While playing the “where can I put another 12 bottles of wine” game with my latest delivery, I discovered that in my wine rack. Dead? Actually not a problem?
The seal on the cork seems fine and there’s very little seepage into the cork (delights of no capsule!).
It’s a 2019 Georgian red blend with all the usual hipster credentials so the wine inside will not have things like added sulphites to help protect it.
I’ve had various moulds/mildews/nasties on bottles, mouse piss (and possibly rat, I just hope not), chewed corks (Champagne). It doesn’t seem to make much of difference, the corks seem in the main to be pretty tough (who knew?!).
What I would say is that, in the same conditions, cardboard, OWCs, many metals and anything below building-grade wood get destroyed.
Thanks.
It may make an appearance in this weekend’s drinking thread as it’s a drinker not a keeper (and now I’ve taken it out of the wine rack, its space has been filled, so it’s not able to go back in anyway).
Shouldn’t be a problem, seen in many times, though only on older bottles. Perhaps a good reason to not have capsules in the first place
Sounds like an interesting wine !
I believe it just shows the bottle was in a humid cellar, but as M4rk says it is usually on older bottles.
With no real evidence, my theory is that the mould grows on wine on the top of the cork - wine that has either leaked out, or was spilled in the bottling/corking procedure.
I agree with Steve
I’ve had plenty of corks with mould on the top. It doesn’t matter, it’s the other end that is against the wine.
Sommeliers are taught to cut the capsule below the rim and to wipe the cork and neck of bottle so such mould doesn’t come into contact with the wine when it’s being poured
Ch Coufran 2001 had a mouldy cork, but the wine was divine (within 1-2 hours)! A bit unexpected as this wine had been hit-and-miss on TWS reviews previously. My last bottle was undrinkable for 2 days, and then it suddenly came to life in 2020…
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