. The just above threshold stuff that has you guessing, wondering, worrying at the absent bouquet and the closed (aka stripped) palate. Leaving it an hour and coming back to it we have proof positive with the musty odour developing. So frustrating and no replacement likely in the Antipodes.

Ok, even being aware of the poor hit rate(what is it quoted at-1 in 4, 1 in 5?), on the occasion of my brother-in-law's 38th birthday, I decanted a bottle of D77. Early signs were fair post decant, but when it came to be consumed at D+7, there was that familiar woody smell. It wasn't smothering and indeed only one person commented on it but with that plus the overly spirity aftertaste I knew that I had experienced first hand, the curse of the D77!

Hi everyone, The other day I opened up 12 bottles of Cockburns 1994 port. 4 out of the 12 had strong Gloo/Nail varnish aromas. I think this is VA (Volatile Acidity - Acetic Acid Bacrearia Spoilage). How many of you are experiencing the same thing with 1994 Cockburns? Thanks

WMB wrote:Hi everyone, The other day I opened up 12 bottles of Cockburns 1994 port. 4 out of the 12 had strong Gloo/Nail varnish aromas. I think this is VA (Volatile Acidity - Acetic Acid Bacrearia Spoilage). How many of you are experiencing the same thing with 1994 Cockburns? Thanks

I've only had the Ck94 a handful of times and am yet to be convinced of its quality. I've never been able to pin down my lack of satisfaction to VA, but maybe that's what's been causing my unhappiness.

WMB wrote:Hi everyone, The other day I opened up 12 bottles of Cockburns 1994 port. 4 out of the 12 had strong Gloo/Nail varnish aromas. I think this is VA (Volatile Acidity - Acetic Acid Bacrearia Spoilage). How many of you are experiencing the same thing with 1994 Cockburns? Thanks

Blimey! You go for it on a night in. That does seem a rather high failure rate, but not unheard of with this wine. It does divide opinion, some saying it is excellent port, others saying it is a known trap. The difficulty is that I trust the opinions of those on both sides of the debate. I bought some, just in case.

AHB wrote:

WMB wrote:Hi everyone, The other day I opened up 12 bottles of Cockburns 1994 port. 4 out of the 12 had strong Gloo/Nail varnish aromas. I think this is VA (Volatile Acidity - Acetic Acid Bacrearia Spoilage). How many of you are experiencing the same thing with 1994 Cockburns? Thanks

I've only had the Ck94 a handful of times and am yet to be convinced of its quality. I've never been able to pin down my lack of satisfaction to VA, but maybe that's what's been causing my unhappiness.

Thanks AHB and LG Trotter, In my book anything smelling of UHU Gloo or nail varnish is not very attractive, so the wine has been spoiled by microbal contamination. Surely there comes a point where. if the wine has been bought shortly after shipment and stored in a proper private cellar, that the Port House has a case to answere too!!!! You do not expect VA in so many bottles from one case. Any comments please.

VA is a wine making issue. It will affect all the wine made. Though some bottles can show it more than others if exposed to more heat, as that will cause it to bloom and become more noticeable. Cockburn's had some issues during this period, as did some other producers.