Top wine faults and what to look for

Cork taint

Corked wine will smell distinctively of a drenched doggy

How: Caused by 2,4,6 trichloroanisole (TCA) or 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) which occurs when a tainted cork comes into contact with wine and can happen in the production process.

What to look for: Distinctive musty/mouldy aroma, suppressed fruit. Common complaints include wet dog, mushroom,  or dank earthy notes.  Mousecage-like flavour on palate. Cork taint is one of the most well-known of wine faults and often wine is described as being corked when It isn’t – it will definitely be obvious if a wine is corked!